When Michael Berg, a fifteen-year-old German boy, falls ill outside a building on the Bahnhofstrasse, he is cared for by one of the residents, a single woman living on her own, Hanna Schmitz. The encounter sets off an erotic relationship between the boy and the woman that abruptly comes to an end one day when Michael arrives at her apartment and she is gone. Years later, as a law student, Michael again sees Hanna as one of five women defendants on trial for their work as camp guards in a concentration camp. The other defendants accuse Hanna of being in charge while Jewish inmates were trapped in a burning church, but their accusations hinge on whether or not it can be proved she wrote the consequent military report on the fire. By this time Michael recognizes that Hanna is illiterate, and so fails to understand why she admits to authoring the report:

"I was no stranger to shame as the cause of behavior that was deviant or defensive, secretive or misleading or hurtful. But could Hanna’s shame at being illiterate be sufficient reason for her behavior at the trial or in the camp? To accept exposure as a criminal for fear of being exposed as an illiterate? To commit crimes to avoid the same thing?" (p.132)

Schlink’s novel is a meditation on truth, guilt, and forgiveness. As one generation of Germans uncovers another’s past—the past of their fathers and mothers—they must also come to terms with complicity, what it means to love in the face of guilt, and what it means to deny that love. For those who have already read the novel, ‘the reader’ will be seen as either the young Jewish girls who were forced to read to Hanna at the concentration camp, or as Michael who reads to her as a boy and later sends tapes of books he has read to Hanna in prison, or as Hanna herself, who eventually, through Michael’s tapes, learns to read and write. Yet in a way there appears to be a fourth reader: you and I, who read the words of Bernhard Schlink and involve ourselves in the tale of Michael, Hanna, and a post-war generation contending with condemnation of and forgiveness for their elders.

"But I also read [Hanna] books I already knew and love…Taken together, the titles in the notebooks testify to a great and fundamental confidence in bourgeois culture. I do not ever remember asking myself whether I should go beyond Kafka, Frisch, Johnson, Bachmann, and Lenz, and read experimental literature, literature in which I did not recognize the story or like any of the characters. To me it was obvious that experimental literature was experimenting with the reader, and Hanna didn’t need that and neither did I" (p.183)

Schlink, through his novel, seems to be asking his readers to respond to history. Will we condemn figures like Hanna—who is both a woman who cares for a sick stranger and a woman who selected inmates for execution—or grant them absolution? And whether we condemn or absolve are we not, either way, responsible for the consequences? ( )

an easy read - story covering the interactions of two individuals originally as a 15 year old boy and an older woman, then again during a court trial, and again during her imprisionment. Was not totally satisfying to me, I wanted addtional character definition (of both characters). Hanna's secret was pretty obvious early on. ( )

Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung auf einem neuen Niveau.: „Was hätten Sie dann gemacht?", fragte die angeklagte KZ-Aufseherin den Richter. Eine Frage, die von jedem Leser von Bernhard Schlinks Der Vorleser eine Antwort fordert. Jedoch, ist es Schlink gelungen, diese Frage nicht nur auf das immer wieder bearbeitete Thema der Vergangenheitsbewältigung, sondern auch auf die psychologische Charakterisierung der Figuren zu beziehen. Der zu Beginn fünfzehnjährige Ich-Erzähler, Michael Berg, beschreibt im ersten Teil des Buches sein leidenschaftliches Verhältnis mit der viel älteren Hanna, von deren Vergangenheit er fast nichts kennt und über die er auch nichts fragen darf. Nach dem ungeklärten Verschwinden Hannas überspringt der Text einige Jahre und Michael, der jetzt Jurastudent ist, wird durch einen, von seiner Studiumsgruppe beobachteten Naziprozess, gezwungen, zurück auf die Ereignisse seiner Kindheit und auf deren Bedeutung für sein zukünftiges Leben, zurückzuschauen.Der Erfolg dieser Geschichte liegt an der Fähigkeit des Autors, mehrere, verschiedene Themen zusammen zu bearbeiten und den beiden Teilen des Buches durch das thematische Leitmotiv und die Struktur eine Einheit zu geben. Der erste Abschnitt bereitet den Leser auf das vor, was später geschehen wird, in dem er einige Elemente der späteren Handlung einleitet, zum Beispiel Themen wie Gewissenskonflikte und Verantwortung, die die zwei Teile verbinden und dem Text eine runde Struktur geben. Obwohl die Trennung des Textes in zwei Teile einen ungewollten Bruch für das Vergnügen des Lesers darstellen könnte, lenkt er, in der Tat, unsere Neugier auf die vielen unbeantworteten Fragen im Zusammenhang mit Hannas ungeklärtem Verschwinden und der Zeitraum, der einige Jahre umspannt, unterstützt die Darstellung des Hauptthemas der Vergangenheit und der Frage ob man ihr entfliehen kann oder sollte. Obwohl der präzise Stil des Autors einige Aspekte der Hauptfiguren weniger berücksichtigt, zum Beispiel das Familienleben Michaels, erlaubt er dem Autor, eine moralisierende Auseinandersetzung mit dem Thema zu vermeiden. Durch Michaels Selbstanalyse, wenn sie auch teilweise überlang ist und das Tempo manchmal verlangsamt, gelingt es Schlink, den Leser zum Nachdenken zu bringen und ihm die Antworten auf die vom Buch aufgeworfenen Fragen zu überzulassen.Die Originalität dieses Buchs liegt in der neuen Methode Schlinks, das Vergangenheitsbewältigungsthema zu bearbeiten. Der Naziprozess stellt die traditionellen Schuld- und Verantwortungsfragen, aber die Entwicklung Michaels nach dem Prozess und die Art und Weise, auf die er sich mit der Vergangenheit beschäftigt, führt die Vergangheitsbewältigung auf ein neues persönlicheres Niveau. Die Frage „Was hätten Sie dann gemacht?" gilt Somit nicht nur allgemein der Nazivergangenheit Deutschlands, sondern auch den persönlichen Ereignisse und Entscheidungen eines Individuums.

