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The Reader

by Bernhard Schlink, Carol Brown Janeway (Translator)

3.59 · rating details · 47,596 ratings · 4,668 reviews

A powerful and intense tale of secrets and a hidden past, The Reader is a thrilling book. As a 15-year-old boy in postwar Germany, Michael Berg had a passionate affair with a mysterious, guarded woman twice his age that ended suddenly when she disappeared. Years later, Michael sees her again -- when she is on trial for a terrible crime.

Hardcover, 218 pages

Published June 26th 1997 by Pantheon (first published January 1st 1995)

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Feb 01, 2009

Lavinia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, fiction

I have the feeling there's more than one way of looking at this book. On one hand it can be viewed as a bildungsroman, it follows Michael Berg since the age of 15 till full maturity. On the other hand, it's the post-war German generation coming to terms with their past, the Nazi crimes and their parents' guilt. Guilt, actually, is a recurring theme in the novel: Hanna is guilty of war crimes, Michael is guilty for betrayal (plus he feels guilty for having loved Hanna and asks himself if that ma...more

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Feb 23, 2009

Chandra rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009-reads, historical-fiction

I picked this up on a whim while traveling this past weekend. I’d finished one novel on the plane and needed something to occupy my time. It was my only purchase at the bookstore that diverged from my to-read list and ended up being the most satisfying. I had zero preconceived ideas about this book and only a small inkling of the plot (based on the movie previews). And I just learned that Kate Winslet won the Best Actress award so odds are most people are aware of the plot so I’ll spare the ...moreI picked this up on a whim while traveling this past weekend. I’d finished one novel on the plane and needed something to occupy my time. It was my only purchase at the bookstore that diverged from my to-read list and ended up being the most satisfying. I had zero preconceived ideas about this book and only a small inkling of the plot (based on the movie previews). And I just learned that Kate Winslet won the Best Actress award so odds are most people are aware of the plot so I’ll spare the details. I have about a million adjectives to describe this book – compelling, disturbing, thought provoking, etc. but none are really quite accurate.

This is a novel that forces us to look at the holocaust through both the eyes of a perpetrator of unspeakable crimes and the man who loved her – a very uncomfortable experience. This is also one of those books that asks more questions than it answers and that also can make people uneasy. Twice Hanna asks the judge at her trial, ‘What would you have done?’ The first time he gives her an oddly generic and unsatisfying answer. The second time he just doesn’t even bother to answer. Odds are we might all have a ready answer for this, but contemplating it a little more deeply might make you squirm a little bit and if it doesn’t I don’t think you’re being entirely honest with yourself. There were far more Hannas than Oskar Schindlers and even more that just sat by while it all happened. The Oskar Schindlers make us feel good about humanity and the Hannas make us face up to the realities.

I agree that the ‘secret’ isn’t in anyway surprising and will be figured out by pretty much everyone who hasn’t been living under a rock very early on. Many people are bothered that this book even has the appearance of taking a sympathetic look at a Nazi war criminal. It reminds me a little of when the videos of Hitler were released in which he is tenderly stroking a dog. Some felt it was too humanizing. I hate to be the one to have to remind everyone that Hitler was indeed human. It’s much easier to process the atrocities if we view him as a complete monster and Germany as a country gone inexplicably mad, but that’s not reality and it’s not doing any one any favors to maintain that myth. The truth is much more complicated and needs to be examined and understood to prevent anything like it from happening again.

This is a novel about guilt and complicity, fear and ignorance and all the things that make people do evil things. In the end Hanna’s secret isn’t some startling revelation that exonerates or even redeems her in anyway. This will relieve some people and puzzle other people. I highly recommend this book! Not everyone will love this book. I've been told his writing style is distancing and off-putting, but I say give it a chance. And please, please, please don’t be turned off by the fact that this is an Oprah book or that it has been made into a major motion picture. It is such a pet peeve of mine to see people discount a book on these two counts. It's very cliche to dismiss everything that is popular - be original and discover merit for yourself.
(less)

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Aug 20, 2009

karen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: littry-fiction, oprah-is-wrong, icky-sex

booring. is that a review?? this was just very flat to me. i wasnt offended by the subject matter - i could care less about the "scandalous" elements. but the writing was so clinical and thin. at one point, i blamed the translation, but c'mon - its not that hard to translate german to english (i cant do it, of course, but its supposed to be one of the easiest translations) i have nothing helpful to say about this except i was bored bored bored. the characters were unapplealing, the "...more

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Dec 04, 2008

Stewart rated it

· review of another edition

Whenever a film is coming out that is based on an acclaimed book, I try to read the book first (knowing that the reverse order almost never happens for me). The Reader is the latest such circumstance, and I'm glad I made the time for this quick read. The book centers on the reflections of a man who, as a teenager in post WW-II Germany, had a passionate love affair with a reticent and mysterious older woman. Mere months later, she disappears from his life. The rest of the book explains why, a...more

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Mar 28, 2008

Jennifer rated it

· review of another edition

This book just fell short with me, on oh so many levels. One thing that did intrigue me and that I have not yet seen much of is the perspective of Germans after the Holocaust and their views on the Third Reich and Hitler's agenda, especially of the younger generation of that time. That was really the only thing that struck me about this book. The rest was just not enough. For one, the affair between MIchael and Hanna was deplorable. Is it supposed to not be as bothersome because it is an older w...more

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Apr 22, 2009

Aerin rated it

Shelves: lit-ra-chur

I had a very hard time with this book. In my opinion it's a masterpiece: a quick, unputdownable read, with stark prose, multifaceted characters, and a story I'm not likely to ever forget. I highly recommend it to anyone.

