The Devil's Elixir. A Book for Reading in German

Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann is a romantic writer, storyteller, composer, and artist. In his works, reality and fantasy intertwine, and dull everyday life is shown through the realm of high emotions and the music of the Universe. The novel "The... Devil's Elixir" raises the theme of sin and virtue. Temptation fills the soul with poison, drives one mad, and pushes one into the abyss of passions. Is it possible to interrupt this fall? How to smooth the contradictions between ideal and reality? How to reconcile unbridled desires and reason? Hoffmann invites readers into a world filled with sheer conventions. They must find answers to all these questions themselves. "The Devil's Elixir" is a work that does not lose its charm even now, more than two centuries after its first publication. The peculiar mystical atmosphere of the book, bordering on deep psychological insight, feels very modern. Reading the novel in the original will allow one to feel the uniqueness of the Gothic style and deepen knowledge of the German language.