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Summary: Schlink explores depths of relationships
Review: The Reader is a wonderful attest to the fact that love is not perfect and workable at all times. It tells of a story that is not too removed from experiences in many lives--Michael Berg develops an infatuation, a perplexing curiosity to someone that is socially deemed unavailable to him. Through his relationship, not only does he grow emotionally and sexually, but intuitively and mentally as well. Besides sharing a sexual relationship with Hanna, he is nurtured and encouraged to excel--a hope that Hanna did not get to fulfill in her own life.The book speaks to the human emotion, for although the story tells of an clandestime, socially unacceptable relationship, it proves that there are bonds and strong feelings that can link us to those outside of our own age group.
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Summary: A parable for today's business ethics
Review: This is an interesting parable, as appropriate for today's financial scandals as for the aftermath of the Nazi era which it depicts, with its focus on the consequences of tacitly "going along to get along" instead of making moral choices. It begins with a 15-year-old boy who has a tempestuous affair with a 36-year-old woman -- two people at the height of their sexuality who are mutually exploitative. But, they also have a sense of responsibility for each other; Hanna Schmitz insists that Michael Berg apply himself to his schoolwork, in return, he reads a variety of books to her (her shortcoming is illiteracy). Now, think of this in terms of some recently failed businesses; where the chief executive is obsessed with showing profits or making his company the dominant one in its field. So, the books are cooked to show desirable results -- and, the employees who must "go along to get along." Hanna's story is of an illiterate peasant girl swept into the Nazi SS during the war, ending the war guarding some concentration camp inmates who die brutally. She had many opportunities to spare them, but refused on the grounds of loyalty to what she saw as duty rather than an ethical issue of humanity by doing what was right. Think of her in terms of employees of companies who remain silent in the face of wrong doing rather than "betray" a greater loyalty to the business. In brief, it's a parable about the price of doing right in contrast to the expediency of "going along to get along." Hanna is eventually brought to trial for her wartime actions and sent to prison; Michael becomes a lawyer, with a career that is haunted by Hanna and their relationship. Both used each other, and as a result both hurt each other. Sound familiar ? Of course, it's the age-old story of the consequences of taking ethical shortcuts for personal profit or pleasure. How many Europeans made similar choices in World War II ? How many business executives made similar choices in recent years to enhance their reputations or profit ? "Ah, you want to understand why people can do such terrible things," a motorist asks Michael when he at last decides to visit a concentration camp to try to understand what Hanna did during the war. Hanna's whole life was a lie, her complicity with evil had a devastating impact on others -- not because she was inherently bad -- but because of her tendency of "going along to get along" rather than facing any risk or hardship. Even after her conviction, Hanna had "A proud, wounded, lost, and infinitely tired look. A look that wished to see nothing and no one." Think of contemporary executives who destroy their companies by endorsing expediency rather than ethics, and proudly refuse to say as much as "I'm sorry" for the harm they cause. Schlink used a horrific example to make his point; he is a law professor, skilled in dealing with the aftermath of cases where expediency overrules ethics and morals. But, to a much lesser degree, it is a choice we all face -- using an expedient "white lie" rather than upset a friend or colleague with some honest advice. Do we ever escape the consequences of such actions ? A few sentences from the end of his parable, Schlink writes: "The tectonic layers of our lives rest so tightly one on the top of the other that we always come up against earlier events in later ones, not as a matter that has been fully formed an pushed aside, but absolutely present and alive." Think of it the next time you tell a white lie, or decide "going along to get along" is better than being honest to yourself and others.
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Summary: Captivating, Well-Written German Fiction
Review: Starting in 1958 in Germany, "The Reader" follows the first-person narrative of 15-year-old Michael Berg, an ill adolescent who has a love affair with a 36-year-old illiterate named Hanna Schmitz. He's perplexed by her moodiness, and, when she suddenly disappears, Michael becomes obsessed with her and his various memories of her. Seven years later, as a law student, Michael is reunited with Hanna; however, not on the best terms. She is on trial with a handful of other SS female guards, all of whom are being tried as war criminals in conjunction with the Nazi concentration camp atrocities during WWII. Although Michael is numb after seeing her again, he is troubled by his present dilemma to try and free her from a life sentence, or allow her to seal her own fate. Once I began "The Reader", I couldn't put it down and finished it in one day. It was very captivating and well written. The translation from German to English was great, and I'm very pleased this book made it over to the States. If you enjoy brief May-December romantic literature, then I highly recommend "The Reader". It's a wonderful work of fiction. Also recommended: "The Lover" by Marguerite Duras.
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Summary: sexual abuse or love ?
Review: I thought this was a great book, once I started reading it I couldn't stop. Its a great example of power and control and how damaging it is for young boys to engage in relationships with older women or vise versa . It was clear that having been involved in this relationship did not allow the boy to move on with his life.
