Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Reader

The Reader
reviewed on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 16


I just finished this book, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is about a 15 year old boy who had an affair with a woman in her mid-30's. Later, years after the affair ended, he runs across her again while he is a law student. He is observing a trial for which she is the defendant charged with Nazi war crimes. The book brings up a lot of ethical questions - not just about the affair, but about the crimes for which she is accused. It would be a great book club read. Wish I had read it that way, as I'd love to have someone to discuss it with. I think it would be a good book to read in tandem with Lolita for a book club and then discuss the comparisons of the affiar the boy has with the woman and the obsession Humbert has with Lolita. The ending was a surprise to me!