siddhartha

[Anonymous No.18145131]

why does it get so much hate here?

[Anonymous No.18145250]

>>18145131
For me personally the spiritual self discovery crap maybe was original back then but after the counter culture and the birth of the (consumerist) quest for spiritual self discovery at a individual level this book now seems a precursor.

[Anonymous No.18145267]

>>18145131
Its poo in the loo vibes

[Anonymous No.18145284]

I'm a big fan of Hesse. But his style is quite sentimental and generally faggy

[Anonymous No.18145287]

uh I don't think it really does except from people that want to quip 'babys first bildungsroman' or the people that have read numerous Hesse and prefer other works

[Anonymous No.18146518]

>>18145250
>the birth of the (consumerist) quest for spiritual self discovery at a individual level
please elaborate

[Anonymous No.18146624]

>>18145131
I hardly ever see it mentioned here at all.

[Anonymous No.18146646]

[Anonymous No.18146752]

>>18145131
It doesn't? At least I haven't seen it. If it does it's probably because it's for younger people and it doesn't give any pseud points

[Anonymous No.18146763]

>>18145131
i read it after somebody here told me it was their favorite book and it changed their life. while it didn't change my life, i do think hesse is a good author and its worth your time

[Anonymous No.18146767]

It’s not hate, I think it’s just seen as the literary equivalent of your first beer

[Anonymous No.18146781]

>>18145131
Its inferior to Narcissus and Goldmund and Glass Bead Game. But it is a good entry point to Hesse

[Anonymous No.18146783]

>>18145131
Haven't read it in a while but I remember the whole thing feeling very airy in a really positive way. It felt very light and spacious, which is how I feel meditating. I imagine this is what Hesse was going for.

[Anonymous No.18146873]

10 years ago it was loved by /lit. Judging from these comments this is no longer the case, and people are indifferent or allergic to its status as a canonical work for the counter-culture movement. In the meantime we’ve had the Evolas, Guenons, Petersons and neo-catholicists show us the true way of resentment.

[Anonymous No.18146914]

It's naïve as fuck.

[Anonymous No.18146920]

>>18145131
I love Siddharta. However, Hesse also wrote Narcissus and Goldmund which blows this book out of the water.

[Anonymous No.18146937]

>>18145131
Kamala was a prostitute

[Anonymous No.18146959]

The wisdom revelation at the end by the protagonist was underwhelming, almost pathetic. Forgot what it was, but I remember some trite about "everything having a bad and good side".
Wouldn't have been as bad without the other character, a lifelong monk who studied under the Buddha himself, somehow being enlightened by it.
Finished the book with the impression the author wanted to elevate his own banal philosophy to the level of Buddhism.
For the sake of the story, the "profoundly revelating teaching" shouldn't have been mentioned, and left the story to end there.

[Anonymous No.18146966]

Essential /lit/core circa 2013.

I think much of Hesse’s writing is about escaping the illusory trappings of life: enlightenment, wealth, sexual prowess, even spiritual enlightenment. True enlightenment came from the ferryman who was just a chill ass dude.
The idea of finding peace in a life of contentment, living out your existence in ignominy, is completely lost on 2021’s I-need-to-prove-I-matter-isms. Ah well, hopefully some still read it and find value in Hesse’s semi poetic writing style, the book has a great flow and reads in an afternoon.

[Anonymous No.18147141]

>>18145131
Like floating down a river on a pleasant day. Probably Buddhists don't like it dabbing on them.

[Anonymous No.18147714]

>>18146920
he translated it, he didn't write it

[Anonymous No.18147744]

>>18145131
I guess it works as an introduction, but i found it fairly superficial myself and i certainly am not an expert. Litterary wise it was just dull.

[Anonymous No.18147795]

I saw 3 copies of this book at the used bookstore the other day. I figured it must be garbage if 3 people decided to get rid of it.

[Anonymous No.18147819]

>>18146518
Look at the self help section in a book shop lmao, people desperate for meaning or direction is an industry grifters happily rape

[Anonymous No.18147945]

>>18146781
This. I read it after I read most of his other major works and found it a bit underwhelming.

[Anonymous No.18148314]

>>18146518
Modern spiritualism where the aspirant instead of being born into a local congragation goes out to the buffet of different religions/preachers and tries to discover there "true inner self."

After collective political action failed in the 60s to bring a new utopia and the horrors of Soviet Russia surfaced, skepticism of politics/collective action marked the next generation.

Some members of the counter culture still intent on disconnecting from the capitalist system turned towards anti materialism/spiritualism to escape. Plus the idea of the individual has been growing for a while so now people feel more confident in making these kind of choices/movements for themselves.


The counter culture had brought ideas (to the mainstream, I know people had seen this shit before) from Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism etc to America/Europe. Throw in a reawakened interest in astrology and pagan folk lore crap and you got a lot narratives floating around.

These individuals who are trying to escape capitalist ideology have a whole range of different beliefs to sample and when they tier of there current religion they can just move onto the next. Obviously this all costs money and new age religious make a dam fine buck, capitalism monetizes everything.

The reason I brought this up with Hesse is of the books I've read by him this seems to be his theme (I checked on Wikipedia and not all his works are like this so I don't want to simplify him.) I personally can't stand this personal journey/seeking enlightenment wank anymore, it's a very western and modern way of interpreting these religions. Hesse might of not approved of what's happened either but his ideas are now the ideas of a whole generation of seekers looking for there own "personal" relationship with God. Rilke is another offender, nothing against the great poet but times are different now and these great spiritual quests now seem pretty self-centred. Now everyone reads Rilke and believes he's talking to them.

Rilke and Rumi are the most popular foreign poets in America for a reason.

[Anonymous No.18148393]

>>18147945
This is how I felt about the second half of Demian as well, having read it after Hesse's more developed books

[Anonymous No.18148406]

>>18145131
/lit/ards are 17 year old incels with a 101 IQ and think they're much smarter than they are