jarichan's review against another edition

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Es ist wirklich schade, einen Goethe abzubrechen - aber nur weil es Goethe ist, heisst das noch lange nicht, dass ich ein Buch, das mir nicht zusagt, auch beenden muss. Schliesslich lese ich es nicht für die Schule, sondern wenn, dann für mich. Oder für eine Challenge...

In Wilhelms Geschichte fand ich leider absolut nicht rein, obwohl ich es über längere Zeit versucht habe. Wir passen scheinbar einfach nicht zusammen. Also lasse ich ihn ziehen. Vielleicht treffen wir uns ja später wieder und dann könnte es ja klappen zwischen uns? Wer weiss, was die Zukunft bringen mag.

Aber momentan lese ich lieber etwas Anderes...

sternklara's review against another edition

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reflective sad tense slow-paced

2.5

hat man auch mal gelesen

sharina's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

GAG! This book made me respect Goethe - before, I wasn't a big fan of the two plays I've read from him and his poems were alright, but his genius shines through this one. I loved Wilhelm and Mignon; it was interesting to see the former grow up and have all the mysteries he's faced with unraveled bit by bit. Sometimes, it was a little bit boring (because of all of the backstories), but I really enjoyed it overall. Will I read the continuation? Maybe in a few months!

bewoelkt_aber_heiter's review against another edition

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1.0

DNF bei 370 Seiten. Für die Uni gelesen, nicht rechtzeitig fertig geworden und daher nun abgebrochen (Gott sei Dank). So ein langweiliger, langatmiger Klassiker ist mir bisher noch nicht untergekommen. Ich konnte daran leider keinen einzigen Aspekt wirklich interessant finden.

eliotkersgaard's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.75

miiisch's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5
My man dr Goethe widr emol <3<3<3

Ich mochte dieses Buch sehr sehr gerne! Obwohl es sehr lang ist und anstrengend zu lesen ist, enttäuscht mich der olle Johann doch wirklich nie. Ich mag den WErther um einiges mehr, darum habe ich ihm 4.5 Sterne gegeben. Aber kein Mensch kann das lesen und mir sagen, dass es kein gutes Buch ist. Natürlich kann es einem nicht gefallen, aber ich bin wirklich wieder einmal geflasht, wie wunderbar und schön und natürlich und einfach nahezu perfekt Goethe Geschichten erzählen konnte. I'm in awe!!!

Ja mein Deutschstudentinnenherz hat sich wieder mal aufs Neue in diesen Mann verliebt (vor allem in Buch 5, wo die Poetologie überhand nimmt!) und muss nun eine Arbeit über diesen Schunken schreiben. Tipp an alle Studenten da draussen: Lernt aus meinen Fehlern und nehmt euch mehr als drei Tage Zeit, dieses Buch zu lesen. Es dauert um einiges länger und ihr werdet keinen Schlaf haben.

cmbwell's review against another edition

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3.0

The first 2/3 of the book wasn't too interesting. But it really picked up at the end. Might be better as a re-read.

screen_memory's review against another edition

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4.0

Apprenticeship was not quite as good as I was hoping, but thank God it was not an epistolary novel.

As the so-called founding text of the Bildungsroman, the book (the first in a series if you don't count the abandoned and long-lost manuscript for Theatrical Calling, much of which was incorporated into Apprenticeship, as its own volume) deals with Wilhelm Meister's self-realization not only in his apprenticeship in the theater, but in varying aspects of the human experience.

It was not a bad book. It was good enough, but (keep in mind I'm no translation nerd) I could not help but feel that the translation was a bit simplified and reductive (to say nothing of the countless comma splices). My ugly edition was published as an entry for some old book club, and part of me wonders if priority was given more to the presentation (despite the ugliness of the chambray cloth in which the book is bound) over the translation.

Also, I cruised through this especially fast as I was eager to start Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Invisible Allies in preparation to then read his Gulag Archipelago. This might be one constituent aspect of my relative disinterest in the book, although it might be more owing to the fact that Germany's Goethe, in my opinion - and perhaps it's unfair to arbitrarily pit two national treasures against one another for no reason, but I can't shake the association - is outmatched by Balzac at least in their capability to write a compelling story.

aramsamsam's review against another edition

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4.0

Goethe, der alte Schwerenöter, hätte heutzutage ebenso gut das Skript für GZSZ verfassen können.

jolineliest's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75