Found this to be really heavy reading ... the fundamental story - the affair, impact on Michael's (the narrator) personal life, Hanna's history, it's underlying cause, the court case and her life following this event, was relatively interesting, however really saw 'The Reader' as an allegory about the impact of the holocaust on future generations of Germans, and how they responded to the crimes, perpetrators and the passive co-opters. ( )

A hypnotic read, though it left me feeling strangely uncomfortable which, no doubt, was the author's intention. I don't want to ruin this fine book for others by saying more. ( )

I had to continue reading this book just to assure myself that it was going to turn out as badly as I'd predicted. It did. I found it trite, annoying, and generally without redeeming qualities other than it was at least possible to finish.

. . . were we really supposed to NOT know Hanna's "secret"? Seriously? ( )

A story about a 15-year old boy's brief, secret and intense affair with a much older woman, which marked him for life. What started out as a purely physical and obsessive daily encounter goes beyond the animal encounter of possession and subjugation and even acquires an element of romance when the boy begins to read literature to her. They do not share anything but these couple of blissful hours everyday, they do not share each other's stories. But the boy is 15, and there were other things in life which started to interest him. Yet he clings to her. Then one day she disappears. Devastation and guilt of his "denial" of her haunt him, and her memory relentlessly follows him.They meet again, many years after, he a student lawyer attending a trial, and she, a defendant. He finds out she was an SS guard, guilty of monstrous deeds.

The story is fascinating and is written in lucid almost unfeeling prose, but i did not find it profound or compelling as many do. There was lack of character development -- one never gets into the skin or the mind of any of them. Also, I would have preferred if the author had explored the "secondary" theme of how the generation of Germans born after the Holocaust "dealt" with the generation of their parents and their collective guilt. There is also some disconnect in the story, such as why the woman would think the "shame" of her being found out to be illiterate justifies her self-destructive behavior. A so-so read for me. ( )

Es breve, escrito con precisión y belleza, interesante, impactante, triste. Un descubrimiento. Casi (pero no tanto) en la liga de Esperando A Los Bárbaros. ( )

Es breve, escrito con precisión y belleza, interesante, impactante, triste. Un descubrimiento. Casi (pero no tanto) en la liga de Esperando A Los Bárbaros. ( )

Though it purports to be about a teenaged boy and his romance with a complicated older woman, this book is more about how the succeeding generations of Germans deal with the horrors of their Third Reich parents and grandparents. Michael Berg is a thoroughly introspective narrator, creating the feel of a memoir more than a novel. I found myself thinking about the characters and their choices long after finishing the last page. Recommended for those looking for a thought-provoking read. ( )

Spoilers!

This was a quick and enjoyable read. The narrator was likeable, if not always understandable. The story was engaging, and the characters' reactions were interesting. A lot of big issues come up - this would be a great book for a discussion group.

