A major work of German romanticism in a translation that is acknowledged as the definitive English language version. The Vintage Classics edition a...
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Dec 17, 2009
Eric
rated it: 
Thackeray wrote this very glib verse synopsis of the tale:
Werther had a love for Charlotte
Such as words could never utter;
Would you know how first he met her?
She was cutting bread and butter.
Charlotte was a married lady,
And a moral man was Werther,
And, for all the wealth of Indies,
Would do nothing for to hurt her.
So he sighed and pined and ogled,
And his passion boiled and bubbled,
Till he blew his silly More...
Werther had a love for Charlotte
Such as words could never utter;
Would you know how first he met her?
She was cutting bread and butter.
Charlotte was a married lady,
And a moral man was Werther,
And, for all the wealth of Indies,
Would do nothing for to hurt her.
So he sighed and pined and ogled,
And his passion boiled and bubbled,
Till he blew his silly More...
Dec 16, 2009
Clare
rated it: 
I picked this up with some trepidation, assuming that it would be full of stolid German angst and that I would give up after a couple of pages. However, it's a perfect psychological portrait! I loved it. Werther isn't an entirely sympathetic character (he has the odd Kevin the Teenager moment) but you are entirely drawn into his world and feel the same responses as him very keenly. It's only upon finishing that you realise how Goethe has managed to completely draw you into the concerns and b
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Dec 16, 2009
Renée
rated it: 
Most beautiful book I've ever read. Goethe's style and prose is incredible. I'm not sure how well it translates to English, having read it in Dutch and German, but I'm sure there are many competant translators out there. Anyone who's not read this is really, really missing out as it's of an unequalled beauty.
Jan 30, 2012
Hans
rated it:
This is s dangerous book. For anyone who has suffered from unrequited love that burns like a fever will be able to relate uncannily well with this book. Unfortunately the ending is such that it inspired many people to use it like a template for their own lives when faced with a similar situation. While finishing up this book I wondered whether Goethe was ever aware or thought about the painful actions his book inspired.
This is a fictionalized autobiography of Goethe's own experi More...
This is a fictionalized autobiography of Goethe's own experi More...
Dec 17, 2009
Namrirru
rated it:
The story reminds me a little of dearly beloved Dostoevsky; poor sod in a love fit over a girl. Dosotevsky distracts this story line with depth, but Goethe does the opposite. Werther, pathetic and pitiful. Just get over it! But he doesn't.
Goethe was before the advent of psychology, and I'm surprised no one quotes this book. Werther is fixated, not in love. She's a tool in his puer complex. He cannot face reality, so she's a safe excuse to commit suicide.
Goethe was before the advent of psychology, and I'm surprised no one quotes this book. Werther is fixated, not in love. She's a tool in his puer complex. He cannot face reality, so she's a safe excuse to commit suicide.
Aug 09, 2010
K.D.
rated it:
Werther was in love with Lotte. She was already engaged. Werther persisted. Lotte married her fiance, Albert. Werther killed himself.
THE END.
That in essence is what this classic unrequited love story is all about. Originally written in German and first published in 1774, this book is an important novel of the Sturm und Drang period in German literature. Sturm und Drang is that period in Germany in 1760s to 1780s when extreme emotions as expression became popular in reac More...
THE END.
That in essence is what this classic unrequited love story is all about. Originally written in German and first published in 1774, this book is an important novel of the Sturm und Drang period in German literature. Sturm und Drang is that period in Germany in 1760s to 1780s when extreme emotions as expression became popular in reac More...
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Aug 09, 2010
David
rated it:
"The things I know, anyone can know - but my heart is mine and mine alone."
This has got to be one of my all-time favorite books. Haunting, devastating, soul-stirring, a fist to the stomach. All the tragedy of true love in a Goethe masterpiece. The descriptive majesty of the book is beyond comprehension. A truly amazing book, one that I am happy to have read in my lifetime and one I would suggest to everyone, especially those who have loved someone more than themselves.
This has got to be one of my all-time favorite books. Haunting, devastating, soul-stirring, a fist to the stomach. All the tragedy of true love in a Goethe masterpiece. The descriptive majesty of the book is beyond comprehension. A truly amazing book, one that I am happy to have read in my lifetime and one I would suggest to everyone, especially those who have loved someone more than themselves.
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Feb 18, 2009
julieta
rated it:
Siempre me he considerado una romántica, o cuando menos mínimamente sensible. Me emociono con momentos extraños en las películas, digo, se me pone china la piel, me gustan los días de primavera, y el invierno a veces me pone medio triste. Y tengo algunos días en donde me siento más emocional que en otros.
