Siddhartha (Penguin Drop Caps): An Indian Tale - Hardcover

Hermann Hesse

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0143124331 ISBN 13: 9780143124337

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2013

Synopsis

H is for Hesse. A young Brahmin named Siddhartha searches for ultimate reality after meeting with the Buddha. His quest takes him from a life of decadence to asceticism, from the illusory joys of sensual love with a beautiful courtesan, and of wealth and fame, to the painful struggles with his son and the ultimate wisdom of renunciation. Integrating Eastern and Western spiritual traditions with psychoanalysis and philosophy, written with a deep and moving empathy for humanity, Herman Hesse s strangely simple Siddhartha is perhaps the most important and compelling moral allegory the troubled twentieth century ever produced.

About this title

Review

I had this one on my reading list for long but din't quite read it until recently and what an experience has it been. Its a short book, one can finish it in one sitting and would certainly get you hooked in the first 10 pages itself. Hermann Hesse's knowledge and perception of Hinduism is incredible. The main protagonist Siddhartha's story of self realization is conveyed in a very simple manner and yet its so impact full. The story makes one feel that there is certainly something wrong with the way we operate in our daily lives and there is more to us than just doing our chores in order to fulfill our sensory pleasures. For the spiritual, curious or for someone seeking a break from the regular genres, this is a MUST READ. --By siddharth srivastava on 16 May 2014

Indeed ,perserverance as well as deep plunge into the teachings of Buddha enabled Hesse to produce this gem of wisdom. Very deep. You have to read it again and again, specially the last chapter to grasp the very deepness of this book. Go buy it and read with utmost patience. --By Ankit Telang on 10 November 2015

There are few books that promises to take you to another new world. Hermann Hesse delivers exactly the same. The book is about Brahmin boy Siddhartha, who has his own theory of everything. The story twists and turns and then comes to still and ends well. It is a must read book. --By Yash on 2 April 2015

About the Author

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) spent World War I in Switzerland. After the war and a psychological crisis, he removed himself to the small town of Montagnola, where he created his best-known works. He received many important honors, including the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Joachim Neugroschel (1938 2011) translated numerous books from French, German, Italian, Russian, and Yiddish. The winner of three PEN translation awards and the French-American Foundation translation prize, he translated Thomas Mann s Death in Venice, E. T. A. Hoffman and Alexadre Dumas s Nutcracker and Mouse King, and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch s Venus in Furs for Penguin Classics. He also compiled several anthologies including Great Tales of Jewish Fantasy and the Occult, A Dybbuk and Other Tales of the Supernatural, and The Golem: A New Translation of the Classic Play and Selected Short Stories. Jessica Hische is a letterer, illustrator, typographer, and web designer. She currently serves on the Type Directors Club board of directors, has been named a Forbes Magazine "30 under 30" in art and design as well as an ADC Young Gun and one of Print Magazine s "New Visual Artists". She has designed for Wes Anderson, McSweeney's, Tiffany & Co, Penguin Books and many others. She resides primarily in San Francisco, occasionally in Brooklyn

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0143124331
• ISBN 13: 9780143124337
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224
• Illustrator: Jessica Hische