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Siddhartha tells the story of a man’s quest for self discovery. For the protagonist of the story, it is a lifelong and continuing journey. Summary Of The Book Siddhartha is a young man who lives in the same period as Gautama Buddha. He even shares his name with that spiritual leader. Siddhartha belongs to a highly respected Brahmin family in his village. The family has for generations been involved in performing religious rituals meticulously. Siddhartha however, is not interested in following his family’s traditional occupation. He is not satisfied by the mere rituals that his father and others seem to follow. He thinks spirituality involves more than mere rituals. He and his best friend Govinda leave home and join a group of Samana ascetics who live a life of self-denial. Siddhartha follows their lifestyle. He goes without food for days, cuts himself off from society, tries meditation. But, after a while, he tires of it as it does not answer his questions. Then he meets the Buddha. Siddhartha and Govinda stay with him for a while. Though he is drawn to the Buddha’s teachings, Siddhartha feels that total detachment from the world as preached by Gautama Buddha will not provide him the contentment he seeks. While Govinda decides to stay back and become one of Buddha’s disciples, Siddhartha continues his journey. He meets a lovely woman named Kamala and falls in love with her. He acquires wealth for her sake and spends many years in her company, enjoying all the worldly pleasures. When he reaches mid-life, he realizes that the years he spent with Kamala has also not succeeded in providing him with satisfaction in life. He suddenly decides to leave everything and continue his journey to find life’s deeper meaning. He meets a ferryman and becomes his friend. The ferryman, Vasudeva, lives a very simple life, but seems completely content. Vasudeva tells him to listen to the river and learn from it as he has done. So, Siddartha also becomes a ferryman and helps Vasudeva. He too watches the river and listens to it. He spends several years doing this and finally realizes what the river has to teach. So, when life brings him sadness and heartbreak, he is able to use the river’s lessons to tackle them. His life’s quest is fulfilled and he stays by the river, content with his life. Siddhartha is one of the most popular books on Eastern philosophy in the west. About Hermann Hesse Hermann Hesse was a Swiss writer of German descent. Steppenwolf, Narcissus And Goldmund, Peter Camenzind, and The Glass Bead Game are some of his other famous books. Hermann Hesse was born in Germany, to a Christian Missionary family. His literary leanings were encouraged by his grandfather whose vast library opened up the world to a young boy. Hermann Hesse, after finishing his school studies, worked as an apprentice to a watchmaker and in bookshops. His first published works were collections of prose and poetry, but they were not successful. His first successful work was the novel Peter Camenzind. After this he began writing regularly. His works had influences of Buddhism, Schopenhauer, and theosophy.