The Reader (Paperback)

While on his way home from school one day in post-war Germany, Michael becomes ill. He is aided by a beautiful and buxom, thirty six year old blonde named Hanna Schmitz. When he recovers from his illness, he goes to Frau Schmitz's home to thank her and eventually finds himself seduced by her and engaged in a sexual encounter. They become lovers for a period of time, and a component of their relationship was that Michael would read aloud to her. Michael romanticizes their affair, which is a cornerstone of his young life. They even go away on a trip together. Then, one day, as suddenly as she appeared in his life, she disappears, having inexplicably moved with no forwarding address.

The second part of the book deals with Michael's chance encounter with Hanna again. He is now a law student in a seminar that is focused on Germany's Nazi past and the related war trials. The students are young and eager to condemn all who, after the end of the war, had tolerated the Nazis in their midst. Even Michael's parents do not escape his personal condemnation. The seminar is to be an exploration of the collective guilt of the German people, and Michael embraces the opportunity, as do others of his generation, to philosophically condemn the older generation for having sat silently by. Then, he is assigned to take notes on a trial of some camp guards.

To his total amazement, one of the accused is Hanna, his Hanna. He stoically remains throughout the trial, realizing as he hears the evidence that she is refusing to divulge the one piece of evidence that could possibly absolve her or, at least, mitigate her complicity in the crimes with which she is charged. It is as if she considers her secret, that of her inability to read and write, more shameful than that of which she is accused. Yet, Michael, too, remains mute on the fact that would throw her legal, if not her moral, guilt into question. Consequently, Hanna finds herself bearing the legal guilt of all those involved in the crime of which she is accused and is condemned accordingly.

The third part of the book is really the way Michael deals with having found Hanna, again. He removes himself from further demonstration and discussion on the issue of Germany's Nazi past. It affects his decisions as to his career in the law, eventually choosing a legal career that is isolating. He marries and has a child but finds that he cannot be free of Hanna. He cannot be free of the pain of having loved Hanna. It is as if Hanna has marked him for life. He divorces and never remarries. It is as if he cannot love another, as he loved Hanna. Michael then reaches out to Hanna in prison, indirectly, through the secret they share of what she seems to be most ashamed. Yet, he carefully never personalizes the contact. The end, when it comes, is almost anti-climatic.

The relationship between Michael and Hanna really seems to be analogous to the relationship between the generations of Germans in post-war Germany. The affair between Michael and Hanna is representational of the affair that Germany had with the Nazi movement. The eroticism of the book is a necessary component for the collective guilt and shame that the Germans bear for the Holocaust, as well as for the moral divide that seemingly exists between the generations. Yet, the book also shows that such is not always a black and white issue, that there are sometimes gray areas when one discusses one's actions in the context of the forces of good and evil. There is also the issue of legal and moral responsibility. One would think that the two are synonymous, but they are not always so. It also philosophizes on the ability to love another/a nation who/that was complicit in war crimes. This is an insightful, allegorical book that defies categorizing. It is also a book that is a wonderful selection for a reading circle, as it has a wealth of issues that are ripe for discussion. This is simply a superlative book. Bravo!

The usually unambiguous distinction between villain and victim has facilitated the identification with those who lost their lives or suffered under the Nazi atrocities while all scorn, abhorrence and hate was piled on the perpetrators. Until recently, few books have focused on the after-war generation. While growing up, the children had to come to terms with the, often sudden, exposure of their parents' active or passive participation in the crimes of the Nazi regime. "The Reader", set in post-war Germany and against the backdrop of the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials of the mid-sixties, takes this new and, for our generations, important angle: in the form of the fictional memoir of Michael Berg. Michael, while not refuting guilt, shame, and atonement, is led to examine and dissect the complexity of inter-generational conflicts in the context of his personal experiences. Like Schlink himself, he grapples with the fundamental problem of the relationships between these two generations.

Michael recounts the most important stages in his life, starting with experiences long passed in his youth. While his account follows the chronology of events, he progressively interleaves retrospective reflections on his past conduct, questioning his conflicting emotions - his behaviour. The story starts with Michael's first, secret, love affair at age 15 with a woman more than twice his age. The blossoming erotic relationship strengthens his self-worth and confidence yet, at the same time, increasingly isolating him from his family and peers. Hanna Schmitz, of whose circumstances and background Michael knew very little, was affectionate and standoffish at the same time, prone to abrupt mood swings. The young lover is completely captivated and eager to please. He is the "Reader", in German "Vorleser" is a person who reads aloud to an audience. At her insistence he reads his books to her and it becomes an important element of their shared intimacy. When she disappears one day without any warning, her loss leaves him devastated and scarred for life. He can only seek the reasons in his own actions. Seeing Hanna again years later and in unanticipated surroundings, triggers a flood of questions about the person he loved and thought he knew. Her behaviour raises many questions and Michael discovers a long secret that puts in doubt the facts as they are exposed. He also wrestles with himself over his own inaction when confronted with choices. "What would you have done?" Although addressed to the judge by the defendant, this question hangs over Michael, as it does over his whole generation. It encapsulates the primary dilemma of the child-parent generations relationships. Finally, writing the story of his life, drafting and redrafting it in his head until it is in a publishable form, is seen as a chance for his own recovery and to give him a chance to live his life.

