Imagine Werther with vampires

[schneefink]

Breakfast conversation, lightly paraphrased because memory is an illusion:
Me: "You know what was nominated for Yuletide? "Die Leiden des jungen Werther" (The Sorrows of Young Werther.)
DD: "Oh god. We had to read it in high school and for me it's like Twilight, except without vampires, for the youth of back then."
Me, cracking up: "It is! Please tell me I can quote you on that."
DD: "It is like Twilight! Just over 200 years ago, and I'm 100% sure that less people killed themselves over Twilight."
DD, a little later: "Also, nobody calls Twilight a literary masterpiece. People react differently to someone saying their favorite book is "Die Leiden des jungen Werther" or "Twilight." At least admit that you like tragic, over-indulgent threesomes! (See how impacted I was by having to read this twenty years ago? I still get worked up over it.)"
DD, a little later, after learning from Wikipedia-via-me that Napoleon was a big fan of "Werther": "Napoleon would have liked Twilight."
DD, even later, seeing the actual nomination in the tag set: "Even the title "Twilight" is cooler."

Comments

[schneefink]

I too had to read it, but my ony reaction to the memory is rolling my eyes - apparently I got lucky ^^ (I did have an excellent German teacher.)

[tamsin]

I would have much preferred reading Faust, but alas I had to slog through Werther's self-centeredness instead.

[schneefink]

You didn't have to read Faust?? Odd!
A main reason I really enjoyed reading Faust was because I had several moments of "oh that's where that saying comes from!"

[tamsin]

No, Werther is the only Goethe book we read.
My favorite class reading was probably Remarque. What was yours?