Fausto

Heinrich Faust, a scholar disillusioned with every branch of learning, makes a bargain with the devil Mephistopheles in Goethe's long dramatic poem. The terms: Mephisto serves him on earth, and if Faust ever feels satisfied enough to beg a moment to last, his soul is lost. The first part follows Faust's seduction of Margarete, called Gretchen, and her tragic fate. The second part is stranger and larger, carrying him through the imperial court, an encounter with Helen of Troy, and a land-reclamation project that ends his life.

It is for readers who want the original of the Faust myth and are ready for poetry, allegory and philosophy packed into a single work. What you take away is a long look at human striving, what it costs the people around us, and the question of whether endless seeking is damnation or redemption.

Deep, inward-looking, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.

Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?