The Next Best Book Club discussion
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The Reader
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I read this recently and thought it was terrible.
I read this book several years ago and I really liked this book. Can't speak too much about specifics, but I remember being really touched by it.
Yup, Emily it was.. are we approved to post spoilers here.. I might say something that will affect those who are planning to read this book.. Sorry for my ignorance.. Shame on me I don't know considering I was the one who started this discussion.*shy grin* LOL... ^_^
I read this last autumn for my IB exam. I remember thinking it was okay. Nothing over the top but good enough. I had read worse books before it so it was a nice change to get something that was at least a little bit of interesting ;) I liked part one the most, whilst I just found part 2 utterly boring (even though that's one of the most central parts of the stories occur) and part 3 okay.So how is it with spoilers in this thread? :)
Hey! Did anyone of you had already seen the movie?
I really loved the book and I'm excited to go see the movie when it comes out.
I have a question for those of you who have read this book. I am definitely interested in the plot, etc., having watched the recent Charlie Rose interview with the creators and lead actors from the film. However, I am wondering how explicit or graphic the love scenes are in the book. I prefer not to read things that are too descriptive. Could any of you give me some feedback on how graphic it is? I'm not a prude by any means, but just prefer to avoid detailed descriptions of sex scenes.
I am anxious to read this book as well. I picked it up at the library the other day, but have a few that are due back before that one that I need to read first. I'll admit that I only picked it up because I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie!
I was looking at this book today at the book store and realized that I had this book already and had started reading it several times and couldn't get into it. Maybe I'll have to give it another go when I can find it again. It's buried in the stashes of books that are all over the house!
Lydia, while it's been quite a while since I read this book, I don't remember any sex scenes, which leads me to believe that they weren't graphic.
I also want to read "The Reader" before is too late,meaning,i do not want to see the movie first.
I don't remember the love scenes being graphic at all. In fact, other than just knowing that they are lovers....I think that's it.
I think so too Kathy. I mean, it's very clear what's going on, but I don't remember one description of anything remotely 'naughty'.
Thanks so much for your comments. I think I'll put this on my list of books to read in the very near future.
I've been considering a reread with this one. I really liked it!
I have "The Reader" in my stash and have moved it up to read before the movie comes out.
Hey guys I'd already read the whole book and am happy if i could discuss it with you. Feel free to post your questions. To Lydia: no there are no graphic description of sex here whatsoever. In fact, Schlink had even made it artistic and lyrical unlike those cheap eroticas I'd read. He even doesn't use the f-word here. He's a sensitive enough writer.
Too bad it will be quite sometime before the movie version of this book will be shown here in the Philippines.
I just read this book last week and really enjoyed it although some aspects of it I found a little predictable. I pictured Kate Winslet as Hanna throughout the read since I have seen so many recent trailors.
This story really makes you think, it raises a lot of questions? I really felt sad for Michael, which was ironic because he was sooo happy at one point. Is it really better to have loved and lost, then to never have loved at all... or is it more a question of was this really "love" at all? She did have a certain "power" over him but was that love? I kind of got the feeling that this was a memoir.
Guys, would you like to have a separate thread to discuss the book? One which allows us to post spoilers.
We can't post spoilers here? If not, then I guess so...in order to really discuss it.
Yeah, maybe in some ways Nikki I thought that this story is some what autobiographical. This story made me pause, thought hard and long that I'd concluded that the conflict in present was a "generational-conflict", or so I had. It made me realized that the real conflict in this novel is in the protagonist himself, Michael Berg, for he is torn between both extremes of loving and betraying, which by the way was the central theme of the novel.I'm loving this book.. ^_^
I'm wondering how hard it had been being a German in Michale's age back then with the death guard prosecution going on..
Seems to me that the whole nation is being persecuted.
Yeah, maybe in some ways Nikki I thought that this story is some what autobiographical. This story made me pause, thought hard and long that I'd concluded that the conflict in present was a "generational-conflict", or so I had. It made me realized that the real conflict in this novel is in the protagonist himself, Michael Berg, for he is torn between both extremes of loving and betraying, which by the way was the central theme of the novel.I'm loving this book.. ^_^
I'm wondering how hard it had been being a German in Michale's age back then with the death guard prosecution going on..
Seems to me that the whole nation is being persecuted.
I read the book over Christmas, and just got back from seeing the movie this afternoon. And I'm watching the Golden Globes as I write, Kate Winslet just won for her role as Hanna, whoo-hoo (much deserved)!As for the book, it's written for those of us who are intrigued by ethical dilemmas. I took several ethics classes as a post-graduate, so I'm very interested in the subject. The crux of the book is how do you judge Hanna. Do you judge her for having an affair with a young teen, for her part in the Holocaust, or for the trade-offs she makes? Or should we even try to judge her at all?
