joecam79's review
3.0
This Hesperus Classics edition brings together three short stories taken from Goethe's late, sprawling "novel" of sorts - [b:Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre oder Die Entsagenden|3917283|Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre oder Die Entsagenden|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1339580392s/3917283.jpg|13242922] . They are tales linked by themes of passion, betrayal and renunciation but the mood is far removed from the melodrama of [b:The Sorrows of Young Werther|16640|The Sorrows of Young Werther|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386920896s/16640.jpg|746264] or the gothic hues of Faust. This is Goethe at his most light-hearted even though one should not expect any farcical laughs.
Take the title story. A mysterious young woman turns up at the household of a respectable widower who lives with his sister and son. Soon, both father and son fall for the stranger, until she has to come up with a pretext to justify her departure. The situation gives rise to wry comedy, but there are darker undercurrents at play. Who is this woman? What is her past? Where is she heading to? Is she really a madwoman? These are all narrative threads which are tantalisingly left unresolved, making this story feel more like a parable or allegory than a simple tale. In its own way, it is the unlikely precursor of [b:The Accidental|127630|The Accidental|Ali Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425382189s/127630.jpg|449610]or Pasolini's [b:Teorema|674327|Teorema|Pier Paolo Pasolini|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1323072994s/674327.jpg|660338]
In "Who is the Traitor" the protagonist Lucidor is torn between his betrothed Julia and her sister Lucinde. For a while this feels like "Werther" territory until the story's uplifting (albeit thought provoking) denouement.
The collection ends with "Not too far!" - an account of a birthday party gone wrong, which becomes the symbol of an unravelling marriage.
In his Foreword to the volume, author Lewis Crofts introduces the stories in the context of Goethe's own love affairs. On the other hand, Andrew Piper, the translator of the title-story, provides an introduction of a philosophical bent, seeing in Goethe's late works and their emphasis on "adultery" both a reflection of changing social norms and of the idea of the act of translation as one of "betrayal". "Who is the Traitor" and "Not too Far" are translated by Jonathan Katz.
Take the title story. A mysterious young woman turns up at the household of a respectable widower who lives with his sister and son. Soon, both father and son fall for the stranger, until she has to come up with a pretext to justify her departure. The situation gives rise to wry comedy, but there are darker undercurrents at play. Who is this woman? What is her past? Where is she heading to? Is she really a madwoman? These are all narrative threads which are tantalisingly left unresolved, making this story feel more like a parable or allegory than a simple tale. In its own way, it is the unlikely precursor of [b:The Accidental|127630|The Accidental|Ali Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425382189s/127630.jpg|449610]or Pasolini's [b:Teorema|674327|Teorema|Pier Paolo Pasolini|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1323072994s/674327.jpg|660338]
In "Who is the Traitor" the protagonist Lucidor is torn between his betrothed Julia and her sister Lucinde. For a while this feels like "Werther" territory until the story's uplifting (albeit thought provoking) denouement.
The collection ends with "Not too far!" - an account of a birthday party gone wrong, which becomes the symbol of an unravelling marriage.
In his Foreword to the volume, author Lewis Crofts introduces the stories in the context of Goethe's own love affairs. On the other hand, Andrew Piper, the translator of the title-story, provides an introduction of a philosophical bent, seeing in Goethe's late works and their emphasis on "adultery" both a reflection of changing social norms and of the idea of the act of translation as one of "betrayal". "Who is the Traitor" and "Not too Far" are translated by Jonathan Katz.
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