Reviews

Der Vorleser by Bernhard Schlink

earl_3's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i_am_jeffries's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.0

merledelarie's review against another edition

4.0

* 4.5

sp00kyx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

*Read in German.

I watched the movie a few months ago and really liked it, but felt dissatisfied by the message. I felt as though the director didn’t really know himself what he wanted to convey, and what they wanted the message to be. It left me confused and frustrated. But the book answered all of those questions and I loved the way Bernard Schlink showed the thoughts and personalities of the two main characters. Hanna was actually a person, with a story and a real personality (positive and negative) and not just this evil person that needs to be condemned like in the movie. The message was also so much clearer in the book and it really made me think about the way we (as a country) handled and handle this topic. The writing was great, straight to the point but still immersive and the ending deeply upset me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, War, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, and Suicide

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Vomit and Physical abuse

sophialovesrain's review against another edition

informative relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Ich habe das Buch jetzt nach 2 Jahren beendet und ich fand es ganz Okay.
Eigentlich bin ich ein Fan von dem Thema und das Buch war auch ganz interessant geschrieben.
Aber es liegt vielleicht daran, dass ich es über 2 Jahre gelesen habe und nicht am Stück, dadurch war ich auch nicht mehr in der Story drinnen.

wanderingbookwormsf's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rhodamae's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

2.75

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

kim_gzt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Very disturbing but it had a good representation of historical events.

sipsandspines's review against another edition

challenging reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0