This is one of those novels that despite is length (only 122 pages) demands multiple reads in order to gather all you can from it.
For the record I am about as far from a neo-hippy, be and let be, Buddhist, vegetarian, numb-nut as you can get. Yet, I connected with numerous themes contained herein. I may not believe in a "God" with a capital G but I do have a tendency to believe in fate. I believe in education but I don't believe in teachers. I believe that life is best lived rather than watched.
Its many of these themes that I found within Siddhartha and that would best be learned by so many today. We would all be better off if more people paid less attention to their small problems and understood that all aspects of life--pain, suffering, happiness, love, loss, loneliness, passion, anger, etc., etc., are all part of the human experience, all have their worth and none can be avoided. Embrace them all and that life has to offer...
Cause unlike many Eastern teachings, chances are, you've only got one go around at it...
All that being said, the book itself is eminently readable despite its translation from German and significant incorporation of Indian themes and language. Its structure is also plain and accessible as it merely follows the life of the protagonist from his youth as he leaves his parents home, through adulthood and finally coming round full circle as he watches his own son leave home. And there's the rub. One cannot fully understand or comprehend the human experience until one has gone through the entirety of human experience--and one cannot pass the wisdom gained from such with words alone, no matter how great the teacher. One has to go out and live life in order to understand it...
By all means, sit down with a couple good cups of tea (not coffee) and engross yourself...you will not be worse off for it...
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