

Finally, she leaves him abruptly with no forwarding information. When Hanna reveals that she enjoys being read to, he begins reading to her after their sexual encounters. They start an affair and he falls in love with her. After recovering, Michael searches her out to thank her. A streetcar conductor, Hanna Schmitz, 36, cleans him up and helps him home. In the first act, Michael Berg, a boy of 15 in 1958, falls ill. Schlink structures the novel as a three act drama.

That’s because the novel stands as a metaphor for two generations of Germans, one that lived through and participated actively or passively in the Holocaust, the second that followed left to reconcile their love of family and what members did or did not do in Nazi Germany. ( )Īfter you read Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader, you won’t be surprised that upon publication controversy surrounded it, and with each new reader certainly still does. I love how human and fragile he is, and how much he needs to experience in order to come to terms with his past. He built something of an attachment to this woman, and when she leaves, he is faced with a torment he didn’t expect. The struggle of feelings – emotions – that Michael constantly faces throughout his lifetime is so easy to relate to. I fell in love with this story, I couldn’t put the book down when I read it and it has found a place among my favorite books. That doesn’t come until he is an adult and he is attempting to fulfill what were her last wishes. Yet Michael still doesn’t get his closure.

#Important quotes from the reader by bernhard schlink trial
During the trial Michael is faced with a whirlwind of emotions. While in law school, Michael is required to attend a court case for a trial of SS guards. His relationship with her overshadows his future relationships with women.Ī few years later, his relationship with Hanna comes back to haunt him. One day Hanna leaves without any word, and Michael wonders what he did wrong. The two begin a passionate affair that lasts several months. He meets Hanna Schmitz one afternoon when he gets sick, and after a battle with hepatitis goes to find her again to thank her for her kindness. The Reader is the story of Michael Berg, starting when he is 15 years old and following him through different points in his life as he faces the reality of his relationship with a much older woman.
