The Reader

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It's a hit!

The book is an intense examination of how we deal with the transgressions of past generations.. do we really spend time and effort to truly underst... (show more)

The book is an intense examination of how we deal with the transgressions of past generations.. do we really spend time and effort to truly understand circumtances and motivations behind those wrongdoings, or do we simply condemn in order to show our indignation, and somehow try to salvage our collective guilt, try to make it into something less passive, less futile?

Michael is a young schoolboy of fifteen in post-war Germany, when he meets, and becomes enthralled by an older woman (Hanna). Their short, but intimate time together ends when Hanna mysteriously leaves town - next to be seen by Michael, years later, when she stands on trial for crimes committed during World War II. Michael is now torn between his love for her and his own guilt for loving someone accused of those atrocities.

The author theorizes how the holocaust was perpetrated by people who were essentially numb, they were acting not just because of orders given to them by others, but because these very acts had become a matter of routine, something that wasn't to be analyzed or to be given the slightest form of the most basic human consideration. He also links this same "numbness" to the victims, who witness these daily horrors as if anesthetized. The author absolutely does NOT consider the perpetrator and the victim in this case to be any way similar just because they share this detached perspective, but he does pose the question: "What would you have done?" No other question could be so simple in phrasing, yet draw such complex, raw introspection.

"The Reader" is also a painful love story, beautifully written (the translator - Carol Brown Janeway - should get a special mention) but without the cliches that sometimes characterize the narration of such romances. The story is written so economically, yet, with every word, every sentence, you, the reader, will be made to feel the characters' anguish, the torment of their memories, their struggle to come to terms with their moral breaches, and their attempt at pennance.. (show less)

 

 

by Deepa Palanivel

No, it's a flop!

Am I the only person who didn't like this book? I found that i was left wondering what the book was trying to be.The author touches on some interes... (show more)

Am I the only person who didn't like this book? I found that i was left wondering what the book was trying to be.The author touches on some interesting subjects such as morality, psychology, social standing, guilt etc however for me it never really explored anything fully. I found both protagonists hard to relate to in any form, and the writing style drab and repetitive (plus there seemed to be no consistancy in the language of the narrator). I have read reviews all absolutely praising the author for his handling of the hollocaust within the reader, however i have read many more thought provoking and in depth novels on the subject. I found the book was trying to be too many things for such a short novel. Is it just me? (show less)

 

 

by Louise

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  I found this book a very easy read. The characters were not incredibly complex, but the story made up for that. I enjoyed how the author examines how people make moral decisions. I was a bit saddened with the ending because the optimist in me wanted there to be a happy ending for Hanna.

  The subject matter covered in the novel are so varied that it made for interesting reading. The concept of a young man and an older woman, genocide, and struggling with a moral dilemma all blend together... (show more)

  I found this book a very easy read. The characters were not incredibly complex, but the story made up for that. I enjoyed how the author examines how people make moral decisions. I was a bit saddened with the ending because the optimist in me wanted there to be a happy ending for Hanna.

  The subject matter covered in the novel are so varied that it made for interesting reading. The concept of a young man and an older woman, genocide, and struggling with a moral dilemma all blend together for a very interesting read. I wanted to know why the protagonist never spoke up for his lover. I want to know why Hanna took all the blame.

  Choose this novel not for the fact that it was made into a critically acclaimed movie, but because the story of the two characters is one that is thought provoking and masterfully told. (show less)

   

   

  by Jeannette on Apr 13, 2009 at 07:11PM

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  "The tectonic layers of our lives rest so tightly one on top of the other that we always come up against earlier events in later ones, not as matter that has been fully formed and pushed aside, but absolutely present and alive."

  This book... left me feeling heavy and sad. While the style of writing didn't lend itself especially to my getting emotionally attached to any of the characters (which I think was intentional and went according to the story conceptually very well), it was ... (show more)

  "The tectonic layers of our lives rest so tightly one on top of the other that we always come up against earlier events in later ones, not as matter that has been fully formed and pushed aside, but absolutely present and alive."

  This book... left me feeling heavy and sad. While the style of writing didn't lend itself especially to my getting emotionally attached to any of the characters (which I think was intentional and went according to the story conceptually very well), it was very affective.

  It's the story of a young German boy who falls in love with an older woman and after a rather stormy affair, she disappears. He happens upon her years later as a young law student, finds out that she was a guard at a concentration camp during the Holocaust and that her disappearance had nothing to do with him.

  The story raises far more questions than it answers, it explores themes that are discomforting in a sterile awkward sort of way... which only serves to make it all the more discomforting. It's a story from the point of view of a man who loves someone who's done unspeakable things. The story of a man who's entire life seems nothing more than loving a "criminal" and his wondering if that somehow makes him a criminal himself.

  While it was a quick, it wasn't light. (show less)

   

   

  by Tory Rowe on Mar 25, 2009 at 05:21AM

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