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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A 15-year-old boy is seduced/abused by an older woman; after a long relationship, the woman mysteriously disappears. Much later, our protagonist finds her on trial for
Spoiler
being a guard at a Nazi Concentration camp and sending thousands of people to their deathI read this because it was a New Year's Resolution to read more "litt'ry fiction" and "classics". I'm not sure why I thought this would be a good idea for me. These kind of books I... well, I just don't enjoy them. I understand that the author was approaching a very well-worn topic - Holocaust fiction - from a very different point of view. I identified the themes of shame, abuse and loneliness, and how those things manifest themselves differently in different people. But it was just not an enjoyable read for me. The narrative was flat and numbing, which I know was partly the author's intent (another major theme throughout the book was the numbing power that horrifying events can have on people) but also was partly because the book was translated from German.
Reading is my escape - and this was just a big ole downer for me.
TWO STARS.
emotional
reflective
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 know that I found it beautiful. But I cannot recapture it's beauty.”
Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
Just finished this quick read and feel more connected with myself after doing so. “The Reader” was haunting, soulful and at times lighter than I anticipated. Schlink took the Holocaust, post WW-II German citizens and the world of academia into a place that left myself almost in awe of the complexity of a humans emotions.
Bernhard Schlink, The Reader
Just finished this quick read and feel more connected with myself after doing so. “The Reader” was haunting, soulful and at times lighter than I anticipated. Schlink took the Holocaust, post WW-II German citizens and the world of academia into a place that left myself almost in awe of the complexity of a humans emotions.
3.5 stars.
This was one of those I almost gave up on early in the book because of the ridiculousness. The thing that made me keep reading was that I enjoyed the writing. After I got through the first part and everything started to unfold, I became much more engaged in the story.
This was one of those I almost gave up on early in the book because of the ridiculousness. The thing that made me keep reading was that I enjoyed the writing. After I got through the first part and everything started to unfold, I became much more engaged in the story.
Bellissimo romanzo che ci aiuta a riflettere sull'etica, i processi e la Germania degli anni successivi alla guerra. Da leggere con attenzione per capirne tutte le sfumature e maturare insieme al narratore, che prende consapevolezza dei propri sentimenti verso Hannah e verso la sua generazione e quella dei propri genitori.
challenging
dark
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
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book recently for book club. The narrative captures the evolution of his relationships well. Mostly, it made me so sad because the narrator starts living his life in such a detached manner over time after having been a much more engaged person. He is gripped by some aspects of law and can throw himself in to that work, but can't seem to really connect with people. I guess it helped me understand how living and interacting from a distance can happen, but it was so earnest and dark. Also, the highlight of the act of reading and being read to is a lovely element, but simultaneously sad I found.
I saw the movie and I thought that it was well done, but I got something completely different out of reading the book.
I saw the movie and I thought that it was well done, but I got something completely different out of reading the book.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced