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Der Vorleser : Roman by Bernhard Schlink
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Der Vorleser : Roman (original 1995; edition 1995)

by Bernhard Schlink

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
13,368392448 (3.7)469
Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his loverâ??then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murd… (more)
Member:globalnole
Title:Der Vorleser : Roman
Authors:Bernhard Schlink
Info:Zürich : Diogenes, c1995.
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:post-War Germany

Work Information

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (1995)

  1. 112
    The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (bookcrazyblog, lucyknows)
    bookcrazyblog: Though book thief is understood to be Teen-read, it is deep and enthralling. If you liked The Reader for anything beyond its sensuality in the first part, you will love Book Thief
    lucyknows: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak may linked with The Reader by Bernhard Schlink using the themes of reading, Nazi Germany and death. You could also pair it with the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. Atonement by Ian McEwan could work as well because of the young protagonists, war, and reading.… (more)
  2. 20
    In My Brother's Shadow: A Life and Death in the SS by Uwe Timm (Tinwara)
    Tinwara: Autobiographical account that also deals with the post war generation in Germany, trying to come to an understanding of how loved persons can make the wrong decisions.
  3. 10
    Let Me Go by Helga Schneider (Booksloth)
  4. 10
    Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum (bnbookgirl)
    bnbookgirl: One of my top ten fav's.
  5. 10
    Without Blood by Alessandro Baricco (2810michael)
  6. 00
    A Child of Hitler by Alfons Heck (AlisonY)
    AlisonY: Written by a German child who became a high-ranking leader of the Hitler Youth, this autobiography picks up on the theme from 'The Reader' about what made some people join the Nazi party
  7. 00
    Julia by Otto de Kat (charl08)
    charl08: Both novels deal with the after effects of Nazism, felt many years after the war ends.
  8. 00
    The Girl at the Lion d'Or by Sebastian Faulks (MissBrangwen)
  9. 00
    Innocence by Pierre Magnan (bluepiano)
    bluepiano: Shortly after WWII a teenager falls with gusto of course into an affair with an older woman who also played a part in the war. She too is a criminal. Richer & more re-readable.
  10. 01
    Before I Knew Him by Anna Ralph (1Owlette)
  11. 12
    Enduring Love by Ian McEwan (lucyknows)
    lucyknows: The Reader could be successfully paired with Enduring Love for English Studies. In addition either book could also be be paired with the film The Talented Mr Ripley under the theme of obsession
  12. 01
    Berlin by Pierre Frei (Johanna11)
    Johanna11: Although the books are very different in many respects, both are about Berlin after WWII and about Germans during WWII and after.
  13. 13
    Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (1Owlette)
  14. 02
    Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel (Cecilturtle)
  15. 25
    Close Range by Annie Proulx (1Owlette)
    1Owlette: Although very different in many ways, [The Reader] and [Brokeback Mountain] are both similarly devastating and concentrated in their impact.
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» See also 469 mentions

English (342)  Spanish (15)  Dutch (9)  German (6)  French (4)  Swedish (3)  Finnish (3)  Catalan (2)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  Italian (1)  Korean (1)  Hebrew (1)  Danish (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (390)
Showing 1-5 of 342 (next | show all)
Very interesting. The protagonist is either deeply emblematic of the problem with humanity, or it’s confusing. Why was he so dead inside? Was his affair more traumatic than her life? Strange. The tone and pacing of the book lent itself to a kind of banality that worked. The character, Hannah, was quite complex—ignorant but kind, handicapped by her illiteracy into choices without real choice. What is the guilt of the executioner? That’s the question and the lingering guilt in the subsequent generations.
  BookyMaven | Dec 6, 2023 |
A teen boy stumbles into an affair with an older woman, who acts secretive throughout the relationship before simply vanishing one day. A couple of years later their paths cross again when he, as part of a school course, attends the trial of a group of Nazi soldiers and finds that she is one of the defendants. He struggles between being horrified and feeling sympathy for her.

This one didn’t really work for me, and I wonder if it at least partly is a cultural thing. Then again, I generally just don’t care for novels that are mostly character studies with little plot, and rarely enjoy stories with zero likeable characters. So. ( )
  electrascaife | Dec 4, 2023 |
Behandelt Themen der Schuld in der Liebe sowie in der NS-Vergangenheit. ( )
  Maxim2 | Nov 15, 2023 |
an amazing book that hits any number of ethical and moral quandaries. I can see why it on a lot of book of the year lists.

Set in postwar Germany, a young man falls in love an older woman (Hanna), one with secrets. As the romance progresses until Hanna inevitably disappears. The years pass, and Michael meets her again, this time in a courtroom where she and a number of defendants are accused of atrocities committed against the Jews in their care.

Michael has to put his past relationship in context with the Hanna of now, while looking at is past live affair from the context as an adult. All of this juxtaposes into a moral quandry, are those following orders just as bad as those committing orders? What about someone with a disability?. Ultimately, what is justice?

A book that asks a lot of questions, with no answers. ( )
  TheDivineOomba | Aug 22, 2023 |
This story of a woman who affects the life of a 15 year old boy was handled with taste and class. I sort of guessed what her crime was, but never figured out the reason why. I will be reading this one again, to take in the writer's delicate way with words. ( )
  kwskultety | Jul 4, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 342 (next | show all)
What starts out as a story of sexual awakening, something that Colette might have written, a ''Cherie and the Last of Cherie'' set in Germany after the war, is suddenly darkened by history and tragic secrets. In the end, one is both moved and disturbed, saddened and confused, and, above all, powerfully affected by a tale that seems to bear with it the weight of truth.
 
Schlink's daring fusion of 19th-century post-romantic, post-fairy-tale models with the awful history of the 20th century makes for a moving, suggestive and ultimately hopeful work, an original contribution to the impossible genre with the questionable name of Vergangenheitsbewaltigung, ''coming to terms with the past.''
 

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Bernhard Schlinkprimary authorall editionscalculated
Janeway, Carol BrownTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kirchner, Ernst LudwigCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lien, ToroddTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Meijerink, GerdaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Suominen, OiliTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Classic Literature. Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his loverâ??then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murd

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A parable of German guilt and atonement and a love story of stunning power.
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