The Reader

by Prof Bernhard Schlink

4 of 5 stars 2 ratings • 1 review • 2 shelved
Book cover for The Reader

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An exceptionally powerful novel exploring the themes of betrayal, guilt and memory against the background of the Holocaust. An international bestseller.

For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems.

Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour during the trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does - Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret.

'A tender, horrifying novel that shows blazingly well how the Holocaust should be dealt with in fiction. A thriller, a love story and a deeply moving examination of a German conscience' INDEPENDENT

  • ISBN10 0753804700
  • ISBN13 9780753804704
  • Publish Date 2 October 2003
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Orion Publishing Co
  • Imprint Weidenfeld & Nicolson
  • Format Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
  • Pages 240
  • Language English