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ishasih 's review for:
The Sorrows of Young Werther and Selected Writings
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
cannot deny that while reading it, this novel (which is Goethe's first) felt like an important book. the ardent romanticism of a youth who has only recently crossed the thresholds of adolescence seemed strikingly familiar even after all these years. the blood, the vehemence, the angst, and the resignation – story is that many youths across europe committed suicide upon reading the book; and Napoleon himself was deeply smitten by this novel and carried a copy in his pockets when he went to battle in Egypt.
here's the thing: Wether is an impassioned novel, which explains perhaps the many reactions and legends that surround it, and i think it is well written and powerful. notwithstanding, i simply wasn't taken by it as i had expected myself to. perhaps the conditions were't ripe, for i read it under the hot summer sun in what now seems like a flurry, and might have in process missed out on something. even then, perhaps i found it difficult to reconcile with its apparently honest romantic leanings, and like Lotte, i myself said to Werther "be moderate! be moderate!" a few times while reading.
frankly, i do not want to dissuade anyone from reading the novel. it is short and it is also Goethe, for whom i have a deep admiration. but two words of caution: unrequited angst.
here's the thing: Wether is an impassioned novel, which explains perhaps the many reactions and legends that surround it, and i think it is well written and powerful. notwithstanding, i simply wasn't taken by it as i had expected myself to. perhaps the conditions were't ripe, for i read it under the hot summer sun in what now seems like a flurry, and might have in process missed out on something. even then, perhaps i found it difficult to reconcile with its apparently honest romantic leanings, and like Lotte, i myself said to Werther "be moderate! be moderate!" a few times while reading.
frankly, i do not want to dissuade anyone from reading the novel. it is short and it is also Goethe, for whom i have a deep admiration. but two words of caution: unrequited angst.