However, I repeat: I had a very hard time with this book. I finished it a month ago, and I'm still having a hard time with it. It asks so many important moral questions, and none of them have easy answers. I'm beginning to wonder whether they have any answers at ...moreI had a very hard time with this book. In my opinion it's a masterpiece: a quick, unputdownable read, with stark prose, multifaceted characters, and a story I'm not likely to ever forget. I highly recommend it to anyone.

However, I repeat: I had a very hard time with this book. I finished it a month ago, and I'm still having a hard time with it. It asks so many important moral questions, and none of them have easy answers. I'm beginning to wonder whether they have any answers at all.

The Reader is narrated by Michael, who, as a 15-year-old boy in post-WWII Germany, was seduced by a much-older woman named Hanna. At first, he describes their affair tenderly, as if this were a story about romance and coming-of-age, instead of what it really is: a story of pedophilia.

Michael never sees himself as a victim in that way, and at 15, certainly believed himself mature enough to handle their relationship. He enters into it eagerly, and falls obsessively in love with Hanna. He doesn't realize how she uses him; he never consciously connects the affair to his inability to form real relationships later in life.

After a summer of bliss, sex, and reading aloud (the title of the book comes from Hanna's preferred method of foreplay: having Michael read to her from classic novels), Hanna disappears, and Michael never fully recovers.

Years later, as a law student, he runs into her again: she is on trial for Nazi war crimes. With horror, Michael learns that she had been a concentration camp guard who was directly responsible for the burning deaths of dozens of women and children. Hanna and the other guards had refused to unlock the doors of the burning church where the prisoners were corralled, and all but two perished. As he watches the trial unfold, Michael learns that Hanna had been keeping many secrets from him all along.

The book raises many questions: Was what Hanna did forgivable? Even though there were mitigating circumstances, this is a resounding NO. But was what she did understandable? This is harder to suss out. Yes, we hear her explanations, and as we learn more of her background, we realize how such despicable actions were possible. But can we ever understand how somebody could take an active role in such atrocities? That I don't know. How should she be punished? Does the fact that she didn't know what she was a part of make any difference? Are we meant to empathize with her? CAN we empathize with her? Is it possible to atone for something so evil? Is Hanna a victim too? Or is even asking that question inexcusable in the face of what was suffered by Jewish people and others at the hands of the Nazis?

What's so unsettling about this book is that it makes Hanna - a pedophile and mass-murderer - seem like a sympathetic and tragic character. I found myself feeling for her, and then being disgusted that I felt for her, and then being confused at both reactions, and then not being sure HOW I felt. There are no easy answers with this book. It delves unflinchingly into depths of human brutality that I, at least, would prefer to never confront - in reality OR fiction - and left me with no pat conclusions or comforting culminations. Most novels have a viewpoint the author is trying to to convey, but I'm not sure what Schlink was trying to say here. Maybe just that he doesn't know either. Maybe that no one ever will.(less)

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Nov 24, 2010

Malak Alrashed rated it

I realised that my previous review contained lots of spoilers and very little opinions, so I deleted the whole thing, I may re-write another one, and I might not. However, for now the book has a very touching story, it's also well-written and philosophically interesting because it raises questions about: right and wrong, laws and ignorance. Definitely worth the reading!

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Jan 04, 2009

jzhunagev rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-contemporary, oprah-book-club-selection, award-winning-best-seller, from-book-to-film, war-stories, dark-chest-of-wonders

There are some books you know will stay with you forever, and Bernhard Schlink's The Reader is definitely one of them. It has been highly critically acclaimed, winning the Boston Book Review's Fisk Fiction Prize, and it deserves all the praise it has received.

The Holocaust is a difficult, though much covered, subject matter, and this novel has a sure touch and an appealing lack of judgment with it. The story begins in the world of almost-childhood of fifteen-year-old Michael Berg, r...moreThere are some books you know will stay with you forever, and Bernhard Schlink's The Reader is definitely one of them. It has been highly critically acclaimed, winning the Boston Book Review's Fisk Fiction Prize, and it deserves all the praise it has received.

The Holocaust is a difficult, though much covered, subject matter, and this novel has a sure touch and an appealing lack of judgment with it. The story begins in the world of almost-childhood of fifteen-year-old Michael Berg, recovering from a summer of hepatitis, begins a relationship with Hanna, a much older woman he meets by chance. The first part of the novel, untouched by the shadow of the recent war or Germany's disturbed and dangerous past, deals with Michael and Hanna's burgeoning relationship, and the little fears and worries that can make up one big problem. Eventually, as we know it must, their relationship ends and Hanna moves away.

