What one reviewer at amazon said about Siddhartha:
I read this book in my junior year of college. I thought it was profound. It was one of my favorite books. I'm glad I re-read it now that I am 51-years-old. It is not one of my favorite books anymore.
Siddhartha is fine literature and deeply insightful. It traces the life of an intelligent, sensitive young man of Eastern (Buddhist?) spirituality; from his youthful studies with the masters, through a period of self-conscious asceticism and self-rejection, through a period of self-indulgence and sensuality, ultimately to self-knowledge and peace as he becomes a ferryman living humbly in a small hut beside a river which teaches him many of the ultimate truths of life.
Siddhartha has a shortcoming that I did not see when I was young but I see now. This book is always and only about the self. Even when he finds salvation - Siddhartha finds it in himself. The path towards salvation is only internal - coming from self-denial, self-examination, self-discipline, self, self, self... Where compassion, charity, humility, and love exist, they exist as by-products of self-knowledge.
There are a great many truths in Siddhartha. Young people who are seeking should read this book. Siddhartha looked into the river and saw that life does not change. I suggest that things do change - and they change as a result of what we do. Like the young Siddhartha, the young reader of this book should pause for a while, then grow and move on. There are bigger things outside the self. You will find that Robert Frost spoke more truly when he said "[you] have promises to keep."
I am currently reading this profound story. The depth that it has in the first thirty pages is enough to make anybody take a serious look at themselves and ask the deepest questions. While I read, I begin to see Siddartha as the embodiment of humanity; the soul-seeker and problem solver that people, from the beginning of humanity to the present, have always been. He is no merely Siddhartha the "Self", but rather Siddhartha the "Everyone". As I have stated, I am still in the midst of this tale. Indeed, he has just confronted the Buddah in his usual questioning way and has moved on, seeking the one true path for himself. My oppinion is, therefore, a bit premature. So, to maintain a level of clearity, the book is wonderful so far, and I see no reason to beleive that it will end in any other way.
Siddhartha is an excellent book and should be read by all. It depicts the search for true meaning, a search which must begin introvertly. Yes, it puts great emphasis on the "Self" but one must understand that it is the "Self" that we must live with our whole lives. I dont beleive that as he looked at the river, he beleived that life doesnt change, but he did realize that the only constant thing in this world is himself, for he must become his own best freind. Think about it, you live together (with yourself) and you die together. Yes life does change, and Siddhartha understood that, but as he came to terms with himself, then he truly knew he was at peace. Hence attaining Nirvana.
Download Siddhartha from Project Gutenberg
or find a hard copy