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Vintage

The Reader

    • Based on 4,103 reviews
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Format: Paperback


Description

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • 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. "A formally beautiful, disturbing and finally morally devastating novel." —Los Angeles Times 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 lover—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 murder. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; 1st edition (January 1, 1997)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 218 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 71


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.14 x 0.6 x 7.99 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #48,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #15 in German Literature (Books) #4,172 in Literary Fiction (Books) #4,542 in Romantic Suspense (Books)


#15 in German Literature (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • "I mean... so what would you have done?"
I was first introduced to this work by a Danish friend who is a voracious reader, shortly after the book was first published in 1995. He loaned me his copy. I had never heard of Bernhard Schlink before. I can remember thinking what a brilliant, well written novel it is. And for a while, it would remain in a quirky European "niche" of great modern novels relatively few Americans have heard of. Then Oprah Winfrey made this a selection for her book club. I sing hosannas in her praise, because such outstanding literature deserves much wider readership. After two decades I decided to give it a re-read, and found it just as impressive, the second time around. The novel works well along several different dimensions. There is the love story. Or is it an obsession? Or is it just lust that lasts a lifetime? The narrator is Michael Berg, age 15 when the novel commences. It is the fulfillment of every adolescent boy's dream. Serendipity leads him into a love affair with a 36 year old woman, Hanna Schmitz. The year is around 1959. Schlink describes the love scenes with great skill... with just a sufficient amount of detail... to, er, ah, place the reader in the scene. I had to struggle with whether or not Schlink attributed too much maturity to a 15 year old. As Leonard Cohen once proclaimed: "I never met a woman until I was 65; before then I only saw these miracles before me." Yet young Berg seemed to realize that the eroticism was not in some body part or piece of clothing, but in the manner in which she held herself, and conveyed her invitation to him. She managed to "imprint" herself upon him - intentionally or not - the question would haunt him... and he would carry various images of her throughout his life. Some of the images, naturally were erotic in nature, others were how her skirt billowed out as she rode the bike in the countryside. Sad to say, the "reality check" is, at least in America, somehow, today, all of this would be illegal. Hanna Schmitz is illiterate. And she hides it. She goes to great lengths to hide it. It takes Berg a considerable period of time to figure this out due to her clever dissimulation. Schlink provides the clues for the reader, who, as intended, figures it out before Berg does. One just does not expect someone in the Western world to be illiterate. This aspect of the novel particularly resonated, because I have literally, as it were, "been there." I still vividly remember the moment that I realized that the lieutenant could not read a map, and it was a moment that he desperately needed to be able to read the map... but unlike Hanna, he admitted it to me... and thus, under "other duties as assigned," I became "The Reader" for him, just like Michael Berg. Schmitz was of that certain age that ensured her participation in the Second World War, as a German, with a role in the Holocaust. She is being tried for that role. In many ways she does not understand the process - legal or political. And at one point in the trial she asks the judge the subject question: "I mean... so what would you have done?" Schlink ensures that the reader considers this a reasonable question, while at the same time pointing out that in the "legal system" a defendant is not permitted to ask a judge such a question. Meanwhile, Berg himself, a much older Berg, who is in law school, struggles with the dilemma of trying to balance condemnation with understanding. The German people, "of a certain age," have spent much time trying to conceal their involvement with the evils of their participation in that war, while only a few have been willing to confront it. As Schlink points out, there is a major division within German society itself between those of that certain age, and their children. There remains that "there but for fortunate go I" aspect of a certain time and place. And then there is the matter of that aforementioned lieutenant, and the evils of another war. The German people have paid out reparations, in an effort of partial atonement. Can we as Americans say the same? But that is another book... as for Schlink's, 6-stars. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2015 by John P. Jones III
    • The Reader (Paperback)
When he was 15, and growing up in Germany, Michael Berg contracted hepatitis. One day, on the way home from school he vomited on the front stoop of an apartment building. The lady who cleaned up the mess was Hanna Schmitz. It was her apartment. The next time he saw her, Michael brought Hanna flowers, she asked him to bring up some coal, which he dutifully did. By the time Michael had finished delivering the coal to Hanna, he was covered in soot. Hanna told him to go take a shower. By the time he had finished, Hanna was standing behind him, naked. And so began a summer long love affair between Michael a 15 year old high school student and Hanna, a 36 year old streetcar operator. The lovemakeing became very ritualistic, always involving bathing, but then a new element was added. Hanna asked Michael to read to her, at first Homer's The Odyssey, and then other classics from literature. And so, every day after school, Michael would go to Hanna's house, make love to her and then read to her. But as the weeks grew to months, tensions appeared. Hanna wanted to be the dominant person in the relationship, and that bothered Michael. Whenever they argued, which was happening more frequently, Michael was the one who always gave in and apologized. At the same time Michael was becoming more popular with girls his own age in school, and so consequently, he became later and later for his meetings with Hanna. As Michael was beginning to feel guilty for withdrawing from Hanna, Hanna broke off the relationship, and just as suddenly as it had begun, the relationship was over. Michael goes on with his life, finishing high school and going to college, where he attended a seminar on the concentration camps of Nazi Germany. He gets to witness a German trial of Nazi prison guards and their victims. To his shock and surprise, one of the Nazi guards being put on trial was Hanna Schmitz. Hanna was accused of barricading a church door under Nazi bombardment. The church contained many Jewish prisoners that were to be sent to Auschwitz. Hanna was also accused of writing the report that detailed the atrocity. Hanna was made the ringleader, but really she was the scapegoat, as the other defendants tried to gain leniency. By now, Michael realizes that Hanna could not have written the report, as he knew she could not read or write, that's why she had him read to her. Hannah wasn't about to admit that she was illiterate, so she was silent as she was accused of these war crimes. Would Michael step in and tell the judge what he knew about Hanna's illiteracy, and spare her from a death sentence? Read the Reader and find out. I recommend this book, but it's a qualified recommendation. It is truly a riveting story and I wanted to read the book because the movie did not go into the level of detail that I wanted, but I soon became frustrated with Schlink's writing style, because I felt in spots where he needed to be more explicit, he was purposefully vague. The author also likes to spring surprises on the reader, for example I thought the ending would be anticlimactic, but it was quite shocking, because in the last few pages of the book, there is a twist. I didn't particularly like the twist it came on too suddenly and unexpectedly. There was also times where he seemed to be assuaging the German collective guilt over Nazi Germany a bit too much. All of these factors detracted from a very good narrative. It's still a good book, but the story drags in places where it shouldn't. For more book reviews, check out my blog [email protected] ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2013 by ckdexterhaven

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