When the book moves on to the second part, the tone has changed considerably. Michael, now a law student, attends the trial of female Nazi war criminals. To his shock, one of them is Hanna, who had been a camp guard at Auschwitz. I won't say more for fear of spoiling it for you, but the Holocaust is seriously considered in the light of philosophy and moral responsibility. There is an attitude that one becomes numb to the horror of it all if too exposed to it, and this book does not go into ghastly detail, but rather examines even more painful details: who was to blame, how do we live with the suffering, how can one atone, and most of all, what is the next generation to do?

It also looks at what it means to love someone, how much we can accept of them and how blind we can be to those we love. Love, guilt and betrayal feature prominently in this novel.

In many ways Hanna was innocent, and yet it becomes apparent that she lived every day with terrible guilt; Michael was a victim of her actions, and yet he too is guilty by association. The reader of the title is Michael, who read to Hanna during the early part of the relationship; the reader is Hanna, alone in prison occupying herself by learning about the experiences of camp inmates. The reader is selected individuals in the camps who read aloud to Hanna, and may have died because of it. But most of all, the reader is ourselves; the title points the finger at us, because now we have the knowledge, what should we do with it? If all it takes for evil to prevail is for the good to remain silent, then how innocent are any of us? And how can we deal with the subsequent guilt? There are so many layers to this subtly complex novel that having just finished it, I have to start it again. The transforming power of words is negated by their ultimate futility, and actions in this novel speak deafeningly loud.

If we have a responsibility towards the past, to learn from it, and I believe we do, then this book will help us to go some way towards fulfilling it.(less)

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Jan 14, 2010

Hayes rated it

Shelves: read-in-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book felt like two different works: two styles, two focuses, two emotional levels. The second was slipped into the first--perhaps intending to give verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative (apologies to W.S. Gilbert).

The first story was kind of interesting, although not highly likely: a 15-year-old boy meets, by sheer chance, a 30-year-old woman and starts an affair with her, even goes on vacation with her; he becomes obsessed by her. This part of the book ...moreThis book felt like two different works: two styles, two focuses, two emotional levels. The second was slipped into the first--perhaps intending to give verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative (apologies to W.S. Gilbert).

The first story was kind of interesting, although not highly likely: a 15-year-old boy meets, by sheer chance, a 30-year-old woman and starts an affair with her, even goes on vacation with her; he becomes obsessed by her. This part of the book read very much like a typical adolescent male fantasy (right down to the bubble bath).

Hanna then disappears. Michael suffers, beats his breast, has several failed relationships, becomes a lawyer and an adult.

Now the second story comes into play. After many years Michael finds Hanna in court, on trial for collaborating with the Nazis, accused of being the evilest of evil prison guards. This part of the story was also bald and unconvincing, the testimony flimsy, the motivations flimsier; the conviction doesn't seem likely at all, but I'm not a lawyer, so I wouldn't really know. It reads like a law brief, cold and distant. It might be a description of a trial found in a law textbook. It probably was a description of a trial found in a law textbook, seeing that the author is a lawyer, and a judge.

Then we get back to the first work. Michael has married and divorced and goes about his cold and distant life. At this point the book reads like a typical adult male fantasy: If only you were exactly like my first, if the sex could only be like it was, I might be able to love you (he tells his wife).

And of course there is a reunion of sorts. Michael begins to record his voice while he is reading to Hanna, and sends the tapes to her in prison, continuing the routine, without the sex, of their relationship when he was 15. He even organizes her future life for her, finding her a job and an apartment, for when she gets out of prison.

The ending is the only thing that is realistic and satisfying in a strange way. Hanna shows the ultimate wisdom of knowing that you can't go back again and kills herself on the eve of her release from prison.

I haven't seen the film yet (will I ever? I don't know), but I can bet that the film will be better than the book. This book belongs in my category of books-that-were-always-intended-to-be-films-but-came-out-as-books-first-for-commercial-purposes.

I just wish we could leave screenplays as screenplays and literature as literature. (less)

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Mar 27, 2009

bookczuk rated it

Shelves: bookcrossing, moxie-review

I admit it. This book sat on my shelf a while, and was almost doomed to obscurity when I found out it had been chosen as one for the club by Oprah. But once I picked it up, I whizzed through it.

At first, I wondered if the style of writing- distant, reserved- was a function of the translation from the original German. But in retrospect, I don't think so. The reserve that Michael and Hannah have through much of their relationship- the withholding of information from each other- and the...more

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Jan 31, 2009

Becky rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ww2, 2009, reviewed, holocaust-and-atrocities, disappointing

When I first saw this book at the thrift-store months ago, I thought to myself that it had to be amazing. The cover image intrigued me, I'm interested in reading books that pertain to the Holocaust, and at only 218 pages, it's short so I felt sure that it would pack a punch.

The first part interested me, due to the fact that I felt the book was leading up to something really dramatic and exciting, but I never felt that spark that makes a book great. Everything felt a bit rushed, and ...moreWhen I first saw this book at the thrift-store months ago, I thought to myself that it had to be amazing. The cover image intrigued me, I'm interested in reading books that pertain to the Holocaust, and at only 218 pages, it's short so I felt sure that it would pack a punch.

The first part interested me, due to the fact that I felt the book was leading up to something really dramatic and exciting, but I never felt that spark that makes a book great. Everything felt a bit rushed, and matter-of-fact, and almost scripted. The beginning of Hanna and Michael's affair was so abrupt that it seemed unnatural.

