This is one of those books you need to return to, because it speaks in different voices at different times. The story of Siddharta's life and road to enlightenment deserves to be heard several times, and, as his life goes through several stages, so I have learned different things every time.
It is a beautiful parable about self discovery and growth, about Oneness and the ultimate love. It can be read as a religious story or just as a spiritual personal one.
This time, I have re read it because I have finally been close to Buddhism, Buddhist temples and people and lands.. and wanted to understand a little bit better their view of the world. If this is the best approach, being written by a german, is debatable. But it has worked for me: it has given me a feeling of what Buddhism means, and what the people of that faith seek to find.
It has, most importantly, given me peace and spoken directly to some of my most burning questions.
What else could you want from a story?