Thursday, October 15, 2009
THE SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER
Original title: Die Leiden des jungen Werthers
Author: Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Date: 1774; rev. ed. 1787
(Read in the 1st semester 2009.) I found it quite enjoyable and inspired; I do not seem to have much company in this appreciation, judging from some acquaintances' appraisals, and some celebrities' too. Anyway, apart from some formal imperfections which are now universally known (e.g. the omniscient narrator), this book is quite irreproachable and makes for a delightful reading, and is not in the least touching in an emotional sense (this is an asset, the way I see things). Of course this is a subjective assessment, from someone living in the 21st century, yadda yadda, it was not thus when it first came out, as is sadly notorious.
Author: Johann Wolfgang Goethe
Date: 1774; rev. ed. 1787
(Read in the 1st semester 2009.) I found it quite enjoyable and inspired; I do not seem to have much company in this appreciation, judging from some acquaintances' appraisals, and some celebrities' too. Anyway, apart from some formal imperfections which are now universally known (e.g. the omniscient narrator), this book is quite irreproachable and makes for a delightful reading, and is not in the least touching in an emotional sense (this is an asset, the way I see things). Of course this is a subjective assessment, from someone living in the 21st century, yadda yadda, it was not thus when it first came out, as is sadly notorious.
