First of all this review is going to start in perhaps in an unusual and unexpected place; a good portion of the pleasure I derived from reading this book was due to the physical attributes of the book itself because this edition, from Shambhala, had a pleasing size and shape, and the quality of the (recycled) paper and print made the physical object of the book a very tactile and pleasing thing to hold in one's hands.

If you're still reading this review, I'm glad that you haven't written me off as some sensory obsessed lunatic, and I'm glad you're still with me. Now, to the book's content. This is the first Hesse novel I've read, and I have obviously read it in translation. I found the book an engaging enough read, and I felt reading the preface from the translator, Sherab Chodzin Kohn, and the Introduction from Paul W. Morris really added something to the book, and go some way to setting the context of the creation of this book and of some of the "imprecisions" it contains about India, and some aspects of the cultures the book engages with.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes, I did. Did this book convert me to Buddhism, or otherwise change my life? No, it did not as its conclusion (SPOILER IF YOU WISH TO AVOID IT!!) is basically that all you need is love, and I don't think that that central belief is the preserve of any single religion or philosophy.

So, by all means read this book. And in the words of the late, great, Dave Allen "Goodnight, thank you, and may your god go with you".