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The Reader

By Bernhard Schlink, Carol Brown Janeway (Translator)

(17)

| Hardcover | 9780679442790

Book Description

Already an acclaimed and best-selling work of fiction in Europe (currently being translated into fourteen different languages worldwide), The Reader is both a literary surprise and a moral challenge: a riveting, provocative, and deeply moving novel about a young boy's erotic awakening in a passionatContinue

Already an acclaimed and best-selling work of fiction in Europe (currently being translated into fourteen different languages worldwide), The Reader is both a literary surprise and a moral challenge: a riveting, provocative, and deeply moving novel about a young boy's erotic awakening in a passionate, clandestine love affair with an older woman, and what happens to them both when the secrets in her past are revealed.

Fifteen-year-old Michael Berg becomes ill on the way home from school. A woman takes care of him. Later, the boy arrives at her home with a bunch of flowers to thank her. And then comes back again. Hanna is the first woman he has ever desired. But there is something slightly off-key about her. His questions about her family and her life go unanswered. One day Hanna simply disappears. Michael's life goes on, but he can't forget her.

Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna.

The woman he had loved so passionately is a criminal. Much about her behavior during the trial makes no sense. But then, suddenly and terribly, it does--Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret.

As the past erupts into the present--both Michael's past with Hanna, and the past of Germany itself--Michael must accept that he will never be free of either of them.

3 Reviews

  • 1 person find this helpful

    A Sad Unsettled Soul

    A sad story that depicts the post-war Germany's sentimental feelings towards to the people who danced along with the Nazi.

    Hanna had an unsettled soul was tormented by her limited channel to acquire the background knowledge of her horrible past. A comment in the court, "What would you do?" has ... (continue)

    A sad story that depicts the post-war Germany's sentimental feelings towards to the people who danced along with the Nazi.

    Hanna had an unsettled soul was tormented by her limited channel to acquire the background knowledge of her horrible past. A comment in the court, "What would you do?" has spelled out the dilemma for what she had been through.

    Is this helpful?

    ― artie said on Jan 13, 2009 about the Audio Cassette edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    *** This comment contains spoilers! ***

    Will be read again

    When I read this, I was far too young to fully appreciate the novel. One of the main characters, Hanna, took full responsibility for atrocities she took part in as a concentration camp guard during WWII in order to cover up something she was even more ashamed of. I am confused about why the author c ... (continue)

    When I read this, I was far too young to fully appreciate the novel. One of the main characters, Hanna, took full responsibility for atrocities she took part in as a concentration camp guard during WWII in order to cover up something she was even more ashamed of. I am confused about why the author chose "Hanna," a Jewish name, for the character who sent Jewish women to the gas chamber during the Holocaust. I am also confused as to why Hanna felt so much remorse at the end that she killed herself when she barely displayed any remorse during her tryst with her 16 year old lover. I don't recall the story indicating that her remorse was a result of her stay in prison or because she learned to read and read the works of Elie Wiesel and other Holocaust survivors. Was it not until then that she truly realized the travesties of the war? How would that be possible, since she was there to witness it? The majority of the book was confusing, but most of it tied together at the end. Overall, this is definitely a book I would recommend. Bernhard Schlink is an awesome writer. His work is lyrical and flows like a melody. I loved it.

    Is this helpful?

    ― Nicole Brice said on Dec 9, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780679442790 Hardcover $21.00 -- Amazon US
£14.12 -- Amazon UK
$25.86 -- Amazon CA
¥2570.00 -- Amazon JP
€17.53 -- Amazon FR
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+ 6 copies tradable: 1 in USA →

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