The Reader

Rating:
Summary: A gripping story I couldn't put down.
Review: I started this book and could not put it down. There were many questions I asked as I read the story. I couldn't wait to share the book in order to discuss the two main characters and their life together and apart.

Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: It's a quick read, but it nonetheless provokes hours of self examination. In another time, in another place, faced with the same difficulties, what would you do?

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous story, wonderful translation, beautiful narration
Review: This one will go on my Top Ten list! I was riveted ... glued to my seat the entire time. Couldn't wait for the next piece, but didn't want it to end either. The three parts are very different in tone and atmosphere, and I found myself marveling at how Bernhard Schlink wrote 3 distinctly separate stories that weave so seamlessly into one coherent picture. That the story was set in the area I grew up in, was another unexpected treat - I could see very clearly the landscapes he was describing.
I listened to the audio version - and I loved the way Campbell Scott gave voices to the characters! I actually liked the fact that "The Reader" didn't offer any answers, only raised questions - that made this story very truthful for me.
I'm a native German speaker, and am very picky about translated literature - but this was wonderfully translated! Hats off to Carol Janeway Brown for getting all the nuances across.

Rating:
Summary: Powerful and moving
Review: From the first page until the last one I couldn't take my eyes off the book. Something inside me made me read it. It was captivating and moving. I could feel what Michael was feeling and at the same time I liked Hanna and I understood her.The book made sense. The writing was very good and easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: Complex, disturbing but always rivetting
Review: This is one of the best novels I've ever read. It is primarily a memory book and examines as much how we remember events as the actual events themselves. It has too many layers to be taken in one read. The author never thrusts his opinions on the audience but presents the story and its possible morals for us to decide on individually. Plus it's a quick read you can read it again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Only if you've never read a book on this subject ...
Review: Actually, I'm not sure if I think this book deserves even two stars; it's not terrible, but it's pretty weak. Why are there so many questions the book leaves unanswered? I keep on coming back to the possibility that the author, while starting with an interesting idea, couldn't execute it very well. The translation was totally banal, and it may be that the original was banal, too. I had no sympathy for either of the main characters, both of whom lacked any depth. I got tired of the author's philosophically superficial musings; the whole thing started to come across like a term paper. If you want to read a great, well-written story that deals with the German character and complexities of WWII, pick up "Stones from the River" by Ursula Hegge. That's a five-star book!

Rating:
Summary: Very thought provoking - leaves you wanting to read it again
Review: The Reader asks the questions that post war Germans ask themselves about their nation's dark history and the personal involvement of those close to them in the Holocaust. After the horrors of the Holocaust became known throughout the world - it seems impossible that such a horrific crime could ever happen again. However, the individuals that committed these crimes are grandparents, parents, neighbors, professional associates of present day Germans - it is difficult for them to believe that people with whom they have personal relationships have either committed the crimes or associated themselves with the perpetrators. This book will leave you thinking.

Rating:
Summary: The difficulities of defining morality.
Review: This book is an excellent and illuminating analysis of morality, loyalty, betrayal, guilt, love and hate, fear and fearlessness, stretched to cover a difficult subject. It appears that the character of Hanna represents Nazi Germany and the character of Michael Berg represents at some level the metaphor for post-War Germany. The book is brilliant in examining the different and difficult levels of morality against the backdrop of the relationship between Hanna and Michael, her "secret," and how that secret has tragic implications. Professor Schlink also manages to inject legal theory and philosophy into the book without condescension. The spare writing style is similar to Kundera, either deliberately or because of the translation. Among books that utilize the Holocaust as a backdrop, this one is much different because it is not told from the survivior's perspective -- although the real "survivor" in the book is post-war Germany, the Germany of today. This book truly should be read by people interested in grappling with and trying to understand difficult moral choices, moral ambivalence, and the make-up of morality itself. A challenging book in its entirety and one that should be read.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic read! A+
Review: From the moment I picked it up it captivated me. The writing was smooth and flowing. The story was interesting and dealt with some important issues. Check it out!

Rating:
Summary: Somewhat dissapointing
Review: I am surprised by Oprah's choice of books. I found this book to drag on forever. It was very vague with some interesting areas and went into way too much detail about nothing. Hanna's side of the story was never discussed much and left you feeling depraved of half of the story line. The one chapter at the end is the only one that lets you get to know her. I might have had more compassion for her if I had "known" her better. Definately not one of the better books I have read.