Questioning Herman.

I just finished reading Siddhartha. In the end I found myself experiencing an unexpectedly negative reaction to it, which is odd since the philosophy expounded therein largely accords with my own at the moment (albeit in a more coherent and complete form, and with a greater level of certainty than I can ever manage.)

I think I might have answered my own question. I am innately suspicious of just about anything which agrees with me.

There are also, however, at least three more reasons:

1. It’s a little unsettling to read words which propound the view that nothing of real importance in the grander scheme of things can be learned by reading words.

2. My writer’s instinct was ruffled by a couple of glaring errors in the plot logic, although I decided that the objection was irrelevant in the grander scheme of things.

3. I was left with a nagging suspicion that the person who recommended it did so in order to tell me something I probably don’t want to hear.