The second part, which should have really interested me, as it's the part that dealt with the majority of the Holocaust issues, was interesting only because of Hanna's actions. Her secret wasn't really a revelation to me, as I had suspected it for quite a while.

The third part was boring to me. Michael annoyed me in his alienation from others, and his refusal to accept other women as they are and instead tries to make them fit into this ideal Hanna-mold that Hanna herself didn't even fit. It felt to me that he gave up living after his affair with Hanna deteriorated, just as he had given up against her so many times while they were together. Hanna was the star, and Michael was responsible for the stage-dressing and supporting roles.

One thing that irritated me throughout the story was Michael's inability to remember the things that he wants to tell us about. I understand that most people do not have 100% recall, but I counted at least 5 examples of where he would try to describe what he couldn't remember. This just seemed so lazy to me. Like the author expects the reader (meaning us) to do all the work of imagining the scenario for him, so that he does not have to give it life of its own. I suppose that some will say that Michael's inability to remember everything makes the story more real, but I just kept thinking what a cheat it was.

This was an OK book. I'd recommend it if I thought that the person would really enjoy it, but I myself felt disappointed by it over all. (less)

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Jan 13, 2009

Michael rated it

· review of another edition

In his thought-provoking exploration of Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung Schlink presents the reader with a number of moral conundrums as well as with compelling portraits of the two principal characters. Since the reader comes to know the characters and experience the conundrums from the point of view of the narrating character only, the reader must decide both the accuracy and the completeness of the assessments given. Called to judge the actions of both characters, the reader experiences the diffic...more

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Dec 04, 2008

Mary rated it

A fast read. Germany post-WWII when they are just coming to terms with their Nazi past, "the reader", a teenage boy of 15 is awakened sexually by a woman twice his age with a secret past. Besides sex, a large part of their time together is spent with him reading literature to her. After an intense affair she vanishes, leaving him devastated and emotionally numb as he moves through the next few years. In college, he encounters her again as a law student at her trial for war crimes as ...more

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Feb 02, 2011

Joana added it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

A história é narrada na primeira pessoa por um homem que, em adolescente, se apaixonou por uma mulher mais velha e com ela viveu uma relação amorosa e que, misteriosa e repentinamente, desapareceu. O narrador volta a encontrá-la anos mais tarde, num tribunal, como ré num processo de acusação de ex-guardas de campos de concentração nazis.
Talvez tudo que se segue pretenda reflectir sobre o sentido da vida ou a falta dele. O Leitor é um dos livros mais desconcertantes que conheço. Apesar de se...more

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May 24, 2011

Aleksandra rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2011, 5-stars, school-reading, owned-read

Our Slovene teacher gave our class a list of books from 20th Century and we all had to pick one, read it and then analyze it. I immediately picked The Reader. Why? I always wanted to read the book, because I was familiar with the movie and I find the topic interesting, controversial even. After that, I watched the movie and now I finished the book. Reading was quick, it flows very well when you read. I marked quite a lot of quotes from it and some parts really fascinated me. The story is centere...moreOur Slovene teacher gave our class a list of books from 20th Century and we all had to pick one, read it and then analyze it. I immediately picked The Reader. Why? I always wanted to read the book, because I was familiar with the movie and I find the topic interesting, controversial even. After that, I watched the movie and now I finished the book. Reading was quick, it flows very well when you read. I marked quite a lot of quotes from it and some parts really fascinated me. The story is centered around a 15 year old boy and how he had an affair with an older women, after some time they had a special ritual: first he read to her, then they took a bath and then they made love. Most of the people would find their relationship absurd and wrong in every single way. But I found it...touching? I can't even explain it. Maybe it was because I've seen the movie before and I knew what's going to happen, but I understand Hanna (the woman) very well. After the summer she leaves and then he meets her again in his student years on a trial against her and 4 other women, all accused of crimes during Holocaust when they worked as guards. Other women accuse Hanna of writing and signing a report about an incident in which lots of people burned to death. They sentence her to a life-time imprisonment. After that Michael realizes that Hanna never read a food menu, she never read the books with him aka she couldn't read nor write. In that moment, as a reader, I felt bad for her, mostly because reading is such a wonderful gift. After that he mostly discusses if it was right to love her and feel sorry for her and ignoring the crimes she still made. She was selecting young girls and they read to her every evening and then she sent them to Auschwitz where they died. With time he starts recording his reading and sending it to Hanna in prison, that way she starts to learn how to write and how to read. It's very touching really. When she files a requiry to leave prison earlier they approve it and he comes to visit her for the first time. A week after, when she was supposed to be realesed... (read the book, I don't want to give to much spoilers). The ending left me with so many questions and most of the time I felt annoyed by Michael because he was constantly talking about how wrong it is to love a criminal, how it all affected him in life and he simply complains for the whole time. I would love to read Hanna's point of view and how she struggled with life without being able to write or read. Don't get me wrong I don't support her actions during the Holocaust, just the ones after. But to conclude, the book was amazing.(less)

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May 29, 2009

Paula rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Paula by: Cercle Litteraire

Shelves: french, novels-and-stories, best-reads-of-2009, second-or-third-time-around

