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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
The Reader is a book that is thought provoking, yet emotionally very cold. The characters are written not so that you may love them, or be interested in them, but so that you may consider a moral dilemma the book's main character is trying to solve.
The book made me think, but the movie, starring Kate Winslet, broke my heart and gave the story all the life and warmth that the book was lacking. I hope she got an Oscar for her performance. She's marvelous.
Some parts of The Reader were hard to get through. The story is all about a teenage boy who falls in love with an older woman named Hanna and has an affair with her. She disappears, leaving him despondent. Years later, he finds her again, in a courtroom.
She is on trial for being a camp guard during the Holocaust, and letting a group of young women burn alive in a church, instead of opening the doors and setting them free.
You've seen them fall in love in the beginning of the novel(though Hanna is significantly more emotionally disturbed in the book than in the movie), so you've seen her humanity, maybe even liked her a bit.
And then you find out she's a Nazi, the worst type of person possible. So as a reader, you're forced to deal with the fact that you've witnessed the humanity of a horrible person.
You watch the boy become destroyed by the cold hard facts of who his secret lover really was, mixed with who she protrayed herself as. It's all extremely devastating.
What do you do if you find out the person you love has done a great evil? And what if you could save them from going to prison for a very long time? Would you do it because you once loved them? Or would you let them rot, because of their evil deeds?
That's the moral dilemma the book makes you think about. I don't have an answer really. I've never wanted to humanize a Nazi. That's what this book makes you do, and it made me very sad and uncomfortable.
I'd recommend watching the movie over reading the book, and I'm surprised by that. But really, it's a fantastic adaptation of such a slim novel.
And again, Kate Winslet is insanely talented. I forgot it was her playing a role. To me, she wasn't Kate anymore. She was Hanna, completely.
The book made me think, but the movie, starring Kate Winslet, broke my heart and gave the story all the life and warmth that the book was lacking. I hope she got an Oscar for her performance. She's marvelous.
Some parts of The Reader were hard to get through. The story is all about a teenage boy who falls in love with an older woman named Hanna and has an affair with her. She disappears, leaving him despondent. Years later, he finds her again, in a courtroom.
She is on trial for being a camp guard during the Holocaust, and letting a group of young women burn alive in a church, instead of opening the doors and setting them free.
You've seen them fall in love in the beginning of the novel(though Hanna is significantly more emotionally disturbed in the book than in the movie), so you've seen her humanity, maybe even liked her a bit.
And then you find out she's a Nazi, the worst type of person possible. So as a reader, you're forced to deal with the fact that you've witnessed the humanity of a horrible person.
You watch the boy become destroyed by the cold hard facts of who his secret lover really was, mixed with who she protrayed herself as. It's all extremely devastating.
What do you do if you find out the person you love has done a great evil? And what if you could save them from going to prison for a very long time? Would you do it because you once loved them? Or would you let them rot, because of their evil deeds?
That's the moral dilemma the book makes you think about. I don't have an answer really. I've never wanted to humanize a Nazi. That's what this book makes you do, and it made me very sad and uncomfortable.
I'd recommend watching the movie over reading the book, and I'm surprised by that. But really, it's a fantastic adaptation of such a slim novel.
And again, Kate Winslet is insanely talented. I forgot it was her playing a role. To me, she wasn't Kate anymore. She was Hanna, completely.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had to read this book for German A level as I certainly wouldn’t have chosen it otherwise. Despite the book being incredibly well written (i read it in German so haven’t read the English translation) and bringing up questioning philosophical debates between the readers, the book as a whole is uncomfortable. I would argue that’s it a good book to study in terms of essays, however I would not read for pleasure.
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes