Siddhartha

By: Hermann Hesse

Narrated by: Harish Bhimani

Length: 4 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

Hermann Hesse’s classic novel Siddhartha, takes place in ancient India around the time of the Buddha (6th century BC). Siddhartha and his companion Govinda set out in search of enlightenment. Siddhartha goes through a series of changes and realizations as he attempts to achieve this goal. Siddhartha joins the ascetics, visits Gotama, embraces his earthly desires, and finally communes with nature, all in an attempt to attain Nirvana. The novel shows how the path to enlightenment cannot be conferred to another person because it is different for everyone and will likely never be achieved simply by listening to or obeying an enlightened one. Words and teachings may describe the truth but are not the Truth itself; being concepts, they trap you, since enlightenment means release from concepts.

Public Domain (P)2008 Alpha DVD LLC

Sounds rushed

I wanted to listen to Siddharta, because I remember reading it many years ago with great joy. Hermann Hesse being one of the great names that one simply must read or hear this was sure to be a winner. But the narrator does not seem to be well enough suited to the text. I do really like Harish Bhimani's accent, yet, overall I can't seem to keep up with the meaning of each sentence. Before I have fully absorbed it, the narrator has already finished the next sentence. Herman Hesse writes with such simplicity that each phrase needs time to shine in its own meaning. The sheer speed of the narration does not give the listener much time for absorbing the sentence, and the narration suffers from it.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

less than

This was less than I hoped it would be. I thought that the reader was flat, this could simply be my interpretation of him trying to bring a tone of abiding respect to the subject at hand.
It would be a hard job to give life to a book that is an internal reflection. Still, I found the reader made it a tad dreary. I liked the print version of the book very much, this rendition left it without color.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Beautiful and wise beyond words.

Exceptional narrator! I loved it.
It is an interesting addition with some background traditional Indian music.
I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I have listened again and again

Quite simply this is a great book and a great telling. The message and its ethos are profound and told simply.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Beautiful wisdom

It's nice that every time I get back to this book I get something new and useful

Hesse is a genius

Hesse synthesizes the best of Eastern teaching in a moving and intimate story of the path of life and realization.

Harish Bhimani brings the text alive

Where does Siddhartha rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is an important book when thinking about the meaning of life. Seeing Siddhartha's journey through life and its different phases, and reflecting on one's own life, make listening to the audiobook a moving experience.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Siddhartha?

The profundity of statements such as "soft is stronger than hard. Water is stronger than rock."

What does Harish Bhimani bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

He has a lovely warm voice.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Without giving too much away, the second meeting of Siddhartha and Kamala was very moving.

Any additional comments?

It took a little time to get into it, but it was well worth it. You have to get used to the cadence of the writing, and the style is at times slightly repetitive. But this is all done for a good reason related to the key themes of the book. The ideas in this book will resonate with you. I will be listening to this again in the future.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Life user manual.

My favourite book. Have read dozens of times and now listened to it many times. It never gets old, always seems to have relevance to whatevers going on in ones life. A beautiful summation of the principal of universal oneness,.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Disappointed

Having recently got into Buddhism, I was looking forward to listening to this. But it was rather dull and the narration was poor.

Great Book

I hope you like it as much me. Highly recommend and please visit India if you have the chance.

Everything and All You Need.

Ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohm ohmm ohmmm ohmmmm ohmmmmm ohmmmmmm ohmmmmmmm...........

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

A profound book...for people who don't like books

I came here following a post on reddit starting
"Just finished Siddartha...blew my mind"

I am still bewildered as to how they wrote this without the word "lol" afterwards

This book consists of a boy experiencing no inner turmoil or interesting thoughts whilst trying out a few different life experiences (religious man, merchant, ferryman).
After each stilted life-transition, he then proceeds to explain to the reader a series of musings about life which had no relation to his experience; but have clearly just been shoehorned in because Hesse was trying to set the world record for "Most different ways to have your protagonist show how wise he is"

Here are a few of the methods by which achieves enlightenment: Almost meeting Buddha, almost sleeping with a stranger he meets, looking at a river, looking at the forest, looking at some stones, letting his estranged son run away.

Like bland characters with the charisma of a Religious Studies text book?
Like a story which only lasts for the equivalent of 150 pages and still feels like the author was struggling to meet the word count?
Do you like the charcters/author to directly explain the philosophical argument to you, rather than explore it thoroughly via a well thought-out narrative?
Then this is the book for you, my friend

1 of 6 people found this review helpful