I've read Le Liseur twice now in its French translation from the German. The film The Reader tracks the novel quite closely, with the only significant change one that comes at the very end, when Michael visits Hanna's grave. In the film he is accompanied by his daughter. In the novel, he goes alone. The story is a disturbing one, with its ultimately unanswered questions regarding guilt, shame, betrayal and responsibility. The novel can be read as the personal story of Michael Berg and Hanna Sch...moreI've read Le Liseur twice now in its French translation from the German. The film The Reader tracks the novel quite closely, with the only significant change one that comes at the very end, when Michael visits Hanna's grave. In the film he is accompanied by his daughter. In the novel, he goes alone. The story is a disturbing one, with its ultimately unanswered questions regarding guilt, shame, betrayal and responsibility. The novel can be read as the personal story of Michael Berg and Hanna Schmitz set in post-war Germany, but it can also be read as an allegory in which Hanna represents Germany, the country itself, and the generation of the parents, those who were adults during the Hitler years. Michael represents the next generation who were children or not yet born during the war. It is the lack of an accounting, of memory on the part of the parents’ generation that ultimately victimizes Michael and future generations, as their own silence and betrayal is a product of that of parents who didn't confront the past, who just moved on. This betrayal of memory on the part of the German populace after WWII is a subject that has been effectively explored by the writer, W.G. Sebald. Michael Berg is 15 when he becomes involved with Hanna, who at 36 is 21 years his senior. He initiates the relationship, but Hanna, as the adult, may be exploiting, and in a sense raping, him nonetheless.
Hanna’s secret and her secret shame is her illiteracy, an, unexplained in the novel, handicap which determines the course of her life, including her employment as a concentration camp guard during WWII and her later condemnation and imprisonment for what she did there. In fact, Hanna ultimately admits to more responsibility than she actually had in events surrounding a terrible fire in a locked church that killed all but two of the Jewish prisoners guarded by Hanna and several other women. Rather than admit her inability to read either the accusations against her or the book written by a girl who, along with her mother, survived the fire, Hanna is sentenced to life in prison.
The course of Michael Berg’s life is determined, in turn, by his relationship with Hanna and his feelings of betrayal both of her and by her.
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Apr 04, 2009

Shannon rated it

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Shelves: 2009, historical-fiction

I haven't seen the movie yet, only a preview on a DVD a few weeks ago* (which reminded me I had the book on my shelf), but I have to say: while reading this I kept thinking God this would make a great film! And Kate Winslet would be great as Hanna! I like to think that if the movie hadn't already been made and put the idea in my head, it would have been a prophetic thought.

When Michael Berg was fifteen he became sick with Hepatitis; several months of convalescence later, he goes back...moreI haven't seen the movie yet, only a preview on a DVD a few weeks ago* (which reminded me I had the book on my shelf), but I have to say: while reading this I kept thinking God this would make a great film! And Kate Winslet would be great as Hanna! I like to think that if the movie hadn't already been made and put the idea in my head, it would have been a prophetic thought.

When Michael Berg was fifteen he became sick with Hepatitis; several months of convalescence later, he goes back to visit the woman who helped him when he threw up on the street, to thank her. A quiet, strong woman in her thirties, Hanna works as a tram conductor and lives a solitary life. Catching a glimpse of her taking off her stockings, Michael flees in shame when she notices him looking. But a week of obsessing over her sees him returning, and they quickly become lovers.

He keeps his relationship with her a secret. At her insistence, he picks up his studies and manages to make up for his lost time while sick. He loves Hanna and, in a way, feels she has ruined him for any other woman - which becomes clear when Hanna suddenly disappears and Michael tries to move on.

While at university studying law, he takes part in a seminar which involves sitting in on a trial of people accused of war crimes when with the Nazis during World War II. He has spent so long cultivating a dispassionate, cold shell that Michael feels nothing when he sees that one of the women on trial is Hanna.

He is there for every day of the trial, but only once do they make eye contact. He can't understand why Hanna is not defending herself as well as she could, why she is letting the other women on trial blame her for everything - until he realises what her real secret, her real shame is. If he explained it to the judge, there would be no way Hanna could be convicted of these heinous crimes at Auschwitz and another labour camp - but he wrestles with his moral and ethical right to do so.

Schlink was born in 1944 and is a Law Professor in Berlin. Certainly, while reading this, I felt like the author had been there, seen that. Narrated by Michael at some later stage in his life, it reads like a real life - and in a way it is: a great many lives given voice in one slim novel. One of the questions Michael raises concerns the children, like himself, of the generation who sat by and did nothing while the Nazis persecuted and plundered. I never really thought about it before, but I can imagine, thanks to Michael, how hard it would have been for this post-war generation to respect their parents, and understand them without having lived through it themselves to truly know what it must have been like.

Apart from that, this book - and Michael - doesn't judge. The relationship between a fifteen year old and a woman twice his age isn't judged - neither is it ever exposed. Hanna's involvement in Auschwitz is judged by the court but not by Michael, who instead tries to understand Hanna and her motivations. He also tries to understand his own feelings for Hanna, but is often lost in the nostalgia of his adolescent love affair. The Reader isn't about black and white, or good and evil - it's about all the grey bits that make up the moral and ethical complexities and contradictions of humans. It isn't about having a conclusion, about coming to a final understanding, but the process of reaching an understanding and the futility of a conclusion.