En fin, que tampoco soy una racional de las que no dejan pasar los sentimientos. No puedo con la violencia en ninguna de sus formas, y hay canciones que me hacen llorar.
Pero W More...
En fin, que tampoco soy una racional de las que no dejan pasar los sentimientos. No puedo con la violencia en ninguna de sus formas, y hay canciones que me hacen llorar.
Pero W More...
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Nov 05, 2011
Shovelmonkey1
rated it:
Oh Werther, Werther, Werther. Someone got a little bit fixated didn't they? Taking a leaf straight out of Shakespeare's lover-lorn rule book (see Ophelia as example number one of a tragedy waiting to happen) Werther turns loving friendship into a full blown stalker obsession.
Here's a handy Werther style guide to obsession;
1. Meet a friendly young lady.
2. Be forewarned that she is already betrothed to another, and then pay no heed.
3. Write, think and talk about nothing els More...
Here's a handy Werther style guide to obsession;
1. Meet a friendly young lady.
2. Be forewarned that she is already betrothed to another, and then pay no heed.
3. Write, think and talk about nothing els More...
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Jan 06, 2008
Amy
rated it:
Beautiful, beautiful language from wordsmith Goethe. A narrator (the story unfolds through the letters we read, from Werther to a friend) who is a beautiful character, exposing young, ever-fluctuating, inspiring, and sometimes unstable emotions ('young emotions' in that they are the sorts of emotions that are felt strongly by young people, the hopeless romantic young-and-dumb, the Werthers). You should read the book for these reasons: for its language, and because it is good for us to occasion
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Nov 15, 2007
Katie
rated it:
For being written in 1774, this German novella is a timeless classic. It is often described as a romance or tragic love story, but I'd have to disagree with that description. What I experienced was a case study in severe depression and angst, not "love." But that's just semantics. Goethe wrote the book as a series of letters from Werther to his friend Wilhelm. Werther finds himself "in love" (obsessed) with a girl, Charlotte, who is engaged to another man, Albert. He is consu
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Oct 17, 2009
Bea
rated it: 
It's definately a masterpiece of its age, but I can't count how many times throughout the book I wanted to shake Werther by the arm or better so, slap him it the face. The characters are just unbelievablly stupid. I know that the times were different, but still they should know better. And the fact that the book caused a lot of people to commit suicide doesn't help at all.
I can't believe Goethe wasted his talent on such a wortless novel.
I can't believe Goethe wasted his talent on such a wortless novel.
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Apr 25, 2008
Catherine
rated it:
When The Sorrows came out it got the reputation of having inspired a number of copy-cat suicides (not true), but I've wondered for awhile what I would find inspiring in it. Werther sees so much in people, in nature, but his obsession with feeling, his infatuation with the sublime, his complete impatience with the everyday is totally exhausting. You could say it's depressing, but what really makes it a tough read is the sensitivity of Goethe's feeling for the soul state of someone working himse
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Nov 10, 2007
Danica
rated it:
werther's descent is incredible to behold and i understand now why barthes was so keen on citing his behavior. i'd also never read goethe before and was floored by the use of language, which ( even though i finished this a few weeks ago) i recall as solid and lush all at the same time.
short, morbid, and a good preview for Madame Bovary, even though I went out of order.
*******************************************************************************************
boug More...
short, morbid, and a good preview for Madame Bovary, even though I went out of order.
*******************************************************************************************
boug More...
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Feb 05, 2011
Bryan
rated it:
A great story of an anti-hero.
Goethe did a good job of taking the reader into the mind of a person lost in self-love and addiction to sympathy until he allowed those tragic flaws to lead him to self-destruction.
The ending phrase, [...they buried him on the hill as he requested, and no priest came to his funeral.] was good.
It was interesting to me that, as the story drew on, I began to feel sorrow for Werther myself. Yet, from the work of the masterful story More...
Goethe did a good job of taking the reader into the mind of a person lost in self-love and addiction to sympathy until he allowed those tragic flaws to lead him to self-destruction.
The ending phrase, [...they buried him on the hill as he requested, and no priest came to his funeral.] was good.
It was interesting to me that, as the story drew on, I began to feel sorrow for Werther myself. Yet, from the work of the masterful story More...
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Jul 08, 2008
Roland
rated it:
I don't think I've been this annoyed by a main character since "The Catcher in the Rye." Werther is probably one of the most irritating, whiney bitches in the history of literature. I never once felt an ounce of pity for this obsessive, creepy guy, and I can understand completely why the girl pushes him away. A very unattractive personality, and I don't know what the hell was going on at the time to make readers swoon for his "sorrows." I kept waiting for him to finally s
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Sep 26, 2011
Julia
rated it:
Uma obra prima do Sturm und Drang, lindamente escrito. Uma história de hipersensibilidade romântica e melancolia.
