Faust, Part Two Book

Er so according to Wikipedia, "Appreciation of the work often requires an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology, and it is arguably one of the most difficult works of world literature."

Eh. No. Cmon. Is that a joke? This is 1000% more accessible than anything by James Joyce, John Milton, and dozens of other writers. Even a rudimentary knowledge of classical myth & lit will make this readable.

Didn't enjoy it as much as Part 1, though. This is defs more sophisticated, to be sure... but it lacks the vibrancy, the energy, the eager honesty of P1, which felt resonant and personal and human. P2 reads more like an intellectual exercise of someone who's spent scores of years studying the classics, someone who wants to establish himself as descendant of those great writers. Which makes it feel more pretentious than groundbreaking.

It's very Odyssean, except that Faust's katabasis is not a literal descent into the underworld but a figurative one, via his deal with Mephisto.

There were parts I loved, though. The Euphorion bit- the part about the son Faust has with Helen of Troy- was pretty heavy-handed in its parallels with the myth of Icarus, but nevertheless a memorable section. And the ending was stunning, too.