Nobel prize-winning author Hermann Hesse imagined life in India during the lifetime of the Buddha to create this memorable tale about a restless seeker of enlightenment. First published in 1922, Siddhartha employs powerful symbolism to impart its timeless teachings.
The story concerns a young Brahman who quits his comfortable home to join a roving group of holy men in striving to empty their hearts of passion and desire through self-denial and meditation. Discouraged by his failure to find Nirvana after three years of the strictest asceticism, the young seeker turns to the fleshly world, where he becomes a wealthy merchant and partakes of sensual pleasures with a sophisticated courtesan. Years of materialistic self-indulgence numb Siddhartha's soul, but at his moment of greatest despondency, he begins to experience his long-sought spiritual awakening. True enlightenment, he realizes, cannot be received from the lessons of others; it must be attained through individual struggle.
This handy dual-language edition -- with its excellent line-for-line English translation on pages facing the original German text -- offers students an outstanding opportunity to hone their German-language skills while discovering a literary classic.