The New Sorrows of Young W.
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The New Sorrows of Young W. / Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.
»The Catcher in the GDR-Rye« Marcel Reich-Ranicki
Edgar W., teenage dropout, unrequited lover, unrecognized genius – and dead – tells the story of his brief, spectacular life. It is the story of how he rebels against the petty rules of communist East Germany to live in an abandoned summer house, with just a tape recorder and a battered copy of Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther for company. Of his passionate love for the dark-eyed, unattainable kindergarten teacher Charlie. And of how, in a series of calamitous events (involving electricity...
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Edgar W., teenage dropout, unrequited lover, unrecognized genius – and dead – tells the story of his brief, spectacular life. It is the story of how he rebels against the petty rules of communist East Germany to live in an abandoned summer house, with just a tape recorder and a battered copy of Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther for company. Of his passionate love for the dark-eyed, unattainable kindergarten teacher Charlie. And of how, in a series of calamitous events (involving electricity and a spray paint machine), he meets his untimely end.
Absurd, funny and touching, this cult German bestseller is both a satire on life in the GDR and a hymn to youthful freedom.
Absurd, funny and touching, this cult German bestseller is both a satire on life in the GDR and a hymn to youthful freedom.
»The ›new‹ sorrows of young W. are the old ones: love, which hurts in the guise of jealousy, a disturbed relationship to society that is agonising in the form of thwarted ambition. In 1972, Werther also loves an engaged, then married, woman named Charlotte, whom he doesn’t call Lotte like his predecessor but ›Charlie‹.« Rolf Michaelis, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
»The ›new‹ sorrows of young W. are the old ones: love, which hurts in the guise of jealousy, a disturbed relationship to society that is agonising in the form of thwarted ambition. In 1972, Werther also loves an engaged, then married, woman named Charlotte, whom he doesn’t call Lotte like his predecessor but ›Charlie‹.« Rolf Michaelis, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
1973, 160 pages
Persons
Ulrich Plenzdorf
Author
Ulrich Plenzdorf was born in Berlin-Kreuzberg in 1934 and died in 2007. His family moved from West to East Berlin in 1950 and after graduating secondary school, Plenzdorf studied Marxism-Leninism and philosophy at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig but did not finish his degree. From 1959, he attended the German Academy of Film Art in Potsdam-Babelsberg. In 1963, he began working as a scenarist and dramaturg at the DEFA studios in Babelsberg. The GDR author rose to fame in both Germanys with his socio-critical novel Die neuen Leiden des jungen W. Originally written as a play, it was first performed in Halle/Saale in 1972 and published one year later. Plenzdorf also acquired renown as the scriptwriter for numerous feature films and television series.
Ulrich Plenzdorf
Author
Ulrich Plenzdorf was born in Berlin-Kreuzberg in 1934 and died in 2007. His family moved from West to East Berlin in 1950 and after graduating...
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OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Latest first
Year of Publication: 2017
Ulrich PlenzdorfYear of Publication: 2017
The Legend of Paul and Paula
In the story of Paul and Paula everything is just so: It takes a long time to reach great love. Paul, personal assistant in foreign trade, has married a beautiful but not very intelligent girl....
Rights sold to:
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Slovakia (Smena)
Year of Publication: 2017
Ulrich PlenzdorfYear of Publication: 2017
The Legend of Happiness Without End
The Legend of Happiness Without End is the extended novel based on Plenzdorf’s movie/novel The Legend of Paul and Paula. Laura looks after Paul, bereft of all happiness, and...
Rights sold to:
France (Robert Laffont), Sweden (Thoren & Lindskog)
Previously published in the respective language / territory; rights available again: Netherlands (Meulenhoff), Norway (Gyldendal Norsk), Czech Republic (Mladá Fronta), Slovenia (Pomurska Založba)
Domestic Rights Sales: German Audiobook (Buchfunk)
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In Memory of Ulrich Plenzdorf
Author and playwright Ulrich Plenzdorf would have turned 90 on 26 October 2024.Just published
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