The Reader

     Author                         Bernhard Schlink

     Country                       Germany

     Genre                          Historical Fiction

     Publication  Date       1995

     Pages                           218








This 1995 book by Bernhard Schlink is a telling tale on how the post war generations in Germany deal with the generation that was a part of the war related atrocities: as perpetrators, victims or just witnesses.

The book starts with Michael as a 15 year old boy who falls in love with a 36 year old bus conductor, Hanna and spends many evenings of passionate indulgence and book readings at her apartment, till she suddenly disappears one day. Later in the book, Michael once again comes face to face with her while attending trials on war crimes (as a law student). Hanna who was a guard at a concentration camp is tried and finally convicted for the part she played in the war related atrocities. The latter part of the book sees Michael struggling to come to terms with his feelings for Hanna and finally Hanna's suicide just before her release from jail.

What strikes me about the book is how it's neither happy nor sad. I am someone who likes clarity and prefer happy or sad endings so that I can then feel the "appropriate feeling". However, this book leaves me "in between". I am not sure what to feel about Hanna: whether she was a criminal or just someone who was part of the overall circumstances. And this feeling is so brilliantly reflected in Michael's character too. As a 15 year old boy, he was obsessed with Hanna but as an adult, once he is aware of her past, his feelings are meshed and he is not sure whether to love or hate her. It is this complexity of emotions that leads him to send her recorded audio versions of books but holds him back from visiting her at the prison. 

In one sentence, I would describe this as a simply but realistically written book that has helped evolve my thinking.

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