I was rather disappointed with the role of the Holocaust in the novel. There is a ton of literature about the Holocaust, but very little (at least in English) about how Germans deal with the legacy of the Holocaust. I was hoping that this novel would give me some insight into how Germans deal with the Holocaust, but the issue is dodged. In fact, if you changed Hanna's crime, it wouldn't change the novel much. The narrator describes at length how numb he is when contemplating the Holocaust, so he never really deals with it. The novel ends up being much more about Hanna's illiteracy than about her guilt in the Holocaust. ( )

An thoughtful read--the German is simple, but the story is not. The topic is very difficult and controversial, but it provokes many very important questions. ( )

Brief Review: I greatly enjoyed reading 'The Reader.' It was a unique story, something definitely out of the realm of what I normally read, and I’m glad I read it. The actual writing is not so memorable than the plot, but I did not find fault in it either. The plot just overshadowed the writing is all.

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 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. ( )

Transforming novel. Takes the perpetrators of the Holocaust and forces you to see them in a new way. ( )

A woman who has an affair with a 15 yo boy and then later is convicted of Nazi War crimes ( )

The Reader is the sort of book that raises more questions than it answers - in this case around themes including desire, guilt and personal responsibility in the context of Nazi Germany. It lends itself to book group discussion, but as an individual reader, I found Schlink's writing style slightly dry and clinical, which significantly muted the book's overall impact. ( )

I was really looking forward to reading this book, but it wasn't as I expected it to be. The material is interesting, don't get me wrong, but the style of the book just didn't engage me. The writing is severe, and it certainly didn't help matters that I found it impossible to like, or even connect with, the narrator. The book is definitely unique, but I can't say that I particularly enjoyed reading it. ( )

What an important book when you are the generation after the Holocaust. Dealing with the guilt and shame. Very well written. ( )

Have you ever thought about what life was like in Germany in the post World War II years? An entire nation of people had been mesmerized and brainwashed into hero worship of the devil Adolf Hitler, indoctrinated into the fantastical belief that they were the supreme Aryan race. They could do no wrong! And suddenly the war is over, Hitler is dead, and the nation is being held accountable for the atrocities – the murders – the holocaust. Official reports begin to surface internationally and concentration camp records are released. As time passes, the Nazi criminal war trials begin.

But for the majority of German citizens who are anxious to bury the past, life goes on. The Reader takes you inside Germany in the year 1958 as a young innocent 15 year old boy, Michael Berg, tells his story. After suffering from a long illness that has left him weak and vulnerable, Michael has the misfortune of being seduced by a 36 year old woman, Hanna Schmitz, a crude, common, uneducated woman; in fact, an illiterate product of the Nazi regime. Their unscrupulous affair lasts through a long hot summer and one day Hanna just disappears, leaving Michael tormented by lusty memories. At this point I was thinking that the main focus of the story was Hanna’s manipulative, abusive, immoral behavior and the corruption of a minor. I was ready to abandon the book as a trashy insignificant novel.

However, the story abruptly jumps ahead 7 years. Michael is in law school, and participating in a study group that evaluates the Nazi war trials and the legal interpretation of what constitutes guilt. Michael is astonished when Hanna resurfaces as a war criminal. She was a voluntary SS guard at the concentration camp in Cracow, Poland. (This is the concentration camp featured in Oscar Schindler’s story, Schindler’s List. Hell on earth!) Hanna is on trial for assisting in the mass murder of a multitude of Jewish women during the “death march” to Auschwitz as the war came to a close and Cracow was shut down. She is found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

This book addresses a lot of weighty issues: illiteracy, child molestation, the holocaust, how the younger generation of German’s dealt with their parent’s guilt and shame, and the psychological phenomenon of “numbness” that befell anyone who attempted to scrutinize the Nazi horror. For attempting to tackle all these topics, I would have considered giving Schlink a 5 Star rating, but I had a problem with the final outcome. Schlink implies that Hanna’s illiteracy somehow absolves her of all responsibility for her actions. How could that be? She self-indulgently preferred joining the Nazi SS rather than admit her illiteracy! Regardless of the questionable level of guilt consigned to Hanna for her leadership role in the concentration camp mass murders, she was a voluntary SS guard at a camp where hundreds of thousands of Jewish women were tortured and slaughtered. I also had a problem with the fact that Schlink sidestepped the issue of the illegality and immorality of having sex with a minor. Hanna was a child molester. She obviously reveled in preying on young, weak people and eagerly continued her abusive, immoral behavior after the war ended. Michael never held Hanna accountable for the fact that their sexual relationship left him emotionally scarred for life. I was appalled that Hollywood made this story into a movie and turned Hanna into a sympathetic character. I felt nothing but scorn for Hanna Schmitz. The one redeeming quality of the book is that the character of Hanna took on a life of its own - and in the end - she thoughtfully and judiciously adjudicated her own harsh penalty. ( )

