Die Leiden des jungen Werther
This was one of those books (that turned out to be a novella, since it was only 117 pages long), that I 'had' to read. First of all, because it is regarded as a classic, secondly because it was a real hype when it was first published in 1774, and thirdly because it is one of many books I downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg with the intention of reading them all.So I read it, and I fully understand why it created such a fuss at the end of the 18th century, the time when Sturm und Drang (for more information, in Dutch: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturm_und_Drang) and Romanticism were flourishing. But I always have difficulty relating with these intense emotions, so the book wasn't really for me (too dramatic), although I am glad I finally read it.
Some other thoughts/reviews:
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog: http://anzlitlovers.com/2012/08/23/the-sorrows-of-young-werther-by-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/