The Reader
Description
A profound exploration of love, guilt, and the lingering shadows of history, this novel plunges into the complex relationship between a young boy and a much older woman in postwar Germany. Their passionate affair is abruptly shattered by her mysterious disappearance, only for them to be reunited under the most harrowing circumstances. As the boy, now a law student, witnesses her trial, he grapples with the unsettling truth behind her actions and the secrets she desperately tries to conceal. This is a story that challenges the reader to confront uncomfortable questions about morality, complicity, and the enduring power of the past.
Available Editions
hardcover
Pantheon
Published Mar 10, 1999
218 pages
ISBN: 9780375408267
ebook
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published Jan 1, 2001
226 pages
ISBN: 9780375726972
Reviews
2 ratings
Community Reviews(1)
Read in a matter of minutes; not a book I would usually consider reading, rather a book I felt I should read. I'm glad I did, it was wonderful; beautifully written, absolutely heart breaking.<br/><br/>I do not feel the "immoral" relationship that takes place (which puts a lot of people off reading) is a shocking one, nor are any of the scenes - of which none are explicit - perverse. I actually feel - despite Hanna and Michael's age difference - the choice was as much his as it was hers and therefore, such as in 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov, this was more about the actual relationship than a moral debate to be raged over. More-so the story was about them and their love than it was ever about an illicit companionship.<br/><br/>I felt sympathy for both Hanna and Michael for differing reasons; my heart ached for them both.
Details
First Published
1995
Language
deu
Translation
From: deu
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for The Reader by Bernhard Schlink.