Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Translation by Joachim Neugroschel

Date of Publication: 1922

Number of Pages: 132

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

Synopsis: “Set in India, Siddhartha is the story of a young Brahmin’s search for ultimate reality after meeting with the Buddha. His quest takes him from a life of decadence to asceticism, through 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.” ~Blurb from back cover

Review: Like many people, I first read Siddhartha in high school as a part of my study of Buddhism and Hinduism. It wasn’t until this second reading that the book made an impression on me. Siddhartha is a young man who spends his life looking for the way to Nirvana. He begins in the forest, living a life of a samana, a wandering ascetic, begging for food and spending his days in meditation. His eventual meeting with the Buddha has an unexpected effect on him: he realizes that teachers cannot really teach him anything. Therefore, it is up to him to find his own way to salvation.

The book is short, and is made up of two parts, before the Buddha, and after the Buddha. Each chapter has a very particular meaning, and the plot is very well contained within. This adds to the story and gives it the feeling of a sacred text. Although most of the minor characters are not well-developed, it is very clear that their very existence is only to help Siddhartha on his journey. Otherwise, they are not important. Each character has something to give Siddhartha, and each adds to his understanding of the world and of himself.

This book will appeal to anyone interested in Eastern religions and philosophies, or to anyone who is themselves a spiritual pilgrim. It is very similar to Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist in its plot and feeling. It’s also easy for even a reader who is not familiar with religious doctrines or language – Hesse does a beautiful job of making the spiritual and philosophical content very clear and easy to understand. However, this does not mean that it has been “dumbed down” in any way. In fact, the writing is intelligent and evocative, and the story is wholly engrossing.

Rating: 9/10

Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder

Date of Publication: 1994

Synopsis: “This long, dense novel, a bestseller in the author’s native Norway, offers a summary history of philosophy embedded in a philosophical mystery disguised as a children’s book. Sophie Amundsen is about to turn 15 when she receives a letter from one Alberto Knox, a philosopher who undertakes to educate her in his craft. Sections in which we read the text of Knox’s lessons to Sophie about the pre-Socratics, Plato and St. Augustine alternate with those in which we find out about Sophie’s life with her well-meaning mother. Soon, though, Sophie begins receiving other, stranger missives addressed to one Hilde Moller Knag from her absent father, Albert. As Alberto Knox’s lessons approach this century, he and Sophie come to suspect that they are merely characters in a novel written by Albert for his daughter. Teacher and pupil hatch a plot to understand and possibly escape from their situation; and from there, matters get only weirder.” -Publishers Weekly

Review: This book was recommended reading by my 12th grade Humanities teacher, who asked the entire class to read it the summer before school started. I duly purchased it, but couldn’t get past the long section on Plato, and put it aside for possible future reading. I picked it up again about two years later, and for some reason, forced myself through the long, sometimes tedious lectures that Alberto gives Sophie and found an extremely compelling story underneath. I have since read it two more times, and each time I find myself more and more fascinated by the philosophical material and find myself now enjoying the stories of the great philosophers and thinkers in history. Although some may feel that this book is dry and dense, it really speaks to me, and should appeal to anyone who is interested in history, philosophy, or has ever asked themselves the questions, “Who am I?” and “Why is the world the way it is?”

Rating: 8.5/10