I first read this book back in 2001, and it’s one of a handful of books from that year that I remember reading, but don’t remember a thing about. Now that I’ve reread it, I can see why. The book is told mostly in letter form, Werther to his friend Wilhelm with occasional letters to others. For a good chunk of the beginning, Werther’s letters consist of random, disconnected bits of pseudo-philosophy, and once that part is over, the book turns into HIGH MELODRAMA. Maybe I’m just too cynical to take a character like Werther seriously – he’s the sort of person I naturally find myself giggling at for his sheer over-the-top-ness. But seriously, he is REALLY over the top! There were times when the narrator would cut in with footnotes (the narrator was supposedly piecing together Werther’s life) and I could have sworn the notes were meant as satire. Only after finishing the whole book did I think maybe they weren’t; maybe the narrator is meant to be every bit as ridiculous and over-passionate as Werther.

In any case, while I didn’t necessarily love the book, it was definitely interesting to read afterwards about the parts of Goethe’s own experience (as well as a friend’s) that went into Sorrows. It was also interesting to hear about the various reactions to this book around the world as time passed. I’m looking forward to researching some of the philosophies from this book, and discussing the book with my classic lit book club.