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Faust
Faust
Nov 6, 2025 6:04 PM

Author:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,Philip Wayne,Philip Wayne

Faust

The second part of Goethe's masterpiece opens with Faust struggling to recover from the death of his beloved Gretchen. The quick-witted demon Mephistopheles soon persuades him to look beyond his sorrow and enter the world of politics and power, but the great scholar is still eager for new sensations, and asks Mephistopheles to reveal Helen of Troy to him in a vision. Overwhelmed by her beauty, Faust demands she be brought back from the underworld - but even this fails to bring him contentment, and his appetite for knowledge remains unsated. Completed a few months before Goethe's death, this rich and allusive work weaves together a wealth of diverse philosophical ideas and influences, reworking the medieval myth of Dr Faustus and speculating upon the search for truth in the Age of Enlightenment.

Reviews

I am obsessed with this book. A warm, wise, magnanimous and extremely funny novel which made me fall in love with the characters and feel happier about life. Sittenfeld writes with such insight and poignancy about the quirks of the human condition. ROMANTIC COMEDY should be prescribed to anyone needing their mood lifted

—— ELIZABETH DAY

No-one writes romantic yearning as brilliantly and believably as Curtis Sittenfeld. I could not have adored this book more.

—— DAISY BUCHANAN, author of INSATIABLE

A rollercoaster of modern love and dating

—— STYLIST, Books to look forward to in 2023

Probably my favourite proof I've read for 2023, by one of my all-time favourite authors Curtis Sittenfeld... it's a brilliantly written, funny page-turner, I want to read it all again.

—— PANDORA SYKES

Her zingy new novel. While Sittenfeld knows the dramatic value of putting obstacles in the path of characters you're rooting for, she also isn't above giving readers what they want - and that's exactly what she does in this affable, intelligently-crafted tale of work and love

—— GUARDIAN

Biting, pacy and great fun.

—— SUNDAY TIMES, Books to Look Forward to

A gloriously quick-witted, intelligent love story, with sparkling dialogue and a satisfying plot

—— THE BOOKSELLER

One of the most compelling, funny and gorgeous novels I've read in a long time. Curtis Sittenfield is a master of dialogue, and this love story packs serious emotional heft that will leave you rooting for its characters right til the very end.

—— OTEGHA UWAGBA

I love Curtis Sittenfeld

—— BRYONY GORDON

i am excited beyond belief. This is THE literary event of the year for me

—— MARINA HYDE

Curtis has a gift for writing women. Her characters spill off the page in all their messy, complex glory

—— STYLIST

Curtis Sittenfeld's zingy new novel tackles media celebrity, the pandemic and romantic frustration with ambition and panache...[An] affable, intelligently crafted tale of work and love

—— OBSERVER

A witty, joyful, propulsive new take on the 'celebrity and the civilian' trope, Sittenfeld's novel feels like a classic dish prepared by a master chef and using only the freshest ingredients. I was so sad to say goodbye to these characters; I could have read 300 more pages, easily

—— CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE

The abiding pleasure of romantic comedy is that we can worry that they won't while knowing that they will. The genre acts as its own spoiler alert while somehow never lessening the suspense

—— WASHINGTON POST

Getting inside a living person's head sounds like a colossally bad idea, but Sittenfeld makes it convincing here, just as she did with a character based on First Lady Laura Bush in her 2008 novel, American Wife

—— BBC CULTURE

Smart, funny, and a fascinating look behind the scenes of a sketch show. Exquisite

—— WOMAN & HOME

A thoughtful discourse on celebrity

—— THE TIMES

Smart, funny and a fascinating look behind the scenes of a sketch show, it's another exquisitely written novel from Sittenfeld

—— WOMAN & HOME

[An] exhilarating love story that will restore your faith in humanity

—— RED

A new novel from one of my very favourite writers...Bliss!

—— GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

If anyone who can simultaneously skewer and revere the underappreciated rom com genre it's the author of Prep and Eligible

—— THE I-NEWS

Expect lots of laughs and dry irony

—— DAILY EXPRESS

Sittenfeld's well-crafted will-they-won't-they tale pairs irresistible escapism with equally satisfying observational expertise

—— MAIL ON SUNDAY

Curtis Sittenfeld has made a name for herself by writing reliably smart, funny romantic heroines. Her new novel makes it official with a refreshingly irreverent take on the genre. Very funny

—— DAILY EXPRESS

Like all the best romantic comedies, the tension lies in the will-they-won't-they back and forth of the story arc and true to all the best examples of the genre, readers will be rooting for Sally to have her much-deserved happy-ever-after

—— MARIE-CLAIRE, BEST BOOKS OF 2023

Scapel-sharp

—— DAILY MAIL

Witty and sharp

—— BELLA MAGAZINE

Smart, sophisticated and fun

—— OPRAH DAILY

Delightful. The woman narrating ROMANTIC COMEDY is hyper-aware of the conventions of romantic comedy, and she knows full well that real life is no fairytale. But could it be this time?

—— WASHINGTON POST

Sittenfeld's latest takes a shot of SNL and makes sparks fly

—— ELLE

Hilarious, heartwarming

—— HARPER'S BAZAAR

If you're looking for a romance with edge, this book is for you. The writing is as intelligent and funny as you'd expect from the author of classics such as American Wife and it's a properly swoonsome love story

—— GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Cancel plans and dive into bestselling author Sittenfeld's hilarious take on the classic will-they-won't-they storyline

—— ELLE

Written by one of the very best out there, Romantic Comedy is a novel that you won't want to put down and one you'll want to recommend to everyone you know

—— GLAMOUR

An enthralling, humorous and subversive tale set in the world of a live TV comedy show

—— STYLIST

Whip-smart, funny and a fascinating look behind the scenes of a sketch show. Curtis Sittenfeld has penned another exquisitely written novel

—— WOMAN'S WEEKLY

A piercing look at the genre of Romcom set against the backdrop of a Saturday Night Live-esque TV show - a rollercoaster of modern love and dating

—— STYLIST

I ate it up whole. Joyful

—— EVA WISEMAN, OBSERVER

Get lost in a modern romantic fantasy

—— DAILY RECORD

A humorous take on Hollywood romcoms

—— BBC BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Sexy, funny, thought-provoking and everything I hoped it would be. Her best novel since American Wife.

—— RED, Best Books of the Year

Romantic Comedy combines humour with poignancy and a lot of heart.

—— GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, Best romance books to read

Sittenfeld's novel continues her wider project of exploring the possibility for a kind of redemptive idealism within our flawed world

—— GUARDIAN

Sittenfeld has penned another exquisitely written novel

—— WOMAN MAGAZINE

A fizzy love letter to the prototypical romcom

—— NEW YORK TIMES, Editor's Choice

So much of Sittenfeld's work exists in the dissection and comprehension of female desire

—— NEW YORK TIMES

Flirting with the tropes of its namesake genre, this playful novel follows Sally, a writer on an "S.N.L."-like show called "Night Owls," who falls in love with one of its guest hosts. Their relationship develops via e-mail in the post-grocery-wiping, pre-vaccine days of covid-19. When Sally decides to visit her beloved in L.A., their time together in his Topanga mansion requires her to navigate incredulity, insecurity, and an offer that she feels is an "affront to my independence." The novel is preoccupied with the instinctual nature of self-sabotage, and with the fulfillment that can come from defying ingrained impulses

—— NEW YORKER

Insightful romcom sparkles with real wit and wisdom

—— SUNDAY INDEPENDENT

Whip smart and really funny

—— BUSINESS POST

Scores big on giving readers an insight into the machinations of a TV writers-room

—— CRACK

Full of dazzling banter and sizzling chemistry

—— PEOPLE MAGAZINE

If you ever wanted a backstage pass to Saturday Night Live, this book is for you

—— GOOD MORNING AMERICA

Excellent

—— MAIL ON SUNDAY

Both a brilliant portrait of the comedy world and a witty grown-up love story. Lives up to its name

—— IRISH TIMES
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