Siddhartha
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesseby Hermann Hesse
Shares rank 23 of 122 novels by recommenders
People recommend it as a beautiful spiritual novel that reads differently at each age. One critic calls the Macmillan Collectors' Library edition a poor translation.
People recommend it as a beautiful spiritual novel that reads differently at each age. One critic calls the Macmillan Collectors' Library edition a poor translation.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Meaning changes with reader's age
“It might have had a bigger impact on younger me. Older me feels like I could have written it.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “it's a good book that younger me might have found more profound”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” Beautiful, phenomenal writing
“Sidhartha was beautiful so I wanted to try Glass Bead Game”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “Hesse's books are phenomenal.”
Comment from 5 Jun 2026 in “Siddhartha (1922): Competence Porn – before it was cool” Leads to other Hesse books
“Sidhartha was beautiful so I wanted to try Glass Bead Game”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “I preferred Demian & Siddharta far over Glass Bead game”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Siddharthaby Hermann HesseThis page | 8 | 1 | 89% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the more mundane-looking one from Pelican Classics is an excellent one, paralleling the original German”
“the (very pretty) edition by Macmillan Collectors' Library is a very poor translation”
“Hesse's books are phenomenal.”
“Sidhartha was beautiful so I wanted to try Glass Bead Game”
“I preferred Demian & Siddharta far over Glass Bead game”
“it's a good book that younger me might have found more profound”
“It might have had a bigger impact on younger me. Older me feels like I could have written it.”
“Helped me understand that a perfect life is a collection of ups and downs and that one must accept it all.”
“you should probably read Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.