Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship in Reading 1001

Jun 10, 2023 Kristel rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, german-literature, coming-of-age, 2023-botm

Reason read: June 2023, botm Reading 1001
This is my first Goethe though he wrote so much and so much variety, maybe I’ve been exposed but unaware that I had. I listened to the audio which was updated version, Read by Leighton Pugh. This was Goethe's second novel, published in 1795/6. One could say this was a coming of age story It is also considered a precursor to the Bildungsroman. It is considered an influential novel of the 19th century so therefore I guess it belongs on the 1001 list. This w Reason read: June 2023, botm Reading 1001
This is my first Goethe though he wrote so much and so much variety, maybe I’ve been exposed but unaware that I had. I listened to the audio which was updated version, Read by Leighton Pugh. This was Goethe's second novel, published in 1795/6. One could say this was a coming of age story It is also considered a precursor to the Bildungsroman. It is considered an influential novel of the 19th century so therefore I guess it belongs on the 1001 list. This was a revision of Thomas Carlyle’s translation to improve on the archaic style.

I also have a book from the collected works, volume 9. This was translated by Eric A. Black wall and is slightly different from the audio version.

After reading the German novels or German based novels that we read recently, I was a bit dreading it but this turned out to be very readable. I thought is a bit long and at times it didn’t flow well for me but at least it had a plot however full of coincidences.

The key points seem to me to be theater, especially Shakespeare. It also included exploration of social class structure or social integration. And about finding one’s way in life.

There is quite a bit about architecture which I paid little attention to until I read that Goethe had a keen sense of architecture and could describe it such that the reader could actually picture it. Lotherio’s Estate; a nobleman’s home is suppose to show us that his home wasn’t that pretentious. It also had a secret side where a secret society met. The Hall of the Past featured art and music. I am not sure about the others.

Problems with the book for me is the disunity. Thus my question on Book 6. Here’s what my afterword has on book 6. “Where does Book Six fit in? Can it be conceived as a transition to the last two books: if so, in what sense? And those last two books; predominately concerned with ideas and debates about ideas, and yet shot through with elements that seem to fit uneasily into a novel on the ideational plane…” The novel was written at two different periods of Goethe’s life.

While this book had a plot it is one full of coincidences.

So the book is not a true Bildungsroman nor is it a book about Culture. It is about finding oneself (apprenticeship) — like Saul son of Kish who goes out looking for his father’s asses and ends up with a kingdom.

My summary “German finds Shakespeare” I rated it 3.5 or C+ or B-. ...more

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Jun 10, 2023 Rosemary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books

Wilhelm Meister rejects the opportunity to go into his father's business in favour of setting off with a theatrical troupe. The love of his life has betrayed him - or has he betrayed her? - and he throws himself into something that reminds him of his childhood dreams.

This is a long book, which I listened to on audio, which works well for long books for me. My attention wandered at times, but not as much as I expected for a book of this era. I found it thought-provoking, and in its day it must h ...more

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Jun 25, 2023 Pip rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-challenge

I listened to an Audible version, narrated by Leighton Pugh but I wish I had read a more recent translation as my introduction to Goethe. The plot was full of unlikely coincidence, and the story of Wilhelm and his romances is treated rather coolly, at a distance, which is probably a reflection of Goethe having revised and published the story twenty years after he first wrote it. The protagonist, Wilhelm, has great difficulty deciding who he is going to fall in love with, which could be a reflect ...more

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