Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of The Reader

The Reader
The Reader
Author: Bernhard Schlink
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Hardcover
reviewed on + 6 more book reviews


Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.

When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover. She enthralls him with her passion, but puzzles him with her odd silences. Then she inexplicably disappears.

When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student and Hanna is on trial for a hideous crime. But as he watches her refuse to defend herself, Michael gradually realizes that his former lover may be gaurding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.