I admit that as I was reading this I didn't pay much attention to the details, only to the narrative and the characters. I wouldn't be surprised if there are many things I overlooked, symbolism and recurring themes and such. On a re-read, I would focus more closely on what else Michael chooses to tell us, and why. This would be a great novel to study: deceptively simple, it harbours secrets barely tapped at.

*Rented the movie a few weeks ago but only got halfway through. It was disappointing because, though done well and the acting was great etc., it was just a visualisation of the book and gave/offered nothing new. (less)

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Jun 25, 2009

Kelly Jo rated it

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Shelves: fiction-literature

I was intrigued with the concept of a book about a Nazi camp worker surviving the war, becoming a productive citizen, then facing the consequences later. In my history studies I wondered about those people who worked in Nazi Germany, people like Hanna, those who were at heart "good" people caught in a nightmare situation but not willfull enough to sacrifice their lives in protest.

I had high expectations for this story. From the first pages, I felt the writing was weak. The...more

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Mar 29, 2009

Susan rated it

Shelves: own-in-book-format, fiction, historical-fiction, read-in-2009, reading-challenges, regrettable-reads

I'll start my review by telling you that I have not seen the movie based on this book - I thought I wanted to, but now I don't really see the appeal.

15 year-old Michael Berg becomes ill on his way home from school one day and is rescued by Hanna Schmitz, a streetcar conductor more than twice his age. When he is well again, he seeks out Frau Schmitz and becomes her lover. Michael eventually spends more time with friends from school and feels as if he is betraying his relationship with...moreI'll start my review by telling you that I have not seen the movie based on this book - I thought I wanted to, but now I don't really see the appeal.

15 year-old Michael Berg becomes ill on his way home from school one day and is rescued by Hanna Schmitz, a streetcar conductor more than twice his age. When he is well again, he seeks out Frau Schmitz and becomes her lover. Michael eventually spends more time with friends from school and feels as if he is betraying his relationship with Hanna, and they understandably begin to drift apart. Then one day, Hanna completely disappears from his life. The next time he sees her, he is a young law student, and Hanna is on trial for crimes she committed as a prison guard at Auschwitz. As Hanna attempts to defend herself (badly,) Michael realizes that see is harboring a secret she feels is even more shameful than her crimes as part of the Third Reich.

I was on a wait-list for weeks at my library to get my hands on this book. I had high hopes when I began reading, but in the end, I was disappointed. The writing fell extremely flat, and it simply failed to engage me in the story. The entire novel read like a story outline - what happened to the meat? The plot was full of promise that was never delivered. It was so dry and thin, it's only real virtue being the fact that I was able to read it really quickly.

I felt nothing for the characters - they were shallow, and I did not care at all what happened to them. There was no development of any of the characters, and they seemed as flat as cardboard cut-outs. The relationship between Michael and Hanna that so many people call "erotic" and "romantic", I found to be superficial at best. I felt no emotional pull between the main characters - they were cold and unfeeling on the pages, and left me with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I really wish I had chosen another book for my reading challenge. I feel cheated by The Reader, as if it was a complete waste of my time. It was very simplistic and redundant. I kept waiting for the plot to thicken, and SPOILER ALERT - it never did! I cannot recommend this one to anyone, so read at your own risk.(less)

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May 28, 2008

Emily Kramer rated it

It took me more then one try to get into this one but once i made it past the first sex scene i was hooked. This story begins with an affair between a fifteen year old boy and a thirty something year old women and then doubles back to matters more serious and complex. If I knew this book was about the Holocaust at all, I wouldn't have picked it up. But then I also went to Berlin without going to the Holocaust museum. And I've never seen Schindler's List.

The Reader is able to ad...more

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Apr 25, 2009

Hannah Messler rated it

This lady who sells books gave me a copy of this yesterday and it's a super fast and mostly good read . . . the lady said she hated it and it was one of the stupidest books she's ever read, which, I don't know, I didn't feel that way. But now I want to read reviews to see what the hell, coz I thought it was fine--not the best thing I've ever read, but not the worst.

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Apr 07, 2010

Charles rated it

Recommends it for: not many

Recommended to Charles by: none

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 30, 2009

Gayle rated it

· review of another edition

What a haunting book. At first I didn't think I'd like this novel, fresh on the heels of my reading Zusak's lyrical, tightly constructed flow (The Book Thief). This novel has a lot more exposition, which suits its more philosophical purpose. I now have a reading hangover, because I started one night (couldn't sleep once I started it) and had to finish it the next (couldn't sleep until I finished it).

Schlink poses difficult questions that tie into the plot, like what ultimately motiva...more

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Mar 23, 2009

Stephanie rated it

Shelves: books-read-in-2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Most of the women in my book club could tell you that I never rule out a story because of its lack of a happy ending. I still felt betrayed by The Reader even though I understand Schlink's attempt at poetic justice.

I found myself understanding Hanna's attraction of the weaker child, Michael. I saw her as a heroine, injecting Michael with a sense of confidence that he would not have attained for many years had he lived his life like a normal teenager.

