TITLE: The Reader
AUTHOR: Bernhard Schlink
STARTED: April 9, 2011
FINISHED: April 9, 2011
PAGES: 218
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: When I was fifteen, I got hepatitis.
SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com
] Set in postwar Germany, The Reader is a provocative, morally challenging, and deeply moving novel about a young boy's erotic awakening in a clandestine love affair with a mysterious older woman. Falling ill on his way home from school, 15-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. For a time, the two become passionate lovers. Then, one day, Hanna disappears without a word. Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael recognizes his former lover on the stand, accused of a hideous crime. And as he watches Hanna refuse to defend herself against the charges, Michael gradually realizes that she may be guarding a secret more shameful than murder. THOUGHTS: It's not often I can say this but... if you've seen the movie, don't bother reading the book. I am one who, except for the rare case, believes the book is always better than the movie. In this case, the movie was not better - it was exactly the same as the book. The Reader is the rare book that has been translated perfectly to the screen. I liked both equally because each medium gave me the same level of experience and enjoyment.
Schlink's writing style is very easy narrative. The Reader discusses dramatic and difficult issues, but the content does not influence the writing. The book, while very emotional, is not a hard slog of a novel. There is lyricism and an element of oral storytelling throughout the book. This makes sense to me because the book is about reading stories out loud. This is not your typical post-World War II work of fiction. The post-war narrative is merely an element of the story, not the story itself.
The drama in this book is incredibly subtle because the characters are subdued. Neither Hanna nor Michael feel like characters, they come across as real people. So often post-war novels turn their characters into stereotypes. Schlink avoids this. His characters have human insights and emotions; they react to changes in ways that show deep thought and consideration. I have never before experienced a book where I know what the characters are thinking without the author illustrating their actions. You don't need Schlink to show you the character's thought process because everything they do makes sense.
The reason this book is so poignant is not because of the post-war elements, but because of the book/story/reading elements. I won't give away the pivotal point of the book, but it's amazing how the crux of this story is not what the average reader would expect. I think the book is all the better for taking the unusual path.
This is a very touching work of fiction and one that will probably stay with me.
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
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