Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I discovered Hermann Hesse when I was in my early twenties.  It is a wonderful time of life, one where we  have the opportunity to find our feet as adults, to experience and test new ideas and new sensations, and it is an age Hermann Hesse seems to speak to perfectly.  I have fond memories of The Glass Bead Game and Narziss and Goldmund; however, Siddhartha is one of Hesse's works that escaped my attention at that time.

Siddhartha tells the tale of the eponymous character who lives in India at the same time Gautama Buddha was seeking enlightenment.  Siddhartha knows he must leave his father's house in order to find himself and the meaning of life.  Accompanied by his friend and fellow seeker Govinda, he first takes the path of an ascetic Samana and through physical rigour learns to discipline his mind and body.  On their journey they encounter the newly-enlightened Buddha and hear his sermons.  Govinda decides to follow the Buddha, but Siddhartha says the Buddha's philosophy is not for him and that he must find his own path.  The two friends part company.  Not long afterwards, Siddhartha has his own awakening: instead of detaching himself from life he decides that it must be embraced and lived to the full.  The second half of the book describes the consequences of Siddhartha's decision.

Siddhartha is a profound little book (about 150 pages).  Hesse has managed to set the problem of a young man leaving home to find wisdom and independence in a remarkably succinct fashion.  The narration is told from an omniscient third-person point of view, but we are given insight into the characters through their thoughts, words and actions.  The plot is built up by a series of interlinked vignettes in which the action rises and falls repeatedly, and in which new insights into the human condition (and the associated philosophical and moral problems) are introduced.

As this book deals not only with adolescence but with middle- and old age, it can be instructive to all who are seeking clarity about what is what, not just to youngsters finding their way in the world.

For me, reading Hesse on this occasion was like meeting an old friend who has never changed and is all the more lovable for it.  Highly recommended.