Reviews - The Sorrows Of Young Werther: Translated By R.D. Boylan; Edited By Nathen Haskell Dole

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2.14k reviews for:

The Sorrows Of Young Werther: Translated By R.D. Boylan; Edited By Nathen Haskell Dole

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

3.47 AVERAGE

elenavillan's review against another edition

2.0

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to enjoy this book very much. The main character makes for an incredibly annoying narrator, but worse than that, nothing about his behavior or manner of speaking felt believable to me. This may be a result of my own ignorance of the conventions of 18th-century literature, but the language was so flowery and overly dramatic that I found it impossible to relate to Werther even once. His constant hyperboles, overuse of exclamation points and over-the-top declarations of love didn't convey any actual feelings to me; if anything, I found them slightly funny because they almost read like satire of your typical self-absorbed teenager. And I've got nothing against angsty teenagers (I loved Catcher in the Rye)! It's just that 1) Werther is not supposed to be a teenager, but a grown man, and 2) even if he were a teenager, his attitude is so unbelievably melodramatic that other teenagers would surely bully him ruthlessly. And if Lotte were a real woman, I can guarantee she would've got rid of him way, way earlier in the story. No one deserves to put up with such a child.

marsko's review against another edition

4.0

Huff

_patkro_'s review against another edition

2.0

Werter jest psychicznie chory powinien się leczyć a nie

venicepe4ch's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

inliebehannah's review against another edition

5.0

it is very fruity?

benjimo's review against another edition

3.0

Werther, man, you had it bad. Someone should have come to Wahlheim to rescue you. You can't see the forest through the trees and you can't see all the possibilities life holds for you when you're hanging out in the town of a married woman whom you're in love and can never be with. Poor kid.

This book had some remarkably relevant quotes (for being first published in 1774). Some of my favorites:

“The human race is a monotonous thing. Most people work most of the time in order to live, and the little freedom they have left over frightens them so, that they will do anything to get rid of it. Oh, the regimentation of mankind!”

“[I]n this world no one easily understands another.”

“What I regret is that he often speaks of matters he has only heard or read about and always from the point of view that someone has presented to him.”