A review by mpho3
Elective Affinities by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

3.0

Elective Affinities is a bit of slog (hard to tell whether that's because of the translation from German language or the inscrutableness of turn-of-the-19th-century German aristocracy), but it's also not without certain charms. If it weren't for Ottilie's observations as scattered throughout, I wouldn't have been able to finish it; she's a highly entertaining character amidst a cast of bores.

Goethe has chosen pessimistic themes such as tragedy, death, and fatalism to illustrate an optimistic one, that of love. Well, the scientific or chemical attraction of love and how the laws of man regarding love and marriage are no match for laws of nature for the latter requires a conformity that may not be natural at all.

I can't imagine to whom I would ever recommend this, but I'm glad I read it. 3.5 stars