The Sorrows of Young Werther- Goethe

Posted by Ray Schaufeld on Tue, 25 Nov 2014

The titles a bit dated; the story's timeless. Werther is a young man with an admin job who paints for a hobby. He's upperclass but not a twit,he cares about the local peasants and hangs out with them in friendly way as well as hanging out with the local snobs who snub him hurtfully when they happen to be posher than him, and he loves nature. Obsession is the problem, he falls uncontrollably in love with the attractive Lotte who is the fiance of another man.

I have not yet finished reading this, admittedly in translation, and Werther is spiralling down. It's good storytelling and I care about him.

Comments

Submitted by celticman on

taking a step back in time elsie, I like that. I always find it really difficult to continue with books that have as their heroes some upper class dolt. But I suppose that's the whole of nineteenth century literature. 

 

Submitted by Ray Schaufeld on

Emotionally Werther could be from any class, from any era. It's also a very original book wink. Joking apart, it's not that long, I have nearly finished reading and I like it.

Submitted by Jonathan Ashleigh on

If you liked "The Sorrows of Young Werther": you should check out the parody which published recently called "The Sorrows of Young Mike." It is an interesting retelling that exposes parts of the original.