Then I found her as ...more

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May 31, 2009

booklady rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, adventure, crime, literature, historical-fiction, philosophy, war, psychology

As a general rule, I consider the word “erotic” in any book publicist lingo a euphemism for soft porn, so when I perused the description of Bernhard Schlink’s novel I wasn’t sure if it would be worth bothering with despite its intriguing (to a booklady such as myself) title. The first half of the book did indeed seem to fit my expectations of little more than titillation under the guise of literary searching. However, if the reader (small “R”) can overlook the blatant sexuality inherent in a ...moreAs a general rule, I consider the word “erotic” in any book publicist lingo a euphemism for soft porn, so when I perused the description of Bernhard Schlink’s novel I wasn’t sure if it would be worth bothering with despite its intriguing (to a booklady such as myself) title. The first half of the book did indeed seem to fit my expectations of little more than titillation under the guise of literary searching. However, if the reader (small “R”) can overlook the blatant sexuality inherent in a young man’s premature and blighted ‘awakening’ which predominates the beginning of The Reader, there are aspects of the book which definitely make it worthwhile.

Michael Bern is fifteen when he meets Hanna Schmitz, who is more than twice his age. What starts off as a physical affair turns into something quite different, a voyage of discovery through the Great Books of Literature. Homer’s Odyssey provides the thematical basis for the rest of the book which is that although our destiny is ever homeward, in fact we can never return to the same ‘home’ and certainly we can’t if we intend to reach this – or any – destination via physical or mental means. Indeed, the entire purpose of Literature is to change anyone who steps into its proverbial river. In this respect, Schlink’s novel is an archetype in much the same vein as Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress ; one will be both the richer – and the poorer (in terms of lost innocence) – for setting out on a journey of reading. I believe that is why both authors tie sexuality to the art of reading.

Valuable insights/qualities in The Reader include: the folly and volatility of youthful self-perception; the complexity of the human creature, i.e., the fallen from Grace still possess a great desire to do Good, see Justice and know Truth; unanswerable questions, at least to those lacking any spiritual dimension or basis and a severe critique on books and reading.

Based on my initial prejudices about this book I obtained it from the library as opposed to purchasing my own copy in which I usually highlight favorite quotes, outline and/or make notes to myself. As such, I was forced to make use of removable page tabs to indicate notable passages; I stopped marking such places when I reached fifteen. However, the ultimate insight can be found on page 157. A more mature Michael is trying to come to grips with Hanna’s role in The Holocaust and his own shared responsibility for her crimes, despite the fact he was born after World War II. Here is what he says:

‘I wanted simultaneously to understand Hanna’s crime and condemn it. But it was too terrible for that. When I tried to understand it, I had the feeling I was failing to condemn it as it must be condemned. When I condemned it as it must be condemned, there was no room for understanding. But even as I wanted to understand Hanna, failing to understand her meant betraying her all over again. I could not resolve this. I wanted to pose myself both tasks—understanding and condemnation. But it was impossible to do both.’

Indeed, perhaps that also describes the position I find myself in as a reviewer of The Reader. As an incredibly insightful book which I did not like, I’ve struggled with how to rate it. Ultimately, I’m settling on two stars but only as a compromise between my distaste for the story's somewhat cynical and morose perspective and my appreciation of the truths the author offers. I am reminded of Sophie Scholl and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, two German martyrs of the same era who found something worth living – and dying – for much greater than reading.(less)

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Mar 15, 2009

Meghan rated it

When the movie came out there was a lot of press and at some point I heard or read a review that basically gave this story away and I think if this wouldn't have happened, I may have liked the book just a little more.
Chandra requested that I read this book so she had someone to discuss it with as she read it while on a recent flight. I am not sure she will ever ask me to read a book again after my criticism.
Bernhard definitely didn't win me over with his writing style. Perhaps somet...more

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May 14, 2009

Simika rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 07, 2010

Kristy rated it

· review of another edition

"At first I wanted to write our story in order to be free of it. But the memories wouldn't come back for that. Then I realized our story was slipping away from me and i wanted to recapture it by writing, but that didn't coax up the memories either. For the last few years I've left our story alone. I've made peace with it. And it came back, detail for detail and in such a fully rounded fashion, with it's own direction and it's own sense of completion, that is no longer makes me sad. What a s...more"At first I wanted to write our story in order to be free of it. But the memories wouldn't come back for that. Then I realized our story was slipping away from me and i wanted to recapture it by writing, but that didn't coax up the memories either. For the last few years I've left our story alone. I've made peace with it. And it came back, detail for detail and in such a fully rounded fashion, with it's own direction and it's own sense of completion, that is no longer makes me sad. What a sad story, I thought for so long. Not that I now think it was happy. BUT I THINK IT IS TRUE, AND THUS THE QUESTION OF WHETHER IS IS SAD OR HAPPY HAS NO MEANING WHATEVER. "

Part 1:
This is a love story- but not really. Micheal is 15 when we are introduced to him, that is also when he meets an older lady, in her 30's. He is sick, she helps. He goes to thank her and it becomes something way more than innocent. They pretty much start going at it right of the bat. He loves her. She in her own way loves him- but is always seemingly off somewhere in her own head. While it was hard to get past their age difference, the story itself was still charming. A part of me really didn't like Hannah, but our main character is so enthralled with her it's hard not to want her to be a part of his life.

