“This is a Goethe story never told before.” Corriere della Sierra
A monument of German literature, Goethe’s discreet love for Islam is little known. Far from seeking the exotic or the picturesque, the author wished to experience this culture firsthand. Over the years, he strove to get as close as possible to it, to master its language, to unravel its mysteries. Islam permeated his most intimate life, even his love affair with Marianne von Willemer.
This book contains several love stories, which Francesca Bocca-Aldaqre and Pietrangelo Buttafuoco recount with poetry and mystery. Refusing to serve as a chronological biography, they guide us along a winding path, where the devil appears at every turn. Between life and death, the journey forms a poignant loop: let yourself be carried away.
“The authors suggest that the poet has opened a path within Western culture to rethink itself, not by differentiating itself from Islam, but by allowing itself to be traversed, penetrated, and inspired.”
Corriere della Sierra
“A work that has the courage to show Goethe permeated in his life and works by the message of the Noble Qur’an throughout all periods of his existence.” –
La Luce