I love this book. I loved the relationship (what falling completely in love with someone feels like and the consequences of it.) I also liked how the author played with the concepts of guilt particular to Germany after World War II. When the next generation had to deal with their parents actions as part of Nazi Germany. Some great lines from the book:"I know that I found it beautiful. But I cannot recapture its beauty." p.12It was more as if she had withdrawn into her own body, and left it to itself and its own quiet rhythms, unbothered by any input from mind, oblivious to the outside world. It was the same obliviousness that weighed in her glance and her movements when she was pulling on her stockings. But then she was not awkward, she was slow-flowing, graceful, seductive--a seductiveness that had nothing to do with breasts and hips and legs but was an invitation to forget the world in the recesses of the body. p. 16"Sometimes I had the feeling that all of us in his family were like pets to him. The dog you take for a walk, the cat you play with that curls up in your lap, purring, to be stroked--you can be fond of them, you can even need them to a certain extent, and nonetheless the whole thing--buying pet food cleaning up the cat box, and trips to the vet--is really too much. Your life is elsewhere. I wish that we, his family, had been his life." p 30(SPOILER)"Hanna could neither read nor write.That was why she had people read to her. That was why she had let me do all the writing and reading on our bicycle trip and why she had lost control that morning in the hotel when she found my note, realized I would assume she knew what it said, and was afraid she'd been exposed. That was why she had avoided being promoted by the streetcar company; as a conductor she could conceal her weakness, but it would have become obvious when she was being trained to become a driver. That was also why she had refused the promotion at Siemens and became a guard. That was why she had admitted to writing the report in order to escape a confrontation with an expert. Had she talked herself into a corner at the trial for the same reason? Because she couldn't read the daughter's book or the indictment, couldn't read see the openings that would allow here to build a defense, and thus could not prepare herself accordingly? Was that why she sent her chosen wards to Auschwitz? To silence them in case they had noticed something? And was that why she always chose the weak ones in the first place?" p 132I had no one to point at. Certainly not my parents, because I had noting to accuse them of. The zeal for letting in the daylight, with which, as a member of the concerntration camps seminar, I had condemned my father to shame, had passed, and it embarrassed me. But what other people in my social environment had done, and their guilt, were in any case a lot less bad than what Hanna had done. I had to point to Hanna. But the finger I pointed at her turned back to me. I had loved here. Not only had I loved her, I had chosen here. I tried to tell myself that I had known nothing of what she had done when I chose her. I tried to talk myself into the state of innocence in which children love their parents. But love of our parents is the only love for which we are not responsible. p. 170 ( )

The plot of this novel is deceptively simple. A 15-year-old boy meets an older woman when she comes to his aid when he falls ill on his way home from school. After returning to her apartment to thank her, she seduces him and they become lovers. They bond with him reading stories to her and he is intrigued by her mysterious silences. As the boy begins to grow and to expand beyond her, the woman disappears only to be rediscovered when she is put on trial for war crimes. The boy, now a law student follows the trial intensely and begins to realize that the woman has a secret that she has been guarding all her life, even to her own detriment.

The Reader raises intriguing and difficult questions about guilt, forgiveness and redemption. It brought home to me that even with the most egregious crimes, there are areas and shadings of gray; nothing is ever starkly black and white. ( )

I love this story. I loved the movie and book. I questioned the writing initially, but I think he writes well. Very direct, but still able to evoke beautiful scenes and emotions. I really like both Hanna and Michael, both flawed but understandably so. No excuses made for anyone. ( )

I haven't seen the movie (yet), but I enjoyed the book. It made me consider many things I hadn't previously considered, and I loved the writing, despite it being a translation. Once my German improves, I intend to read the original.

Full review: http://faerytalemalice.blogspot.com/2... ( )

Due to the popular movie starring Kate Winslet, most readers are familiar with The Reader's plot. The movie differs slightly from the book, but the small adaptations remain true to the story.

The Reader is powerful book that is written simply in first person narrative. I never thought that I would consider the humanity of a holocaust perpetrator. Schlink makes the reader empathize with the former camp guard while regarding at her actions honestly. Excellent read - I would recommend this for college course reading as the subject matter is mature. ( )