Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is overrated

 Semester 2 Suburban Takes!

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is overrated 

Even before I read the first page of this book, I was highly skeptical. A German Christian missionary journeys to India, and in the span of 3 years feels so influenced and enlightened as to write the next great European novel? No way was this going to be any good. Unfortunately for me, required class reading is, in fact, required, and I had no choice but to finished the novel. Upon finishing, I couldn’t shake the idea that Siddhartha learned nothing across all 4 parts. At the end, he repeats the idea that true wisdom cannot be taught only experienced, which is basically the conclusion he reached at the end of part 1! The entire river metaphor just felt like a lesson to teach him that suffering happens to everyone, which I feel like should surely be common sense (maybe they didn’t fight any wars in the 6th century?). So really, between all the making love, gambling, being poor, then being rich-ish, and being poor again, nearly dying, reviving, becoming a father, and becoming a ferryman, what exactly did Siddhartha learn to make him enlightened? Well, the main realization he had at the end what he is ends up the same as his father felt when Siddhartha left. The idea that the river teaches him the “unity of suffering in life” feels similar to generational trauma to me. Now, the words “generational trauma” are thrown around relatively lightly, named as the cause for issues ranging from simple hotheadedness to severe substance abuse. “Breaking the cycle” in the modern world now looks a lot different than staring at a river for hours on end. Instead, we swap wisdom for extensive therapy and self-care practices. But after reading Siddhartha, I guess I  am significantly more inclined to head to lake Eerie and spend a while watching the water.

Now this might just be a take that I cannot 100% agree or disagree with. Was this my favorite book ever? No, not by a long shot. Was it a totally pointless 150 pages? Also, not quite. So, whether Siddhartha is overrated or not is still up for debate in my eyes.