Part 2:
Hannah Skips town. No goodbye. Michael beats himself up. He feels guilty. He's mad at her. He's mad at himself. He throws himself into school at a Univerity. He becomes hard, he is no longer the light-hearted lover-boy of previous years. He tries to feel nothing. Enter a trail his class is going to. Ennter subject on Trial= Hannah. He lies to himself, he say's he feels nothing.

Part 3:
She is convicted of some pretty terrible crimes. He hates himself for being able to love someone who could allow such things to happen. He feels guilty again. She remains in jail for 18 years. He somewhat lives, but is always compelled to keep somewhat in toch with her. (I really don't wan't to say much here, I don't want to give away the story.)

Is what they had truely love? will it last all the years? Will he get over his guilt? Does she really love hm? Is she a bad person?

"Does everyone feel this way? When I was Young, I was perpetually overconfident or insecure. Either I felt Completely useless, unattractive and worthless, or I was pretty much a sucess, and everything I did was bound to succeed. When I was confident, I could overcome the hardest challenges. But all it took was the smallest setback for me to be sure that I was utterly worthless. Regaining my self-confidence had nothing to do with success; every goal I set myself, every recognition I craved made anything I actually did seem paltry by comparison, and whether I experienced it as a failure or triumph was utterly dependent on my mood."

For most of us who are Reader's, this book will tug at your hearstrings. Like I said this is a love story- but not really- it is sooo much more than that. It is a hauntingly beuatiful tale of post war romance and selfworth.

Sidenote: I cannot wait to see Kate winslet in this role. She is going to bring Hannah to life!(less)

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Dec 29, 2009

Nyamka Ganni rated it

· review of another edition

All I want to say is that I'm happy that I read it.
This is kind of book that would never be forgotten. Story is just so good that I'm actually in love with it. While I was reading I was tried to understand Hanna and Michael throughout the book. At some point Hanna's decisions made me angry and made me want to understand her continuously. What would I do if was her?......
And also the things Michael did for Hanna sometimes make me upset and sometimes happy! It was really nice to feel ...more

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Dec 16, 2008

Dianna rated it

I started this on audio and picked it up in print. I realized after I finished that half of the riveting nature of the plot was the artfulness of the reader Campbell Scott. It must have been very difficult to pick a reader for "The Reader", but they did a fantastic job. When I picked the book back up in print with the idea that I'd be better able to pick up on nuance in plot and writing, I was disappointed. Frankly, the writing wasn't as good as I'd thought (though I rarely claim to be...moreI started this on audio and picked it up in print. I realized after I finished that half of the riveting nature of the plot was the artfulness of the reader Campbell Scott. It must have been very difficult to pick a reader for "The Reader", but they did a fantastic job. When I picked the book back up in print with the idea that I'd be better able to pick up on nuance in plot and writing, I was disappointed. Frankly, the writing wasn't as good as I'd thought (though I rarely claim to be a good judge of that). This book is usually noted to be a novel of eroticism, but the narrator reads in an almost monotone that becomes intimate without any unnecessary inflection. I give the audio a lauded 5 stars and the text a disappointed 3 stars in comparison.

An adult Michael Berg recollects the woman who set his life on its path. As a 15 year old boy who had become a bit of an introspective intellect in his confinement following Hepatitis, he met and was intrigued by 36 year old Hannah. The past and present blend as Michael and Hannah have a strange summer love affair in which the author artfully dances around propriety and eroticism. Hannah, with a mysterious past, is obviously troubled, and (like a car wreck in slow motion) we watch as she becomes the mysterious and troubled past for Michael. The love affair ends as oddly and abruptly as it began. So ends Part 1 of 3 of the book.

In Part 2 we watch as Michael, now in Law School, is assigned to audit the trial in which Hannah is tried for a crime she is accused of committing as a Nazi guard of Auschwitz in WWII (20 years after the fact). I was surprised by how riveted I was by this part of the book. Legal proceedings almost always glaze my eyes over, but the author (who is a lawyer and judge) writes this, too, as if it were just another part of their love story. I won't give anything away here, though. Part 3 (where I picked up the text) takes place another 18 years later... just read it. Better yet, pick up or download the audio.(less)

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About Bernhard Schlink

Bernhard Schlink is a German jurist and writer. He became a judge at the Constitutional Court of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1988 and has been a professor of public law and the philosophy of law at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany since January 2006.

His career as a writer began with several detective novels with a main character named Selb--a play on the German w...more

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Quotes from The Reader

“There's no need to talk about it, because the truth of what one says lies in what one does.” — 74 people liked it

“Why? Why does what was beautiful suddenly shatter in hindsight because it concealed dark truths? Why does the memory of years of happy marriage turn to gall when our partner is revealed to have had a lover all those years? Because such a situation makse it impossible to be happy? But we were happy! Sometimes the memory of happiness cannot stay true because it ended unhappily. Because happiness is only real if it lasts forever? Because things always end painfully if they contained pain, conscious or unconscious, all along? But what is unconscious, unrecognized pain? ” — 57 people liked it

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