2026 #37 Siddhartha (Hesse)

 

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of my favorite teachers in high school insisted that I read this and The Little Prince. I managed to read the latter (and loved it), but never got around to Siddhartha until now, which is bizarre since I generally enjoy the Hesse works I've read. It is very much in the same vein as The Little Prince, so I can see why he recommended them together, but I think I got much more from this book reading it now (as I approach half a century on the planet), than I might have in high school. As I've been exposed to Buddhism through meditation, there were no really big surprises, but the blending of Eastern and Western theologies/references certainly piqued my interest. There are parallels between Gotama and Jesus (as he is described in various texts): "This is a holy man! His ideas may be strange, his words may sound foolish, but his glance and his hand, his skin and his hair, all radiate a purity, peace, serenity, gentleness and saintliness which I have never seen in any man..." (120). The teachings about love that Siddhartha absorbs run in parallel with Christian ideas of agape and caritas, although he certainly engages with eros too. The Campbellian Hero's Journey is obvious, but I loved that the ferryman was such a central and wise figure, as opposed to a grim Charon ferrying souls across the river Styx. Siddhartha's changing relationship to the self is instructive, and it is hard not to close the last page without feeling, perhaps, a bit more equanimity and peace in the knowing of suffering (not the suffering itself) and its role in shaping our selves.

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2026 Reading Goals 37/60

TYPTBR 18/18 - DONE!

2026 #36 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories (Gilman)

 

The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I remember reading "The Yellow Wallpaper" in high school, and now I'm wondering why on earth they let me read it in HIGH SCHOOL? I somehow had forgotten how dark it is OR the darkness registers with me in a more meaningful way now that I'm an adult. What a brilliant piece though for its use of metaphor and "horror" of the psyche. The other stories in the collection are lighter, albeit no less feminist. I particularly enjoyed Mrs. Morrison in "Three Thanksgivings" as she refuses to let either her children or the appropriately named "Mr. Butts" commandeer her life. "The Cottagette" didn't really resonate with me, but I am mindful in considering when Gilman was writing (this particular story was first published in 1910). "Turned" has a narrative that for 1911, when it was first published, would have have been very bold. Gerta is taken advantage of in the worst way but finds perhaps an unlikely ally (I venture that while this narrative has become rather common, Gilman may have been one of the first to offer it in this way). "Making a Change" is another one that is very ahead of its time (again published in 1911), and I love the mild humor in which Gilman offers it. Here, an enterprising spirit takes on new meaning. "If I were a man" tiptoes into speculative fiction and doesn't rest in the clichés that it might. The final offering, "Mr. Peebles' Heart" was one of the most intriguing, featuring a female doctor who plays a rather significant role in saving her sister's marriage, or at least rescuing it from the doldrums of convention.

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2026 Reading Goals 36/60

TYPTBR 16/18

2026 #35 The Paris Express (Donoghue)

 

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An enjoyable read! It felt a bit slow for me in the beginning, and if you don't know the historical event upon which it is based, it does give you a false sense of anticipation. Donoghue does a really great job of portraying class stratification through the different cars on the train (although this felt a bit too transparent at times). Most of the characters are vivid and multi-dimensional and there's enough of a "plot" to keep things moving (along with the train).

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2026 Reading Goals 35/60