Title: The Reader
Author: Bernhard Schlink
Publisher: Vintage 1995
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 218
Rating: 3/5 stars
Reading Challenges: Back to the Classics -- 20th Century; New Author; Mount TBR; Eclectic -- Translated; Movie
How I Got It: I own it!
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.
Hmmm... I heard so many good things about this book, and I'm just not convinced at all. The first part is just awkward. The pseudo relationship between Michael and Hanna just doesn't convince me at all. The second part, the trial, gets more interesting. Questions of morality and ethics invade the writing. I found the philosophical questions intriguing. But the third part, after the trial, didn't interest me at all. I just wasn't that emotionally involved with the book. It didn't speak to me at all. That's not to say it isn't a good book. I'm sure many like it, I just didn't really love it.
Movie version:
Overall, I liked the movie much better than the book. The movie held true to the book, but added a bit more of Michael in the present day. We see him reminiscing about the story of Hanna. Plus, the audience has the good fortune of getting rid of Michael's rambling narration. Kate Winslet is amazing as Hanna. I felt for her more than at any time during the book. WInslet made her more human. And the actor who played Michael lets us into his head much more than the book. A very good movie.
