I started 2009 thinking that I would spend the first part of it re-reading books that meant something to me. I re-read book 2, The Time Traveler's Wife, with this in mind. After, something happens that always does when I re-read that book; I had to find something totally different to follow it. Nothing I had read already would suffice, I had to start fresh. So, I picked up The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink. It was exactly what I needed.
The story reads like a memoir, but isn't. It follows the life of Michael Berg, and his romance with Hanna, which starts when Michael is 15 and Hanna is more than twice his age. Their romance is short-lived and tumultuous. They separate, for reasons unknown to Michael, only to meet later when Hanna is being tried for war crimes, although that is not her worst secret. All takes place after WWII, in Germany.
Overall, I liked the story very much. You feel for Hanna, which is unusual in books about people who were involved in WWII. She is not painted as a monster, in Michael's eyes, but she is in other's. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down, and finished the book quickly. At first I attributed that to the largish type and low page count (218), but in all actuality it was the story that kept me riveted and would not let go. The book has been made into a movie, starring Kate Winslett, released the 9th of January.
I give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
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