Na época, foi adorado por Napoleão e teria causado uma onda de suicídios. Hoje em dia, pelo menos no Goodreads, parece ter se tornado um livro que as pessoas amam ou odeiam. Descompasso entre as épocas? Falta de sensibilidade romântica nos tempos modernos? Preconceito contra o final de Werther, por algum motivo visto como a saída dos fracos, não importa a situação ou a época? More...
Na época, foi adorado por Napoleão e teria causado uma onda de suicídios. Hoje em dia, pelo menos no Goodreads, parece ter se tornado um livro que as pessoas amam ou odeiam. Descompasso entre as épocas? Falta de sensibilidade romântica nos tempos modernos? Preconceito contra o final de Werther, por algum motivo visto como a saída dos fracos, não importa a situação ou a época? More...
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Feb 19, 2009
Blake
rated it:
Ah, what beautiful prose this is that borders on the poetic! More, what perfect tragedy to concern the Shakespearean minded. Soon after my journey began I came to be aware of a fact I had previously only hoped for: it was not written so much as a tragical romance, but more as an exploration of humankind's own crisis of place in the universe. Ay me, what satisfaction I took from this. It is an individual's pain, his hopelessness, his will to life destroyed that takes up the main action. Any senti
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Nov 28, 2008
Sabrina1984
rated it:
"Wilhelm, was ist unserem Herzen die Welt ohne Liebe! Was eine Zauberlaterne ist ohne Licht! Kaum bringst du das Lämpchen hinein, so scheinen dir die buntesten Bilder an deine weiße Wand! Und wenn's nichts wäre als das, als vorübergehende Phantome, so macht's doch immer unser Glück, wenn wir wie frische Jungen davor stehen und uns über die Wundererscheinungen entzücken. [...] Ich schickte meinen Diener hinaus, nur um einen Menschen um mich zu haben, der ihr heute nahegekommen wäre.[...] Man
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Jan 03, 2012
Sam
rated it:
"Die Leiden des jungen Werthers"
Questo libro è lo sfondo borghese dell’epoca e la società, che rovina gli individui con l’imposizione di ingiuste regole , ancora circondata da pregiudizi religiosi, in conflitto con l’assolutismo e l’aristocrazia.
Goethe, tuttavia,(essendomi informato) dichiara di aver iniziato la stesura del libro, alla notizia del suicidio di un giovane, che aveva conosciuto a Lipsia e nuovamente incontrato a Wetzlar; il suo nome era (se non sbaglio)Jerus More...
Questo libro è lo sfondo borghese dell’epoca e la società, che rovina gli individui con l’imposizione di ingiuste regole , ancora circondata da pregiudizi religiosi, in conflitto con l’assolutismo e l’aristocrazia.
Goethe, tuttavia,(essendomi informato) dichiara di aver iniziato la stesura del libro, alla notizia del suicidio di un giovane, che aveva conosciuto a Lipsia e nuovamente incontrato a Wetzlar; il suo nome era (se non sbaglio)Jerus More...
Dec 11, 2011
Duesterwald-Online
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Inhalt:
Der Werther ist ein junger, intelligenter und sensibler Mann. Zwischen den Jahren 1771 und 1772 pflegt er Briefverkehr mit seinem Freund Wilhelm. In diesen Briefen schreibt er seinem Freund seine innersten Gefühle, angefangen von der reinen Begeisterung über die Natur, über seine Liebe zu einer Frau bis hin zu Verzweiflung.
Denn der junge Werther hat sich in die hübsche Lotte verlobt. Das Problem an der Sache: Lotte ist verlobt. Offiziell ist der Werther mit Lotte und ihrem Ve More...
Der Werther ist ein junger, intelligenter und sensibler Mann. Zwischen den Jahren 1771 und 1772 pflegt er Briefverkehr mit seinem Freund Wilhelm. In diesen Briefen schreibt er seinem Freund seine innersten Gefühle, angefangen von der reinen Begeisterung über die Natur, über seine Liebe zu einer Frau bis hin zu Verzweiflung.
Denn der junge Werther hat sich in die hübsche Lotte verlobt. Das Problem an der Sache: Lotte ist verlobt. Offiziell ist der Werther mit Lotte und ihrem Ve More...
