The Reader

Rating:
Summary: intriguing concept, limpid execution
Review: The Reader could've been one of those truly riveting, thought-provoking books which linger in the minds of readers because of the humanness of its characters against events and conditions devoid of humanness. However, Mr. Schlink's executions renders the characters, especially the protagonist, so detached and aloof and without human depth that the story itself losses its sting. The first part was exquisitely written but once the narrator grows up, the novel falters. Mr. Schlink seems fearful of empowering the narrator with anything more than the basest and most rudimentary of emotions when the situation, the importance of the story itself, called for it. A good read, but not the one it has been made out to be...

Rating:
Summary: Goodbye to our prejudices ?
Review: Americans hold the firm belief that all Germans living during the Third Reich have been "willing executioners" and, given the chance, those living nowadays also would be. Never in a million years a book written by a German author dealing with the most German of all topics of this century could even come close to a bestselling list in the US. Being an Oprah recommendation means for a book that it is an easygoing read totally lacking any depth. Now, to my great astonishment, browsing through the Amazon homepage, I found out that the "Vorleser", as the book's title is in its original language, has made it to the top of the Amazon bestselling list, obviously due to a daring Oprah recommendation. Can this be true? Isn't this only a practical joke of a computer kid hacking in the Amazon homepage? If not so, this would mean that indeed postwar Germany is being regarded and treated as a "normal" country, something Germans of my generation (born in the Sixties) always dreamt of but never thought of being possible to come true. Then, we would not object to some of our most dear prejudices on Americans being shattered with a mighty bang. By the way, in Germany the book was quite a success but never reached any top positions and did not create any public discussion of the kind as it started in the Amazon reviews and probably in the American public. I still cannot believe it !!!!

Rating:
Summary: profoundly moving and thought provoking
Review: Having grown up in postwar Germany, as a German, I only gradually learned of the terrible history of the war and the crimes of the Holocaust. Naturally, this raised many doubts and questions in my mind as to where my loyalties should lie. How can I accept that this horror touched everyone's lives and only a few were willing to stand against it? This book deals with exactly the same problem - a young man falls in love with an older woman with a secret past, later revealed in the book as a Holocaust crime. How is he to reconcile his feelings for her with his abhorrence of her actions? This book is a relevant and necessary read for anybody who has ever asked him/herself questions like these. It is not a book to be read when one only has a few minutes here and there. Its soul-searching essence is revealed through careful and thoughtful reading.

Rating:
Summary: Good Things Come in Small Packages
Review: A lot is packed into this quick-read. A reader needs to "feel" for the protagonist; therefore, at first, the lack of background character development is bothersome. Yet, as you read further, you'll find this stripped approach adds to the starkness of the subject matter. You'll find yourself thinking about aspects of this book long after you've put it down (war atrocities, complicated love, self-guilt, etc.).

Rating:
Summary: A reaction to the reviewers
Review: Please note that the reviewers who didn't like this book, also can't spell very well. This book delivered an engrossing, thoughtful read. Well-written and well-translated. I have recommended it to discerning reader/writer friends, who have had similar reactions. It's disturbing but it's also a very good book.

Rating:
Summary: Ignore the ignorance displayed in some of these reviews
Review: This is a wonderful book, extremely well-crafted and rather thought-provoking. Ironically enough, it is probable that the literacy of those individuals who disliked the book is questionable at best. Perhaps these individuals should go back to reading their types of literary masterpieces (such as Micheal Crichton and JOhn Grisham novels). Oprah does have an incredible amount of power. Her endorsement guarantees great success, yet while I dislike her show rather intensely, I have found that the books she recommends are worth reading.

PS: To the morons who post reviews of books without reading them, do you realise how unintelligent you sound?

Rating:
Summary: Whatever happened to Oprah?!
Review: The moral ambiguities and the Nazi connection certainly make this the most surprising book Oprah has ever chosen. I think that this book should be read together with Timothy Garton Ash's classic, THE FILE, as well as Jan Philipp Reemtsma's very bizarre IN THE CELLAR. The Germans, they are some people!

Rating:
Summary: Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn't want to finish it. 48 hours ago I'd never even heard of the book and now I can't stop thinking about it. It's difficult not to feel Michael's pain and wonder if he wished he'd done things differently.

Rating:
Summary: This is a book you won't want to put down and won't forget.
Review: I read a review of this book which interested me. After reading it, I loaned my copy to everyone I know who couldn't move fast enough to avoid me. Two local book discussion clubs selected it as their February choice. Aside from the questioning of guilt and inocence, I was interested in the issue of shame. We all have things in our past we would rather no one ever finds out about. Very often it is something that another person would not hesitate to discuss. The second person is hiding a fact that we would consider inconsequential. The story is not embelished with unnecessary side plots or characters. The writing is lean, thoughtful, and beautiful. This is a wonderful book to read and a great book for a discussio group. [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: I thought it was a very good book
Review: I thought the book was really good, it kept me wanting to finish reading it.