judyward 's review for:

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

4.0

---

I picked up this book because of the buzz about the movie. Having read it, I have no desire to see the movie. It couldn't approach the impact of the book. This is not an easy read, only because of the ideas and themes that are constantly in flux as the novel moves forward. Themes like freedom of choice, the nature of guilt--both individual and collective, and the seeming helplessness of both victims and the victimized grab the reader and elicit a "what would I do in that situation" response. To relate much of the plot would spoil the book for readers. Everyone talks of the book as being about the sexual relationship between 15 year old Michael Berg and Hanna, an emotionally remote women who is 20 years his senior. But it is so much more. Taking place in postwar Germany, the domestic policies of Hitler's Germany, as seen by the generation growing up after the war, are an important focus of the book. I identified with both Michael and Hanna at different points in the story and grieved with them over their choices. The only thing that disappointed me was the fact that I guessed the secret too soon in the story--the foreshadowing might have been a little too obvious. This is going to be a difficult book to put out of my mind. I highly recommend it.