Siddhartha an Indian Tale by Hermann Hesse...

A major preoccupation of Hesse in writing Siddhartha was to cure his 'sickness with life' (Lebenskrankheit) by immersing himself in Eastern philosophy .
The second half of the book took very long time to write because Hesse "had not yet experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspired". In order to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual semi-recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures.

This book, Hesse's ninth novel, was written in German, in a simple yet powerful and lyrical style. It was first published in 1922, after Hesse had spent some time in India in the 1910s. It was published in the U.S. in 1951 and became influential during the 1960s. Hesse dedicated Siddhartha to Romain Rolland, "my dear friend".

Our edition is in hardcover (Black and White, 6 x 9 in or 229 x 152 mm Case Laminate on Creme, 138 pages, large font


• Our book is translated by Anke Dreher, Amy Coulter, Stefan Langer and Semyon Chaichenets. It is the best translation in our humble opinion as several readers had complained about the Penguin translation especially being as below par.

• This short list will show some of the other translations that are available.

In recent years several American publishers have commissioned new translations of the novel, which had previously been impossible because of copyright restrictions. In addition to these newer translations, Hilda Rosner's original 1951 translation is still being sold in a number of reprint editions put out by various publishers. The newest translations include:

Modern Library, a translation by Susan Bernofsky, foreword by Tom Robbins, translator's preface (2006).

Penguin, a translation by Joachim Neugroschel, introduction by Ralph Freedman, translator's note (2002).

Barnes & Noble, a translation by Rika Lesser, introduction by Robert A. Thurman (2007).

Shambhala Classics, a translation by Sherab Chodzin Kohn, introduction by Paul W. Morris, translator's preface (1998).

For volume purchases please read our terms carefully and order here.