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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Heel anders dan wat ik normaal lees, maar toch best verrassend. Interessant perspectief over de oorlog nasleep en toch best meeslepend
I loved this book and had a hard time putting it down. It's definitely not your classic WW2 book for sure. It deals with the raw emotions of the main character, whether his emotions are justifiable or not. The story feels very real as you read it, almost as if it were some sort of autobiography. Yes, Hanna saying "kid" all the time is annoying as hell, but we all know that person who overuses a pet name. The main character's emotions are so relateable, so real, so honest that I kept myself reading long after I knew I should be sleeping. This book is short, but in that way it is succinct. It'd be easy to say that I wished it were longer, but any longer and it might lose what it has. The author knew when to stop, which is more than what you can say for most authors. A couple of times I felt like the translation was slightly off, but I knew what was trying to be said (or was it translated funny due to saying things differently back then?). Anyway, I loved this book. The best part about the length is that I can pick it up and read it in a few days if I ever want to read something quickly.
emotional
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Is this what sadness is all about? Is it what comes over us when beautiful memories shatter in hindsight because the remembered happiness fed not just on actual circumstances but on a promise that was not kept?”
― Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
This book had me sobbing in the end.
― Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
This book had me sobbing in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual content, Suicide
Minor: War
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I know that this book does not deserve 5 stars but why did I eat it up, and in the end feel bad for the characters. If you really like My Dark Vanessa, you would probably really like this book. It has a plot twist that you can see coming, but I like the way that the author uses it for the end of the book.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s no need to talk, because the truth of what one says lies in what one does.
There is no objectivity easily held in fictional literature, this is demonstrated in "The Reader". Subjective perspectives presented are defined by internalized life experiences wrought through individual reactions with an overcurrent of moral ambiguity. "The Reader" glances through perspectives that hold the naivety of youth and the naivety of lacking knowledge.
The book starts with a passionate and besotted love affair between a teenager and a 30-year-old and layers into a tale of moral ambiguity, forgiveness, and the depth of human condition.
I went in with no prior information about the story. I felt "The Reader" was harrowing, compelling, and thought-provoking on the nature of forgiveness. I felt it to be entrenched at such a layered depth that all the characters could be empathised through both understanding of their perspectives or motives and the emotive language that describes their experience.
I'd suppose an intention to uncover moral fault lines within the reader was the goal. To leave a person questioning their views and to have heinous deeds felt with. I certainly felt a poignant weight to feel the rawness depicted.
4.5/5
You’ll either hate or love this book. Personally I loved it. When I tell people about this book they usually have two reactions. One is that the title sounds dumb and therefore the book is. As well as the premise of the book seems risky. Trust me though the book isn’t dumb and neither is the title whether the premise is risky or not is up for you to decide. First off, the description on the back of the book was the most accurate one I have ever read. Truly what's on the back is what you get with little more aside from the depth. Basically if the back doesn't interest you then this book won’t. If you enjoy development of characters, backstories, vivid settings, andlead up this book is not for you. Usually I go for books that have all those things and knock books when they don’t, but if this book had those things it wouldn’t be right. There is no easing your way into it and at first I didn’t quite know how to feel about it. It felt like being thrown into the deep ocean for a swim when you had no idea that was the plan, but sure enough I began to swim and once I started I couldn’t stop. The first part of the novel shows Hanna’s and Michael’s relationship, and let me tell you you hop right into it just in the way the description said. It was like a store bought cake. It was so sweet yet it left you with a bitter taste. The actions are questionable, but for whatever reason when they were in this book it was indeed a cupcake that you kept going back to. Part two is focused on the trial of Hanna, history of WW2, and the effect of it on the generations. The difference in story from part one to part two is large. You go from a deep romantic story to a philosophical history fueled one. It did take a time to get used to but once you did it fit. Then part three displayed the immense effect Hanna and the war took on Michael. This book reminds me in a sense of The Shining how you see the man's descent into madness. In this case I think we see the descent of Michael from youth and love and hope to in turn being lost and scared. Michael repeatedly mentions how he often felt nothing regarding Hanna by the end of the book. For me as a reader it felt like the more I read the more distant and numb I became because that was what Michael was doing. The book is told through the eyes and narration of Michael and let me tell you I feel like it was done immaculately. At times I found myself wondering if Michael was actually the author and all of this happened to him. It felt so beautiful, raw, and like Michael was sitting in front of me telling me it all. Also, this book was originally written in German and only later translated into English. I’ve read a good many books that were not originally in English and found at least a few grammar and comprehension problems as well as a feeling of disconnection between the book and me. That did not happen in this book, no problems, no disconnection, so that’s credit to not only the author but also the translator. The one thing that confuses me more than anything is the fact that I have no idea when this story takes place aside from postwar Germany. There are a few references regarding the time period, but not enough to find the definite time.
You’ll either hate or love this book. Personally I loved it. When I tell people about this book they usually have two reactions. One is that the title sounds dumb and therefore the book is. As well as the premise of the book seems risky. Trust me though the book isn’t dumb and neither is the title whether the premise is risky or not is up for you to decide. First off, the description on the back of the book was the most accurate one I have ever read. Truly what's on the back is what you get with little more aside from the depth. Basically if the back doesn't interest you then this book won’t. If you enjoy development of characters, backstories, vivid settings, andlead up this book is not for you. Usually I go for books that have all those things and knock books when they don’t, but if this book had those things it wouldn’t be right. There is no easing your way into it and at first I didn’t quite know how to feel about it. It felt like being thrown into the deep ocean for a swim when you had no idea that was the plan, but sure enough I began to swim and once I started I couldn’t stop. The first part of the novel shows Hanna’s and Michael’s relationship, and let me tell you you hop right into it just in the way the description said. It was like a store bought cake. It was so sweet yet it left you with a bitter taste. The actions are questionable, but for whatever reason when they were in this book it was indeed a cupcake that you kept going back to. Part two is focused on the trial of Hanna, history of WW2, and the effect of it on the generations. The difference in story from part one to part two is large. You go from a deep romantic story to a philosophical history fueled one. It did take a time to get used to but once you did it fit. Then part three displayed the immense effect Hanna and the war took on Michael. This book reminds me in a sense of The Shining how you see the man's descent into madness. In this case I think we see the descent of Michael from youth and love and hope to in turn being lost and scared. Michael repeatedly mentions how he often felt nothing regarding Hanna by the end of the book. For me as a reader it felt like the more I read the more distant and numb I became because that was what Michael was doing. The book is told through the eyes and narration of Michael and let me tell you I feel like it was done immaculately. At times I found myself wondering if Michael was actually the author and all of this happened to him. It felt so beautiful, raw, and like Michael was sitting in front of me telling me it all. Also, this book was originally written in German and only later translated into English. I’ve read a good many books that were not originally in English and found at least a few grammar and comprehension problems as well as a feeling of disconnection between the book and me. That did not happen in this book, no problems, no disconnection, so that’s credit to not only the author but also the translator. The one thing that confuses me more than anything is the fact that I have no idea when this story takes place aside from postwar Germany. There are a few references regarding the time period, but not enough to find the definite time.
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes