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sariahsharp 's review for:
The Reader
by Bernhard Schlink
I am really torn about this book. It invokes so many feelings and questions, and I guess that makes it a great book! I had a really hard time with Part 1 in which we read all about the love affair between a 15 year old boy and a 36 year old woman. Honestly, that just made me angry and sick. I was ready to put it down and give up on it, but then Part 2 started. Part 2 was amazing as we really got a sense of post WWII-Germany and what it was like for the different generations of Germans who were all facing the guilt of WWII. This part of the book was more beautifully written and descriptive of the world around the characters, not just the characters themselves. Part 3 neatly tied everything together.
So many moral questions are brought up. I'm still processing much of what I read, and I'm not going to make much sense of it on my own (meaning if anyone reads this, can we PLEASE discuss it???). I am intrigued by the story and the actions of the characters. I felt that the story started off really dry and I have to wonder about translations sometimes. Can we get a truly beautifully story and have it translated into a beautifully written story? I'm not saying it was a bad translation... it wasn't. But I just wonder what I'm missing by not knowing German and being able to read it in German. Anyway, as the story moves on, I felt like the language changed and the writing just got better and better. It evolved and changed and matured along with the main character, Michael. Interesting.
So many moral questions are brought up. I'm still processing much of what I read, and I'm not going to make much sense of it on my own (meaning if anyone reads this, can we PLEASE discuss it???). I am intrigued by the story and the actions of the characters. I felt that the story started off really dry and I have to wonder about translations sometimes. Can we get a truly beautifully story and have it translated into a beautifully written story? I'm not saying it was a bad translation... it wasn't. But I just wonder what I'm missing by not knowing German and being able to read it in German. Anyway, as the story moves on, I felt like the language changed and the writing just got better and better. It evolved and changed and matured along with the main character, Michael. Interesting.