Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lizzy25d's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
andrew61's review against another edition
3.0
The history of Germany in the last hundred years is fascinating and this book gives an interesting analysis of a particular aspect from a view some thirty years after the event. In this book Schlink, rather than considering the effect on modern Germans of the second world war as he did famously in The Reader, is considering another disturbing period the 1970's when internal terrorism and revolutionaries such as the Baader Meinhof gang were kidnapping and killing prominent German businessmen.
The subject of the book is Jorg, who has been in prison for 24 years for four such murders and after a presidential pardon is being released. Somewhat bizarrely his sister Christine decides that what he needs is a weekend in a country house where several of his old friends should be invited. This premise allows Schlink to consider through various means the morality and effect of acts 30 years before. Thus one guest seeks to closely and uncomfortably question Jorg on how it felt to kill someone , another Jorg's son railles against his father's morals , whilst Jorg tries to justify his actions . Other characters develop romantic connections and one a writer reconstructs the imaginary life of a deceased revolutionary.
It was certainly an interesting read which carries on the theme of The Reader around guilt for past crimes. It certainly made me want to explore more about the period when the events were occurring and the reasons why such political ferment arose in Germany at that time. However as a read at times its introspection was overdone and I couldn't help but think it was simply at times lacked subtlety in its message however I think it is worth reading .
The subject of the book is Jorg, who has been in prison for 24 years for four such murders and after a presidential pardon is being released. Somewhat bizarrely his sister Christine decides that what he needs is a weekend in a country house where several of his old friends should be invited. This premise allows Schlink to consider through various means the morality and effect of acts 30 years before. Thus one guest seeks to closely and uncomfortably question Jorg on how it felt to kill someone , another Jorg's son railles against his father's morals , whilst Jorg tries to justify his actions . Other characters develop romantic connections and one a writer reconstructs the imaginary life of a deceased revolutionary.
It was certainly an interesting read which carries on the theme of The Reader around guilt for past crimes. It certainly made me want to explore more about the period when the events were occurring and the reasons why such political ferment arose in Germany at that time. However as a read at times its introspection was overdone and I couldn't help but think it was simply at times lacked subtlety in its message however I think it is worth reading .
bluenicorn's review against another edition
3.0
So, I tried to describe this book to someone, and the description sounded really unappealing. Who wants to read about a reunion of middle-aged friends over a weekend? It's really un-like something I would usually read. But I enjoyed The Reader so much, I just wanted to see what his other books were like. And it wasn't bad- the writing is so tight that nothing is left out and everything included is essential. The characters are well-written, and the emotions are realistic and powerful at times. It wasn't exciting or life-changing, but... it was good. And a fast read. I just can't decide who this would appeal to, readers-advisory-wise...
evalotteli's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
buzzi_maus's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
liebe Ulrich <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Incest, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Alcohol, and War
vieles wird angesprochen/beschrieben, das meiste (meines ermessens nach) im guten umgangitsfinja's review against another edition
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
blueyorkie's review against another edition
4.0
"How can you argue with all your common sense and ask yourself if the world, through murder, becomes a better world? "
Tricky question.
For a weekend, Jorg's sister, lawyer, and old friends gather around him, a terrorist from the German Red Army Fraction pardoned after more than 20 years in prison.
They debate, wonder, get angry, cry, sneer, scorn, reflect, sympathize, and fall in love.
Full of good intentions, a sense of duty, lies and truths, and embarrassment, they manifest their dismay, as would be ours, I suppose, in front of a friend who had become a terrorist and murderer. Does he continue to profess his convictions? How do you position yourself about him when this friend is helpless and lacks perspective in the face of everything in front of him?
This novel is short, but every sentence counts. Each sentence questions the protagonists and challenges us on terrorism and all the small terrorist acts of everyday life. The characters are human, weak, and strong.
Nature is omnipresent and offers its refuge; one would think of oneself in an entire period of Romanticism from this point of view: an old mansion, a vast meadow, a dark forest, a stream, and a bench.
In this idyllic setting, people intermingle, collide, collide. Some people discover affinities; others are disappointed. Their past comes to the surface, and it is full of life that they present themselves to Jorg, who has a lifetime to win back and to us or not.
If you want to spend a weekend in the German countryside, not a stay of abundance and peace, but two days of questioning commitment, responsibility, guilt, and self-awareness, I recommend Bernhard Schlink's novel.
Have a lovely weekend!
Tricky question.
For a weekend, Jorg's sister, lawyer, and old friends gather around him, a terrorist from the German Red Army Fraction pardoned after more than 20 years in prison.
