The Sorrows of Young Werther and Selected Writings

This book broke my heart, though more for Charlotte than for Werther. I don't like the idea of Werther as a tragic hero, but his “voice” is absolutely gorgeous, and the book itself is short enough that I didn't feel overwhelmed by Werther's point of view (and even Goethe acknowledges that Werther is “unstable”). With that in mind, the ending was so horrifying yet so well done that the cliche of comparing it to Greek tragedy is all I'm left with. I would definitely read this again if I wanted a moody/Mary Shelley vibe to my day