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Summary: !
Review: The austere style of this writer is perfect for this novel. No fluff, just the facts presented in a simple way that leaves one feeling the raw emotions of the conflict Michael Berg was living. I found this book to be intense and sincere.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Read
Review: The Reader, by Bernhard Shlink is the story of a timid, fifteen year old boy corrupted by
an older woman. Young Michael Berg falls into a lustful relationship with a thirty-year old
woman named Hannah. Their love-affair goes on for a short period of time when
suddenly she abandons him, leaving him with little hope in ever seeing his love again.
Years later when Michael is in law school, he follows a trial where Hannah is the
defendant for being involved with Nazi concentration camps. Although he loved her he
never knew her so he seeks to find out more about the camps and the Nazi past.
This book intrigued me from the very begninng. The steamy relationship sets the
scene for the rest of a deep book filled with unanswered questions. Hannah is a character
of mystery and throughtout the novel, Michael searches to find out more about her. The
book is filled with Michael's revelations about Hannah, the Holocaust and himself. Overall
the novel starts out much stronger than it ends, but the message Shlink sends about the
Holocaust is powerful.
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Summary: Reflections on human pride, shame, and indifference
Review: This novel is one I would classify as a "tale" because it has the moral weight and simple elegance of one of Hawthorne's tales. There are few characters in this tale. And the two main characters seem to represent so much. These two characters are the narrator, Michael Berg, who begins his account with the story of how he lost his virginity at age 15 to a 36 year old streetcar conductor named Hanna Schmitz, and the streetcar conductor herself, whose life continues to interlace with Berg's. Their story spans a period of about thiry years, a period long enough for Michael to learn much about pride, guilt, shame, disappointment, and the ability of human beings to numbly accept just about any degree of indignity. At first I was taken aback by the affair between the schoolboy and the conductor (were the sexes reversed, I wondered whether most readers would have been either outraged or guiltily titilated). But, in the end, the narrator seems to come to a point where he has a perspective on how he had been exploited. Indeed, this experience of exploitation seems to parallel even greater forms of human exploitation and becomes key to understanding many of the other things that unfold in this tale. The way the story progresses is truly masterful and to describe the plot would deprive readers of their own first impressions. Schlink seems to have William Faulkner's gift to force readers to reconsider each character's merits chapter after chapter. If you can, stay away from any review that reveals too much about the storyline. Surrender to the experience of discovery and reflection. This brief novel seems grounded in major philosophical and theological issues--like the roles of conscience and the will. In fact, the stunning paragraph on pp. 19-20 about conscience ("Often enough in my life I have done things I had not decided to do.") seems to come right out of St. Paul ("I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do." Romans 7:18,19). The nature of evil and moral lassitude is at the very heart of this book. Another association: The narrator's description of his desire to achieve numbness on a skiing trip called to mind the conversation between the man and the woman about indifference in Marguerite Duras's screenplay for "Hiroshima Mon Amour" (ISBN 0802131042). This association may be especially apt considering that Renais's film involves painful recollections of the World War II experiences of a French woman who was ostracized for her love affair with a German soldier and of a Japanese man's experience of the Hiroshima bombing. The "tale-like" quality of the story also made me wonder if the reader wasn't being asked to make something of the main characters' names. "Berg" is somewhat ethnically ambiguous; "Michael" is the name of one of the militant angels; "Hanna" means "grace" and was the name of a pious Jew in the Hebrew Bible. "The Reader" is a powerful story. It's one you'll want to read carefully...and more than once.
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Summary: Idea interesting, but characters flat, undeveloped, immature
Review: While I found the relationship between the boy and the woman objectionable, it isn't the reason I didn't care for the book. I found the writing sparse. The characters weren't fully developed, and the reader is left not knowing hardly anything of the characters. It was an interesting idea for a story; however, I feel that more should have been said about the characters' lives and feelings and less about simply their repetitive sexual affair. The chapters are annoyingly short. The feelings of the narrator seem immature and undeveloped. I realize he is 15 at the beginning of the book, but 15-year-old boys can still be interesting. Besides, the narrator ages, but no real insight is gained. Skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Good book!
Review: This was a good book! One of Oprah's earlier picks, and one of the better. What a different story. It really pulls you in.
Rating:
Summary: insightful and spare
Review: This small book is wonderful because of its insights and clean spare style. It reminded me of another book I just read -- The Kommandant's Mistress by Sherri Szeman. Both books deal with the manipulation of sex and concentration camps. The syle of both is clean and insightful. Both take us to places of remarkable insight -- both from the side of the victims and the perpetrators. Both books are especially moving because they let the reader see and judge for themselves.
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