1.) I,Claudius by Robert Graves
2.) Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
3.)The King Must Die by Mary Renault
4.) As a Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg
2007-05-30 07:53:33 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (FYI: 2 n's in Hermann)
excerpt:
In the shade of a banyan tree, a grizzled ferryman sits listening to the river. Some say he's a sage. He was once a wandering shramana and, briefly, like thousands of others, he followed Gotama the Buddha, enraptured by his sermons. But this man, Siddhartha, was not a follower of any but his own soul. Born the son of a Brahmin, Siddhartha was blessed in appearance, intelligence, and charisma. In order to find meaning in life, he discarded his promising future for the life of a wandering ascetic. Still, true happiness evaded him. Then a life of pleasure and titillation merely eroded away his spiritual gains until he was just like all the other "child people," dragged around by his desires. Like Hermann Hesse's other creations of struggling young men, Siddhartha has a good dose of European angst and stubborn individualism. His final epiphany challenges both the Buddhist and the Hindu ideals of enlightenment. Neither a practitioner nor a devotee, neither meditating nor reciting, Siddhartha comes to blend in with the world, resonating with the rhythms of nature, bending the reader's ear down to hear answers from the river.
2007-05-30 08:01:07 · answer #1 · answered by Beach Saint 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've read both The King Must Die and Siddhartha and love them both. The King Must Die is a version of the story of Theseus and the Minotaur and Siddhartha is about the time of the Buddha.
If you really don't feel like reading, I would go with Siddhartha because it is the shortest. But I would really suggest you give a couple of them a try. You might really like them all.
2007-05-30 08:33:04 · answer #2 · answered by eternal_goof 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
2007-05-30 07:56:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
2.) Siddhartha by Herman Hesse - a classic, spiritual journey and coming of age saga
2007-05-30 07:58:54 · answer #4 · answered by Bonniebear 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Siddhartha. It's the shortest and the easiest read. It's interesting and it's one of my favorite books.
2007-05-30 07:56:33 · answer #5 · answered by Cindy H 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've never read any of them but I have heard that Siddhartha is very good.
2007-05-30 11:52:52 · answer #6 · answered by BluhBluh 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
'I,Claudius' by Robert Graves - it and the companion volume, 'Claudius The God', are both excellent.
2007-05-30 08:10:38 · answer #7 · answered by irish1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first, at least you'll get a laugh
2007-05-30 07:57:14 · answer #8 · answered by rosie recipe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when they all fell dead by davis duhaust
2007-05-30 07:56:47 · answer #9 · answered by ZOMBIEAC 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