Review: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

4 stars for The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.

The Reader is a tragic story of a whole life lived. It is a thought-provoking and emotionally charged novel that explores the complexities of human relationships, guilt, and redemption.

Set in post-war Germany, The Reader begins with the unusual relationship, one of unequal experience and power, between a young German man 15-year old Michael Berg and an older woman 36-year old Hanna Schmitz, who harbours a dark secret. The story later turns into a philosophical enquiry into the effects of the Holocaust on a generation whose parents are perceived as at best complicit, at worst perpetrators. Central to the story is the question: what is to be done with the knowledge and the guilt of the Holocaust?

Through Michael's narrative that spans over the years, the author masterfully weaves together themes of love and moral responsibility, raising important questions about the nature of humanity and the consequences of our actions.

A haunting and unforgettable read. This is a story that will linger in your mind long after you finish the book.


Publisher: W&N; Film Tie-in Ed edition
Publication date: 1 Dec 2008

*** Favourite Quote 1 ***

I always had the feeling that no one understood me anyway, that no one knew who I was and what made me do this or that.

And you know, when no one understands you, then no one can call you to account. Not even the court could call me to account. But the dead can. They understand. They don't even have to have been there, but if they were, they understand even better.

Here in prison they were with me a lot. They came every night, whether I wanted them or not. Before the trial I could still chase them away when they wanted to come.

*** Favourite Quote 2 ***

Whatever I had done or not done, whatever she had done or not to me — it was the path my life had taken.

*** Favourite Quote 3 ***

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 by detail and in such a fully rounded fashion, with its own direction and its own sense of completion, that it no longer makes me sad.

*** Favourite Quote 4 ***

..if something hurts me, the hurts I suffered back then come back to me, and when I feel guilty, the feelings of guilt return; if i yearn for something today, or feel homesick, I feel the yearnings and homesickness from back then.

The geological layers of our lives rest so tightly one on top of the other that we always come up against earlier events in later ones, not as matter that has been fully formed and pushed aside, but absolutely present and alive.

~ The Reader
Bernhard Schlink

@}--->>--->>-----

Behind the mystery lies a truth that will make you question everything you know.

When young Michael Berg falls ill on his way home from school, he is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover, enthralling him with her passion, but puzzling him with her odd silences. Then she disappears.

Michael next sees Hanna when she is on trial for a hideous crime, refusing to defend herself. As he watches, he begins to realize that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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