Siddhartha: An Indian Tale (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)

`Siddhartha' is one of those books that is both simple to read and yet powerful and profound at the same time. Following a young Brahmin's son as he tries to find his spiritual path in life, this book manages to weave a tale that is both captivating and enlightening. This book is so good I could read the first 30 pages alone and put the book down a happy man, the remainder is purely icing on the cake! Hesse manages to write in a deceptively simple style that belies the depth to the message he shows us and the skill behind his writing. He won the nobel prize for good reason. This may be a short book, but it is one that will stay with you long after you have read it and will bring you back to rediscover it's delights at regular intervals. Beautiful prose, beautiful message and highly recommended indeed.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

At the beginning of the novel, Hesse accurately describes the existential longing and the doubts of the main protagonist. You'd expect the rest to be a harrowing tale of effort and disappointment and, maybe, resignation. But no, it all evens out in the end. An alternative title: 'How I Became Yoda'