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ellaalonso 's review for:
The Reader
by Bernhard Schlink
You would think that combining Nazis and sexual deviance would make for an interesting book but honestly I just couldn't get into it. The writing was boring at the best of times; the rest of the times I struggled through empty, flat paragraphs.
The relationship between Michael and Hanna has been described as "erotic", yet the only "erotic" thing about them was the fact that they were engaging in a sexual affair. Showering, "making love", and reading aren't exactly the makings of 50 Shades of Gray. The age difference added some deviance but only in a truly Lolita sense that overall felt uncomfortable to think about.
And what horrific secret is Hanna hiding, one that she feels is more shameful than her involvement with the Third Reich? She can't read. Hanna is illiterate. That's it, that's the huge secret, that's the twist that we've all be waiting for. Hanna doesn't know how to read. I felt robbed. While the concept of Hanna's illiteracy as a sort of stand-in for German ignorance sounds good in theory, the book made it almost too specific. Hanna is ignorant in the very literal sense of the word and that's it. People died because Hanna didn't want to admit that she can't read.
The relationship between Michael and Hanna has been described as "erotic", yet the only "erotic" thing about them was the fact that they were engaging in a sexual affair. Showering, "making love", and reading aren't exactly the makings of 50 Shades of Gray. The age difference added some deviance but only in a truly Lolita sense that overall felt uncomfortable to think about.
And what horrific secret is Hanna hiding, one that she feels is more shameful than her involvement with the Third Reich? She can't read. Hanna is illiterate. That's it, that's the huge secret, that's the twist that we've all be waiting for. Hanna doesn't know how to read. I felt robbed. While the concept of Hanna's illiteracy as a sort of stand-in for German ignorance sounds good in theory, the book made it almost too specific. Hanna is ignorant in the very literal sense of the word and that's it. People died because Hanna didn't want to admit that she can't read.