The Reader has garnished my shelves now for about three years and I have finally gotten a chance to enjoy it. If anything it’s made me want to review all the unread books on my shelves and to get cracking on them. This novel has been talked about here and there over the years but I’ve never heard any of my book buddies talk about it. I feel it’s a hidden jewel that everybody should try to possess.
Michael Berg becomes ill one day on his way home from school when Hanna picks him up and cleans him off. She is twice his age and he is only fifteen years old. Michael continues to go back to visit Hanna and they carry on a love affair for a while. As time goes on, the complexities of Hanna start to show, but Michael is virtually incapable of any analysis of this mysterious woman and her ways, who awakens his sexuality, his senses, as he becomes a man.
The novel is told in first person which makes it personal, as if a friend is telling his story. The narrator is a very reliable source because he’s very honest about some very personal private emotions that sometimes aren’t too flattering. The Reader is erotic, melancholic, hopeful, and infuriating. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that put me through so many profound emotions. At times I felt like a voyeur. Schlink was a master at writing this story because it contains all the aspects of what’s needed to make a perfectly balanced. Nothing is done for sensationalism. Every scene has its reason for existing.
Schlink also did an excellent job exploring how the generation of World War II born during or right after the war must have felt and how the collective conscience tries to adapt. The guilt was terribly heavy and doubt was looming over friends but especially family – wondering to what extent they had participated in the war or to what degree did their silence cost lives. It’s terrifying having had to face such heavy actions. This theme is carried right through the book when Michael deals with different characters, his father included.
The Reader was translated into 37 languages and won a few awards including the Hans Fallada Prize (awarded every two years to a young author from the German speaking world since 1981) in 1988, while being the first German book to top the The New York Times bestselling books list. The film adaptation lead to Kate Winslet winning an Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of Hanna Schmitz. Bernhard Schlink has written many books including non-fiction and crime novels. He was born in Bethel, Germany in 1944 although he was brought up in Heidelberg and worked as a professor of law at the University of Berlin and later became a judge. The Reader was his first novel that was translated into English in 1997. Watch the link below to find out more about how and why he wrote The Reader. He’s a very interesting speaker.
Title: The Reader
Genre: Historical Fiction/German literature/World War II Holocaust
Published: 1995 – 1997 translated to English
Edition: Vintage International
Pages: 218
Language: English
My rating: * * * * 1/2
+4,968
Very seductive review, may have to read this one. Thanks DiDi!
Please do. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Bernhard Schlink brings up some interesting points concerning the collective conscience.
Okay Deirdre since you have read and recommended this bookIi am going to read it! I actually work with adults learning to read and we viewed the film [“The Reader”] together, on DVD, last year. It was so poignant, and now I want to read the book and see the film, again.
I loved the book although I’m not sure I’ll love the movie, but who knows. Will give it a try since I love what Kate Winslet does.
Great review! It really looks like an intriguing book.
Thanks! It was so much more than I expected. Well executed.
I really enjoyed the movie and the book is on my TBR list too!
I’m sure you’ll enjoy.
VERY interesting. I have never heard of this book. I just might pick it up.
This book was another surprise for me. It wasn’t at all as I expected it to be but a whole lot better. Beautifully written and full of emotion.