Siddhartha - Softcover

Hermann Hesse

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580493904 ISBN 13: 9781580493901

Publisher: Prestwick House, Inc., 2005

Synopsis

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition™ includes a glossary and reader’s notes to help the modern reader contend both with Hesse’s philosophical points and Siddhartha’s journey. First published in 1922, Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha is the tale of a young Indian priest who searches for personal enlightenment throughout his life. Although steeped in the mysticism of Hindu traditions, this classic is, above all, about Siddhartha’s search for independence from all teachings and freedom from all earthly knowledge. Siddhartha struggles with ignorance, prayer, loyalty, friendship, and desire during his quest for the essence of human existence, all the while seeking to understand truth through his experiences. His growth and revelations have enthralled and inspired readers for decades.

About this title

Review

In the shade of a banyan tree, a grizzled ferryman sits listening to the river. Some say he's a sage. He was once a wandering shramana and, briefly, like thousands of others, he followed Gotama the Buddha, enraptured by his sermons. But this man, Siddhartha, was not a follower of any but his own soul. Born the son of a Brahmin, Siddhartha was blessed in appearance, intelligence, and charisma. In order to find meaning in life, he discarded his promising future for the life of a wandering ascetic. Still, true happiness evaded him. Then a life of pleasure and titillation merely eroded away his spiritual gains until he was just like all the other "child people," dragged around by his desires. Like Hermann Hesse's other creations of struggling young men, Siddhartha has a good dose of European angst and stubborn individualism. His final epiphany challenges both the Buddhist and the Hindu ideals of enlightenment. Neither a practitioner nor a devotee, neither meditating nor reciting, Siddhartha comes to blend in with the world, resonating with the rhythms of nature, bending the reader's ear down to hear answers from the river. In this translation Sherab Chodzin Kohn captures the slow, spare lyricism of Siddhartha's search, putting her version on par with Hilda Rosner's standard edition. --Brian Bruya

From the Publisher

This book is perfect for AP classes and is often selected for inclusion on the AP exam. The notes, reading pointers, and vocabulary in this addition will also help students at a lower reading level get the most out of these classics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prestwick House, Inc.
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1580493904
• ISBN 13: 9781580493901
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 118