Siddhartha, novel by Hermann Hesse based on the early life of Buddha, published in German in 1922. It was inspired by the author's visit to India before World War I.

The theme of the novel is the search for self-realization by a young , Siddhartha. Realizing the contradictions between reality and what he has been taught, he abandons his comfortable life to wander. His goal is to find the serenity that will enable him to defeat fear and to experience with equanimity the contrasts of life, including joy and sorrow, life and death. Asceticism, including fasting, does not prove satisfying, nor do wealth, sensuality, and the attentions of a lovely courtesan. Despairing of finding fulfillment, he goes to the river and there learns simply to listen. He discovers within himself a spirit of love and learns to accept human separateness. In the end, Siddhartha grasps the wholeness of life and achieves a state of bliss and highest wisdom.

Hermann Karl Hesse (German: 2 July 1877 - 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature.

This has to be one of my favorite books I have ever read! The prose and style of it is absolutely gorgeous, and its meaning and philosophy is something to truly cherish. I am a Christian with little knowledge of Buddhism, and I understand that the author himself was not Buddhist, but I still enjoyed the journey I was taken on through Siddhartha and entertaining all of his thoughts. - Olivia Deasy

Awesome book that depicts one's behaviour towards the outside world. The book helps understand the right and wrong and also makes us understand that without experience we may not be able to decide if something is wrong then why it is wrong. - Dharminder Kumar