Rating: 
Summary: AWFUL, BORING, A WASTE OF THE PAPER IT'S PRINTED ON.
Review: I don't consider myself an insensitive boor, but I wanted to throw this book out the window! Michael is nothing but an arrogant wimp. Hannah is ashamed to be illiterate, so she'll take the rap for a horrendous crime rather than admit she can't write? Please!! I read this only because it was chosen by my local book club. Don't waste your time or your money. It's depressing with no redeeming qualities at all.
Rating: 
Summary: A small masterpiece
Review: This brief, very readable book moved and impressed me as none other since David Malouf's "Conversations at Curlow Creek" with which it shares the theme of profound human understanding and owned psychological falability. Schlink's writing is direct, unadorned (unlike Malouf) and beautifully paced, as well as nuanced. He made me feel sympathetic to Hanna, a woman who had participated in one of the horrors of our time. it's a moral tale without moralizing...a sign of greatness in my book!
Rating: 
Summary: A mix of history and passion...
Review: The reader is definitely worth reading. In the beginning, the author created a dramatic scene which led the two main significant characters to meet. It raised eyebrows, as the author describes the controversial issue of a young boy falling in lust/love with an older woman.Later on, the author conveys two types of passion: a sexual/physical passion which heightens as the boy continues to quench his sexual thirst from Hanna and a passion for culture, knowledge, and imagination as Hanna continues to persuade her young mate to read to her. Both characters had needs... they both knew what they wanted from each other yet it was not revealed until years later. The book had history because it referenced one of the most important and unforgettable period in the past. It also brought up a question on integrity and pride. This book made me think about how integrity and pride become important factors in our decision making. Sometimes, people perceive things the way they do because they know something others don't know about them...
Rating:
Summary: An excellent WASTE of time & money.
Review: I picked this book up because it was a "best-seller." I felt compelled to finish it knowing that I had paid for it... but I just couldn't get past the first few chapters. How could I waste my time on top of wasting my money? I'm surprised that so many people who gave this book 1 or 2 stars actually got through it... Where was the substance? The relationship between Michael & Hanna was appalling and twisted. And what about Michael's parents, didn't they notice he was gone for hours? What about the Holocaust? German Society at the time? Unless you have absolutely nothing better to do, I wouldn't bother picking this one up.
Rating: 
Summary: Just wondering...
Review: is "The Reader" so deep that I just don't get it? Or is is boring and shallow? I was interested in the beginning during the initial meeting of Michael and Hanna, but it went down hill from there. And Hanna would rather rot in prision than reveal her awful secret (illiteracy) but revealed it in the end to the warden? And how would we react if Hanna was 15 and Michael was 36? At least it was a short read.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Read.
Review: This book was different, but that made it very refreshing. I would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Devastating. Disturbing. Soul-searching.
Review: This book was so much, I can only address a small part of it here. As an adult daughter of German immigrants, I have struggled my whole life with the guilt of the Holocaust. My parents are in their late fifities, and were young children during the war. My grandfathers both served in the war; one as a soldier who was held prisoner of war, the other (an epileptic unable to be a soldier) sent to a concentration camp by his neighbor for speaking out against the Nazi's. The neighbor's family and mine had lived and farmed next door to each other for over 100 years. This book identifies my personal identity crisis; proud of the rich history of my German heritage, the music, the land, the wine; yet ashamed of this horrific offense to mankind. Secondly, I think that Hannah attempts to hold us all responsible for social issues that affect our own country, wherever that may be. In asking the judge, "What would you have done?" I think that she also asks us, "What have you done, what are you doing?" The author chooses illiteracy as a modern plague, there are certainly others. What have you done about youth violence, the homeless, the mentally ill, racism? What are you doing to end child exploitation, domestic violence, poverty? Hannah attempts to hold us individually accountable. She also offers a warning. Do you expect the governemnt to address these issues? Due you allow them the authority to act upon moral issues on your behalf? If so, you, we, are at risk for another 'Holocaust'.
Rating:
Summary: Astonishingly beautifully written and a plot full of horror
Review: This author has a way of engaging one into his narration and story at once. It was beautifully written. It was full of believable characters, and the pain of a horrific time in history. As a Jewish woman I was highly impressed and touched by the sensitivity and clarity of this novel.
Rating:
Summary: The best novel I have read this year.
Review: It is very seldom that I read a book in one sitting, but I could not put this book down. Schlink has captured the essence of collective responsibility perfectly. Coming from South Africa, where these issues are still extremely raw, I was profoundly moved and astonished by his grasp of what it means to live in a country damaged and damned by its history.
Rating:
Summary: This book S**KS!
Review: This was horrible. It was dry, boring, and EXTREMELY hard to get through. The plot (what little there was of it) wandered, and at times was completely pointless. It was HORRIBLE, I am so mad I spent the money on it. I have always enjoyed Oprah's book but next time she should just stick to books originally written in English- there was a serious culture gap here.
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