Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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Siddhartha is an allegorical novel by Hermann Hesse that deals with the spiritual journey of a boy known as Siddhartha from the Indian Subcontinent during the time of the Buddha.
The book, Hesse's ninth novel, was written in German, in a simple yet powerful and lyrical style. It was first published in 1922, after Hesse had spent some time in India in the 1910s. It was published in the U.S. in 1951 and became influential during the 1960s. Hesse dedicated Siddhartha to Romain Rolland, "my dear friend".
The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in the Sanskrit language, siddha (achieved) + artha (meaning or wealth). The two words together mean "he who has found meaning (of existence)" or "he who has attained his goals". The Buddha's name, before his renunciation, was Prince Siddhartha Gautama. In this book, the Buddha is referred to as "Gotama". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Buddha's doppleganger
I read this book before I ventured out into the real world, and I read it again many years after I had returned from that world. After I read it, I wanted to kick myself for not learning more from it the first time.... But then, that is also covered in this story, Siddhartha's father could not protect him from the world, nor could Siddhartha protect his own son when the time came. You've got to go forth and learn these lessons yourself. It is the same archetypical patterns, with variations, over and over.

I remember that when I first read this story it confused me that the Buddha and Siddhartha were two separate persons. Then I came to realise the truth of archetypes, and immortal paterns that resonate in many different bodies at the same time- all seemingly separate, but all really sharing the same great life. All ultimately flowing together to form the great river of life. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

More please
Yes, after reading passages from Hesses' letters in biographies & literary critisism for 20 years, it was very exciting to hear that Noonday was finally publishing a volume of them in English translation. The focus was to try to put them out in an edition that might pass for an autobiography. But many of the letters that dealt with his major criseses, or the inspiration for his major novels, so many important letters still go untranslated.
If they didnt translate the complete 4 volume edition back in the 1970s, when he was so popular with students & youth, I dont hold out too much hope that they will do it anytime soon. I guess my best betstll is to try & learn Gearman, go online & purchase the German edition. With my luck though, as soon as I have learned the language the set will suddenly appear in bookstores, neatly translated

Better than a biography
This is an important book to have if you're a fan of Hesse.There are many personal letters collected here by a reknown Hesse scholar which shed light on Hermann Hesse the man, artist, and writer.These are also the sources for many biographers and it's good to have them available for those of us who like to form their own opinions and thoughts about Hesse's life and works from the man himself.Ziolkowski provides a nice, brief introduction, and reading these personal (often private) letters whether chronologically or at random, is like eavesdropping in on the life of a kindred soul and good friend.Together they create a well rounded, kaleidoscopic view of one of the Twentieth-Century's greatest and most respected writers.

A good book for understanding Hesse
Soul of Age contains a good selection of Hesse's letters that provide a very usefull introduction to Hesse. The translations are very good, and the introduction is informative and intresting. Some letters between Jung andHesse are missing, but you can find them in Michael Serrano's book. ... Read more

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The most original, new work on Hesse in many years and the definitive study of the young Herman Hesse, offering much previously unknown material such as his "neo-Romantic" poetry of which two dozen are published here for the first time in the original. ... Read more

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Hermann Karl Hesse (Pseudonym: Emil Sinclair; * 2. Juli 1877 in Calw; ... Read more

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With its excellent line-for-line English translation on facing pages, this handy dual-language volume allows students of German language and literature an ideal way to read the 1922 classic based on events from the life of Buddha. The restless young Brahmin Siddhartha undertakes a spiritual journey that takes him from years of asceticism to the utmost sensual and materialistic indulgence before he achieves his long-sought enlightenment. Introduction and new English translation by Stanley Appelbaum.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not Much To Look At
I love Siddhartha, and the opportunity to read it in German definitely appealed to me. Unfortunately, this particular edition seems to be rather dated. While the content seems mostly intact, I had to return it for a different edition because it felt odd to read a book with formatting from the last century.

Luckily, there was another edition available on Amazon which had a slightly better aesthetic, and Amazon handled the exchange very quickly. I'd recommend looking around a bit before adding this one to your cart.

Lucid and readable.
I admit from the start I am not one of those beings spiritual or intellectual or artistical or fantastical or...etc. So this book does not inspire me like it has done to so many and doubtless many more to come. My intellect unelevatable and my insight reaches few things beyond material. Poor me! So you know this is not the book for me if not for the sake of learning German.

That said I'll now talk about its merits as a language learning aid. Among many Dover dual-language books in German, this is among the most readable, from my personal experience! You should mingle with these books after you reading skill is already OK or a little more. But Beaware: Greman is real tough, German writer tougher, and still toughest are those immortal names in German literature. And it's exactly these formidable guys featured in this Dover series.In fact this is the first book I manage to go cover to cover with little reference to translation. It's no easy, as is not to be expected of any original work by a German writer with a name. I refrain from making further with regard to linguistics or literature comments (look like German?), which I don't qualify. Just for those language learners of similar stage, if you want that sense of achievement or pride
of finishing an original work on your own (to go along with improve reading skill), then this is a good starting place. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Classic Study of Hermann Hesse's Novels
Incredible that I'm the first one to review this book! Perhaps it's because it's no longer in print? I don't know, but I highly recommend Ziolkowski's superbly readable critical study for ALL serious Hesse fans.If you've read at least two of his novels, and plan on reading more, than you MUST at least glance through a couple chapters of this book.

In it, Ziolkowski discusses Hesse's life and times, putting his work into its literary context.First and foremost, Hesse was a writer of fiction, and the craftmanship of Hesse's writing style is prevelant.In addition to relevant biographical information, there are discussions on "Magical Thinking", "Timelessness", "Humor", and "Triadic Rhythm", which are all important aspects of structure and theme to be found in all of Hesse's work.The focus here is on the six major novels, in chronological order: Demian, Siddhartha, Steppenwolf, Narcissus & Goldmund, Journey to the East, and The Glass Bead Game.Each is given its own chapter and lengthy analysis.One of the important discoveries Ziolkowski makes is that the spiritual progress of the protagonist in each novel continues where he left off in the successive novel (i.e. Demian develops into Siddhartha into the Steppenwolf into both Narcissus & Goldmund, into the realm of Castalia in The Glass Bead Game).This is a simplification, but the concept is fascinating once you've read all the novels, and can appreciate what Ziolkowski reveals about Hesse, a master artist.

There's a lot here, especially for a cheap, out-of-print paperback with a trippy 1960's black & yellow cover full of Hesse heads!Well worth having delivered to your doorstep, along with more of Hesse's magical works.Happy journeys (to the East)! ... Read more