In the book and the movie, very little background information is given about Hanna. The protagonist, and we the readers and viewers, are given the opportunity to judge her on a few actions that we know as fact, and then some hearsay. As the story unfolds, we're given a huge responsibility to try and discern this woman's motives.
Wow! Kate Winslet truly deserves that award! It would have been better if her nomination to that role was placed at the best actress nomination.So Katie, how did you judge Hanna?
jzhunagev, good question! I think I finally decided I could not judge Hanna, as I didn't have enough information to go on. My questions about Hanna's past, were very parallel to Michael's questions about his parents' generation. Who knew what and when? And if they knew, what could they have done to stop what was going on. Some books and films leave us with the question of what happened. In the case of 'The Reader', we know what happened, but we're left with the question of why, which is a lot more complicated to analyze. Since Christmas, I've been the questioning the 'whys' as they pertain not only to Hanna, but to a whole generation of Germans.I saw three of the perfomances for best supporting actress, and by far Kate Winslet deserved the award. Perhaps they put her in that category because of her leading role in 'Revolutionary Road' (they didn't want to put her in the position of competing against herself.
I loved reading 'Revolutionary Road', I can't wait to see the movie.
Looking forward to reading Revolutionary Road, too.Katie, being an American, do you think are there any parallel between Germany's unique history and the American experience?
Do you remember that scene wherein Hanna asked twice the judge the question: "What would you have done?"
I think that is a subtle scene by Schlink wherein the finger pointing at us, that we the readers, are the ones who are asked by Hanna, and not necessarily the judge. Imagine being in her situation, so what would you have done?
Woot! Woot!Vote for The Reader to be our Book Club read in August...
I absolutely adored the Reader. I found it a stunning portrait of grief, regret, and the nature of morality. Truly, a phenomenal book (in my opinion). On a side not - I loved the movie as well.
Katie wrote: "I absolutely adored the Reader. I found it a stunning portrait of grief, regret, and the nature of morality. Truly, a phenomenal book (in my opinion). On a side not - I loved the movie as well. "I'll toast to that Katie... Kate Winslet's acting was superb!!
I have to say that I wasn't really impressed with the book too much. I haven't seen the movie at all. What I was wondering through most of it is why is it that when a thirty year old man is "dating" (don't think I'm allowed to use the term I use at home for what they do) it's borderline pedophilia. But when the same situation is an older woman and young boy it's "romantic".Not sure about spoilers here so I don't know if I'm giving anything away here- Be Warned!- but I thought the big secret was kind of lame. I think I'd admit to it rather than face that much time in prison. I thought the ending was pretty predictable once the trial happened. I don't mean to down on anyone's taste but that's just how I saw it.
I read this book for a Contemporary German Literature course while I was studying at Heidelberg University in Germany. It was extremely interesting for me to discuss this book with a classroom full of mostly German folks. We talked a lot about who it is fair to hold responsible and there was definitely disagreement about Hanna's level of guilt.Grace, your comment that you would admit you couldn't read were you in Hanna's position is interesting too. We talked about that and many of the other students in the class would have also found that level of illiteracy extremely embarrassing. Most people said they would have admitted it eventually anyway, but it would have taken a lot of courage. And everyone agreed that Michael did the right thing in not butting in and saving her. I feel like Americans would feel more like it was up to them to do something! I know I wished Michael would have spoken up.
One aspect of the book that really resonated with me was this idea of WW2 guilt. No one thinks the Holocaust was funny, but here in the US we definitely make jokes about Hitler and use the name lightly. Not so in Germany.
I don't think that Grace was saying that she couldn't read, she was saying that in Hanna's position, she would have admitted to being illiterate rather than take the fall for an entire groups' actions.
It's been on my TBR for a long while and the film is playing in a summer festival here in Rome, so I will be interested to read it. I did not realize that it had received such mixed reviews (she said, crawling out from under a rock...)
Becky wrote: "I don't think that Grace was saying that she couldn't read, she was saying that in Hanna's position, she would have admitted to being illiterate rather than take the fall for an entire groups' acti..."Haha! I reread my sentence and it totally reads that way! What Becky said is what I meant, and I will edit my post!
I think I got to do with cultural differences... it's just a matter of point of view.
I just got done watching the film. I haven't read the book yet. I thought the film was fairly decent, although my boyfriend and I kept joking that there was a lot of scenes where the characters would just stare off into space, and in the beginning there was a sex scene pretty much every 10 minutes.
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I wonder if any of you feel like discussing the themes, concepts and anything about the book, so feel free to post your ideas/comments about this book.
It's also better to include some questions that the novel tackles.