Nov 13, 2011
Carlo
rated it:
As a piece of world literature it is certainly a classic by most standards. It is an incredible tact, skill, and insight with which Goethe is able to present and humanize a path to suicide. Goethe works so hard, and is so successful, at presenting a story that risks slipping into banal melodrama in a creatively nuanced, honest, and gut-wrenching way (i.e., through inventive plot devices, interruptions of the narrative, layering/embedding multiple stories within the larger one). Goethe grabs yo
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Oct 03, 2011
Adamo
rated it:
Werther era un povero sfigato. Lo so per certo perché pagina dopo pagina capisco quello che sente, e questo dovrebbe bastare come prova. L'amico che riceve le sue lettere è un vero ottuso, si sa da pagina 3 che questo si fa secco: prendi l'eurostar, vallo ad aiutare.
Ottilia invece doveva mettersi con lo spasimante del collegio, si sarebbe sistemata. Invece va dietro al mammalucco di Edoardo, che sinceramente è il personaggio che più mi sta sul cazzo, lui e il suo flauto che manco sa suonare More...
Ottilia invece doveva mettersi con lo spasimante del collegio, si sarebbe sistemata. Invece va dietro al mammalucco di Edoardo, che sinceramente è il personaggio che più mi sta sul cazzo, lui e il suo flauto che manco sa suonare More...
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Sep 16, 2011
Jim
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 14, 2011
Tina (Martina ♥ Bookaholic)
rated it:
Handlung:
Goethes Briefroman "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" zählt zu den meistgelesenen Romanen der deutschen Sprache. In ihm berichtet der junge, empfindsame Werther seinem Freund Wilhelm von seiner Liebe zur Amtstochter Lotte, die jedoch bereits mit dem nüchternen Albert verlobt ist. Eine verhängnisvolle Dreiecksbeziehung nimmt ihren Lauf. - Der Roman, der Goethe über Nacht berühmt werden ließ, gilt als Schüsselwerk des Sturm und Drang und hat bis heute nichts von seiner Aktu More...
Goethes Briefroman "Die Leiden des jungen Werthers" zählt zu den meistgelesenen Romanen der deutschen Sprache. In ihm berichtet der junge, empfindsame Werther seinem Freund Wilhelm von seiner Liebe zur Amtstochter Lotte, die jedoch bereits mit dem nüchternen Albert verlobt ist. Eine verhängnisvolle Dreiecksbeziehung nimmt ihren Lauf. - Der Roman, der Goethe über Nacht berühmt werden ließ, gilt als Schüsselwerk des Sturm und Drang und hat bis heute nichts von seiner Aktu More...
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Aug 03, 2011
Soledad
rated it:
Apasionante. Lo mejor que he leído en este último tiempo. Es un libro que llegó hasta mí, yo no tuve que buscarlo... Mío totalmente...
"30 de Octubre
Más de cien veces he estado a punto de tomarla en mis brazos y cubrirla a besos. ¡Sólo Dios conoce el tormento que sufre quién está en presencia de la suma excelencia, sin atreverse a alcanzarla! Y sin embargo, el hacerlo es la propensión más natural en el hombre. ¿No toman los niños cuanto les apetece? ¿Y yo…?
22 de Noviembre
No puedo rogar a Dio More...
"30 de Octubre
Más de cien veces he estado a punto de tomarla en mis brazos y cubrirla a besos. ¡Sólo Dios conoce el tormento que sufre quién está en presencia de la suma excelencia, sin atreverse a alcanzarla! Y sin embargo, el hacerlo es la propensión más natural en el hombre. ¿No toman los niños cuanto les apetece? ¿Y yo…?
22 de Noviembre
No puedo rogar a Dio More...
Apr 02, 2011
Breanne
rated it:
As classic literature goes, this is excellent for it's poetic writing and is an exceptional enlightenment era novella. It captures all the awkwardness of the crumbling social structures while Werther tries to develop his love for a woman entirely out of his rank and class. It is epistilatory and not so very lengthy. There are some poinant considerations reguarding life and death. From a more modern side, one might use the phrase "obsess much?" However, this book has many worthy quot
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Mar 21, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
I read this book (finally) because of a course of study I'm doing with a student. It's not exactly in the category "cracking good yarn," but I was able to stand Werther's endless mewling and self-pity by reminding myself of all that this book has in common with the late 18th-c Gothic novel in Britain. In fact, Goethe's book was an important influence on the Gothic of the 1790s (Ann Radcliffe and others) and is a fine example of the many strains of cross-Channel fertilization between t
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Feb 28, 2011
Amber
rated it:
If you are a fan of Wuthering Heights then I strongly recommend "The Sorrows of Young Werther." It is a short read (Dover Thrift edition or free Kindle edition will suffice) that follows the manic, obsessive Werther through a series of letters. Werther goes out into the woods for a Thoreau-like attempt to commune with nature and live a peaceful life of solitude. All that changes when he meets "an angel" in the form of a woman named Charlotte. She is engaged to be married and
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Jan 04, 2011
James
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