They debate, wonder, get angry, cry, sneer, scorn, reflect, sympathize, and fall in love.
Full of good intentions, a sense of duty, lies and truths, and embarrassment, they manifest their dismay, as would be ours, I suppose, in front of a friend who had become a terrorist and murderer. Does he continue to profess his convictions? How do you position yourself about him when this friend is helpless and lacks perspective in the face of everything in front of him?
This novel is short, but every sentence counts. Each sentence questions the protagonists and challenges us on terrorism and all the small terrorist acts of everyday life. The characters are human, weak, and strong.
Nature is omnipresent and offers its refuge; one would think of oneself in an entire period of Romanticism from this point of view: an old mansion, a vast meadow, a dark forest, a stream, and a bench.
In this idyllic setting, people intermingle, collide, collide. Some people discover affinities; others are disappointed. Their past comes to the surface, and it is full of life that they present themselves to Jorg, who has a lifetime to win back and to us or not.
If you want to spend a weekend in the German countryside, not a stay of abundance and peace, but two days of questioning commitment, responsibility, guilt, and self-awareness, I recommend Bernhard Schlink's novel.
Have a lovely weekend!
cphunter's review against another edition
3.0
As always, Schlink addresses moral issues in his newest novel about a terrorist being released from prison after twenty years inside. Jorg has to deal with probing questions, celebrity-hungry advances and readjustment to society, to his friends and family, to his betrayers and to who he was and who he must become.
Beautifully and astutely written.
Beautifully and astutely written.
deea_bks's review against another edition
2.0
This is unfortunately an average book, not even by far half as good as the others I read by Schlink. Some friends meet somewhere in the countryside to welcome back to freedom a terrorist who has been pardoned after 30 years of imprisonment. They all had been part of the same group of friends before he, the terrorist, Jorg, started his part in the cause he fought for (he had been a part of RAF- The German Red Army Faction). At present, they all have trouble accepting his murders and feel awkward around him. He himself feels awkward being among them.
They all wonder if a struggle that doesn’t lead to success justifies its victims and discuss about it and they ponder whether the sacrifice of innocent people would have been justified if a better, fairer world had been created through a revolution. If I hadn't seen "Baader Meinhof Complex", the movie about the revolutionary movement from the story, I wouldn't have probably known much about RAF. But having seen it and knowing more about the violence it implied, I was somehow prejudiced against Jorg, the pardoned terrorist, from the very beginning and I couldn't help thinking in the end, when he told them all he was terminally ill that this served him right.
In the history of humanity there have been so many victims among innocent people that I cannot help but wonder: isn't there a way to bring change, to have a revolution and change a bad situation through diplomacy, without having to kill people? Are these victims collateral damage and aren't they as important as the ones for whose good the ones implied in revolutions fight for? What would differentiate them? Are the people implied in revolutions fighting for common good or only for an ideal (in which situation, if you cannot reach an ideal without killing people, shouldn't you rather be considered a part of a more largely defined "homo homini lupus" group)?
I liked the subject of this book, but I thought it was not well-written enough as to express strongly the dilemmas that the author wanted to express. His rhetorical questions are not deduced easily and his story is a bit unfocused. I would have insisted more on the inner development of the characters after their mate's imprisonment.
They all wonder if a struggle that doesn’t lead to success justifies its victims and discuss about it and they ponder whether the sacrifice of innocent people would have been justified if a better, fairer world had been created through a revolution. If I hadn't seen "Baader Meinhof Complex", the movie about the revolutionary movement from the story, I wouldn't have probably known much about RAF. But having seen it and knowing more about the violence it implied, I was somehow prejudiced against Jorg, the pardoned terrorist, from the very beginning and I couldn't help thinking in the end, when he told them all he was terminally ill that this served him right.
In the history of humanity there have been so many victims among innocent people that I cannot help but wonder: isn't there a way to bring change, to have a revolution and change a bad situation through diplomacy, without having to kill people? Are these victims collateral damage and aren't they as important as the ones for whose good the ones implied in revolutions fight for? What would differentiate them? Are the people implied in revolutions fighting for common good or only for an ideal (in which situation, if you cannot reach an ideal without killing people, shouldn't you rather be considered a part of a more largely defined "homo homini lupus" group)?
I liked the subject of this book, but I thought it was not well-written enough as to express strongly the dilemmas that the author wanted to express. His rhetorical questions are not deduced easily and his story is a bit unfocused. I would have insisted more on the inner development of the characters after their mate's imprisonment.