The Reader, while a work of fiction, is deeply anchored in the personal experiences of the author and symbolic for his generation. His spare and unemotional language underlines the impression of a biographical investigation and is used quite deliberately. The English translation captures the tone and style amazingly well. Reading this book should not be an "easy pleasure" as some reviewers have suggested. The Reader covers difficult and complex terrain in a way that it forces the reader to reflect and question their own position long afterwards. Although written directly for a German audience of Schlink's and my generation, the novel, surprisingly, has attracted world-wide attention. While reviews and reactions among readers are highly diverse and even contradictory, it should be read by as many people as possible and with the care the subject matter deserves.

In 'The Reader' legal and philosophical issues take centre stage. Schlink avoids making authorial judgments, opening up grey areas between the dichotomy of good and evil, and allowing readers full reign to ponder the various questions that are raised. Whilst Schlink's overall approach has much to recommend it, there is the danger that on key issues a range of interpretations could be taken and that 'The Reader' can be read as meaning all things to all readers.

The first issue raised in 'The Reader' concerns the appropriateness of Hanna and Michael's sexual relationship. Whilst it is impossible to comment accurately on the legality of their relationship in the hundred-and-ninety-odd countries of the world, particularly as some federated nations themselves consist of multiple criminal jurisdictions, it is suggested that their sexual relations would be illegal in many parts of the world and be subject to potentially heavy penalties. Hanna and Michael's relationship is portrayed simply as a love story through Part One, and it is entirely possible that Schlink - author, jurist and lawyer - is seeking to question sexual offences legislation in many parts of the world. Interestingly, this issue has received comparatively little attention in reviews of 'The Reader', arguably suggesting that existing criminal laws are out of step with the thoughts of the readership of this popular and critically-acclaimed novel. Despite the treatment of their relationship in Part One, there are nevertheless some indications in the novel that Michael's relationship with Hanna had negative effects on his emotional development, such as his estrangement from his family and peers, and his difficulties in forming stable relationships with women later in his life.

Secondly, the novel explores issues concerning the Holocaust, in particular the degree of Hanna's culpability for war crimes, and the attitudes of post-Nazi generations of Germans towards Germans, collectively and individually, that were adults during the Nazi era. In general terms, it is a strength of the book that Hanna gets a sympathetic airing of her wartime acts and omissions - largely because we see her through Michael's eyes and he remains in love with her. Schlink's successful examination of wartime issues can be seen as part of the process of Germany and Germans coming to terms with their past, although it has to be stressed that this has been happening for many years now in Germany. Indeed, Germany's recent sensitive handling of the sixtieth anniversaries of the liberation of a number of Nazi concentration camps, and the appointment of a German Archbishop to lead the global Catholic Church both suggest that the international community fully recognises Germany's atonement for its wartime acts.

Despite enjoying the storyline and treatment of issues in 'The Reader', a number of reservations exist. Firstly, whilst appreciating the generally sympathetic treatment accorded Hanna, she is never really given a voice to explain her actions - either in relation to her wartime activity or her relationship with Michael - and I thought this could have been achieved, either directly or indirectly, in Part Three. Secondly, I felt that characterisation development was sacrificed somewhat in order to make the story clear-cut and keep issues to the fore. Thirdly, I found a number of points of the plot fairly implausible, such as Hanna's illiteracy not being evident prior to the trial; Michael studying to become a lawyer; Michael chancing upon Hanna's trial and Hanna's lack of adequate legal representation given the gravity of the charges (consider, for example, the difficulty that Milosevic, a trained lawyer, had in dismissing his counsel).

The praise lavished upon this novel has been quite extraordinary - it's even a bit overwhelming and daunting to plough through selected comments on the way to page one! Whilst 'The Reader' may not fully meet all the hype, I would nevertheless heartily recommend it as an entertaining and thought-provoking look into contemporary attitudes to Germany's Nazi past. Furthermore, for those particularly interested in this issue, Gunter Grass's exceptional recent novel 'Crabwalk' would make a perfect companion novel to 'The Reader'.