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Summary: The first book I've ever read in one sitting
Review: I sat down in the cafe at Borders last night and read this book from start to finish. It hit me on so many levels and the translation is really good. I highly recommend this one--much more hard-hitting than many other of Oprah's selections (and written from a male point of view for a change!)
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Summary: Good for Oprah!
Review: I was shocked to learn that Oprah had recommended this novel. I read this book last year and I think of it often. Disregard the "bad" reviews and check this book out!
Rating: 
Summary: Enthralling
Review: Once I started reading, I could not put it down. The author describes the complex relationship between Michael and Hanna in such a way you can almost tell what they are thinking and why. A different book that makes you think for a long time after you have finished it.
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Summary: Not the best example of post war Germany
Review: I read this book in one night. I thought that there was going to be a climax of sorts; that something amazing or unexpected would happen; nothing did. I didn't like the way the author portrayed the characters. I thought that the beginning of The Reader was good, but I didn't enjoy the ending.
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Summary: Well written book on a very difficult subject
Review: I have noticed some of the reviews below complaining about not being able to fully empathize with the main character; that he seemed distant and shallow. I think that that is exactly the point of this book; He himself (the person we are "hearing" from) cannot express a fullness of emotion. He experienced such a crushing sense of numbness over the whole ordeal, with all of its past and present implications, that in writing about it, he exhibits a detached, almost exhausted, sensiblity. The part that impacted me the most was during the trial, when Hanna says to the judge, "Well, what would you have done?" . It made me ask myself that question. We, who have never stood in the icy snow in a flustered panic as a church burns to the ground, should not be so quick to blame.
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Summary: i found this book moving
Review: sorry but im not going to write a 1000 words but it was a good enough book to write that much. i found his a affair with hanna thrilling. the age along was just wow ! well i dont want to give anything away from this book you must read it though!!!
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Summary: Thought provoking and disturbing
Review: This is an interesting book in that it reads as a simple novel of a young man's first sexual experience with an older woman, and yet we all know it is so much more than that. Like all stories relating to the holocaust it is disturbing and I found myself thinking of the story long after I finished reading it. But I also wanted more - I wanted to know more about both of the major characters, and what drove them both. I wanted more of the history, horrifying and disturbing though it is. I wanted to identify with them both because what makes a truly great book is the ability to absorb the reader into the story. It is a very good book, but it just falls short of being a great book.
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Summary: A Winner From Oprah
Review: A really different kind of book from Oprah but one that is powerful and compelling. I'm glad to see Oprah pick something so thought provoking. I would like to suggest that she pick FRIED CALAMARI next month.
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Summary: Not so much about the Holocaust
Review: "The Reader" has been a bestseller in Australia for about six months so I was surprised to receive an email from Amazon to let me know that this was Oprah's newest book club selection. Not that it worried me. In fact this proved to be of benefit as this meant that I could read a book at the same time as it was supposed to be and not the two months later when it actually arrived on our shores. The reason I think that it has done so well here is not so much that it is about the Holocaust but more so that as people we are fascinated and intrigued and are constantly looking for some sort of understanding of why we do the horrible things we do to each other. This is is why I think what the "The Reader" sets out to do and what it actually involves is not so much the telling of the people of the Holocaust but those looking back on it. To read statements further down this page by people who haven't even READ the book troubles me as it would seem to me that this idea that "The Reader" is set in or is predominantly about the Holocaust is being pedalled. Those reading this review please understand that it is not. In fact it will be interesting to see when they make the movie - and you know they will - whether they focus on the love story or the courtroom angle. This is a lovely little story told in a very big way. Sure there are some times when you can really see that this has been translated with some inappropriately short sentences, but once you get past it you'll find like I did, I'm sure, that "The Reader" is a story about us as people and not so much the Holocaust.
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Summary: An engrossing read, yet ultimately sad and depressing book.
Review: I enjoyed this book, but I found it lacking in charactor development particularly in the case of Michael. Perhaps it was the main charactor's detatchment from his family, friends; everyone but Hanna. Although perhaps this is what made this book brief and to the point. It wasn't until the end, that I could really feel for the main charactors. Believe it or not, I felt intensely sad for Hanna. She seemed to be an ignorant woman, who had made horrendous choices in her life, and then was left to reflect upon them for years. Ultimately killing herself rather than go on living. The scene in the book that particularly bothered me was when Michael finally goes to see her in prison. "I saw the expectation in her face, saw it light up with joy when she recognized me, watched her eyes scan my face as I approached, saw them seek, inquire, then look uncertain and hurt, and saw the light go out of her face." This woman saw judgement everywhere, and I believe became involved with Michael as boy out of extreme loneliness and unbelievable shame. While her actions were deplorable, I still found sympathy in her charactor. Michael was aloof and alone by choice. I felt his anger through most of the book, and only saw a glimpse of his humanity at the end.
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