Rating: 
Summary: Good for summer, that's about it -- no relation to audience
Review: It was a nice idea, of Schlink's, to put this fictionalized memoir together for us. But in the end, it left me thinking, "yeah...and then what happened?" -- sort of the line you tag at the end of a bad joke. The sexual relationship they had, twisted and remote, was worthless and gratuitous. It didn't need to be there. While Michael was sewing his oats, Hanna was aroused by intimacy of the reading. There was no symbiosis or exchange in that relationship. But that's what happens when you put together a 36-year-old former Nazi prison guard with a 15-year-old well-educated boy who's learning the ropes of life. In the final analysis, it was an emotionally abusive relationship -- and if any of us thinks it's a great "romantic" piece, we should have our collective heads examined. If that happened in America and the parents found out about it, it wouldn't be so romantic. Why everyone thought this was such a great work is beyond me -- maybe I'm deft to the symbolic undercurrents, but I don't think so. On the very primal level, it was sad and manipulative. I found myself finishing it out of obligation. I don't like to quit anything.
Rating: 
Summary: How could you not read it.
Review: I picked the book up one morning and refused to move until finished. Many of you believed this was a tale of obsession and sex between a young boy and his neighbor. On the contrary it has much to do with our need to make our lovers fill a void in us and at the same time, how we all have a desire to "fix" our lovers. The author did a beautiful job relating this love affair between Michael and Hanna. Face it, in every relationship one of us is the enigma, and the other one is the detective. As far as the issues brought forth with the disscussion of the Holocaust and Nazis. The author gives you Hanna, makes you wonder about her, long for her, fantasize about her, and then sets forth the shocking truth of her past. Now, try and hate her, and condem her. Hard isn't it, yet we would never admit that , am I correct. I read this book months ago and I am still unable to release it from my memory. Definately a Thinker, and a book made for the reader. All of us will come away with something different, yet all of it provacitive.
Rating: 
Summary: An enchantingly quick read of a deep moral tale
Review: I read this book within the span of a few days even while I was working. I normally do not like historical fiction, but this book came very highly recommended. The book is enjoyable and deep...no, it is not about sex and longing. Not at all. It is much more than that and really leads you to think. The ending is somewhat surprising and yet somewhat predictable. Just depends on how much you read. The author really develops the "kid" and you see how he struggles to grow and come to terms with "Hanna". A question of obligation? Perhaps. If you are not sure about the "Oprah" books...just try this one. It is enchanting!
Rating:
Summary: Not a romance novel
Review: Thought this was a great book. The writer took on a difficult topic and managed to come out with a realistic story that didn't have the typical happy ending. (Sorry guys, it doesn't always happen). Maybe if you thought it so boring, you should go back to your romance novels, where there is no thinking involved.
Rating:
Summary: What a great short summer read!!!!
Review: This book is definatly worth reading. It starts out very intersting with the hot love affair, which keeps you turning the pages. The middle did get somewhat boring, but things picked up again towards the end. The ending was vey unexpected!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A beautifully written story but an unrealistic plight.
Review: I found the story well written. Every word, every sentence never made me feel it didn't belong. The book flowed very smoothly and had a rythym. It was also the type of book that left you thinking thats it? That was all there was? Unfortunately it wasn't a story I could put myself into, I didn't sympathize with the characters, infact I disliked them. The boy was obviously infatuated with Hanna, I got the impression that there was nothing else to the relationship then that. Hanna no more felt for the "kid" then you would for a house plant you were obligated to water every day. She got her pleasure from him and he read to her which she could not do for herself. Other than that the relationship was entirely in his mind. They both got something out of it, but what they got were two completely different things. She had her fun with him, and he red her books she could never have read. He felt he was in a mature relationship and convinced himself it was love. Once again beautifully written but I felt no sympathy for the relationship, or the characters.
Rating:
Summary: A well written book with no point
Review: In ordinary society there is no such thing as the realtionship that occured between the characters. This book completely lost it from the get go. With a lack of interest I forced myself to finish this composition. The whole plot of the book was way to overwhelming with too much action for the short period it took to read. A mistake on the authors part lead to a boring read.
Rating:
Summary: So many of you got it wrong
Review: I am amazed at how many readers thought this book was about sex and obsession. That was only the introduction to the theme of what can be a generation's response to a living monster. The author's main idea is not sex, but confronting our own attitudes toward the past and parents who aided and abetted and applauded Hanna in their lifetime. Did anyone think her illiteracy was a bit unusual for a 20th century German? Perhaps it was a metaphor for her "not knowing" what she was doing. Was it a whitewash? Are we being led to being sympathetic to Hanna? Why did she commit suicide? Maybe because she realized that she could never escape the hideousness of what she had done. She was truly worthless.
Rating:
Summary: This is a phenomenal and moving example of historic fiction.
Review: Mr. Schlink creates lasting portraits of two characters of amazing depth. Although I finished his story some time ago, it is etched in my mind and I return to it ever so often. Here, I am moved by the loss, the hope, the experiences of Michael and Hanna. This novel transcends the history which creates it. It captures the very essence of the human spirit. A beautiful read.
Rating:
Summary: Good weekend reader!
Review: I really enjoyed the combination of the love affair, Nazi Trial, and the ironic twists in Schlink's novel. I couldn't put the book down. It's a good choice for an easy weekend read.
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