BR - The Reader by Bernhard Schlink





"...I had to point at Hanna. But the finger I pointed at her turned back to me. I had loved her. I tried to tell myself that I had known nothing of what she had done when I chose her. I tried to talk myself into the state of innocence in which children love their parents. But love of our parents is the only love for which we are not responsible. ...And perhaps we are responsible even for the love we feel for our parents” 

Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Phoenix; New Ed edition (1 Jun 1998) Genre: contemporary literature Source: Library

Rating;
  





My Thoughts - I actually just finished this book about half an hour ago. It took me over all just over two hours to finish. To back that up I must admit that it's a rather short book consisting of merely two hundred and sixteen pages.

Everything changes the day fifteen year old Michael meets a older women. A deep love affair follows. Once I came to terms with this whole awkward situation I sensed that something wasn't quite right with Hannah. Firstly what possessed her to be with a fifteen year old boy? Questions that now come to mind are; were her feeling genuine. Did she see him as a child because I sure as hell hope not!  

As their relationship progressed and in her own way she started to open up more, you realised that deep inside she's vulnerable. She needs him just as much as he needs her. What Michael had for Hannah is hard to describe. Should we say infatuation, lust or actual love? Others might argue that he was young and naive and she should have known better, some might even say she ruined his life. Overtime we see Michael change and become very closed of and different than the boy he once was. Is that what love is capable of?

I kept thinking fine he’s fifteen and she thirty seven at the time. So when he’s in his thirty's and she’s in her fifty's will he seriously still want to be with her? There is such a age gap that you can't help but think could this really work despite how much he says he loves her? 

I wanted to know Hannah more. She's so closed of to us readers, so mysterious. Was she having an affair when she was with Michael, did she have a family? It was almost as though none of that mattered, and maybe it didn't. Michael accepted those things though, he had to. One thing she was not going to talk about was herself. I suppose she was pretty dominant in the relationship. 

The ending I did not expect, I actually said out loud "WHAT"! When I found out a little something I wanted the perfect reunion, but that's what I loved about this book though, it was different. There are so many unexplained things I would love to know the answers of. I'm kind of frustrated right now, because I can only assume the only person who truly knows the answers is the author himself. If I have anything to say about this book it is that this is was a great read which I devoured in what seemed like no time at all.

By the end I grew to care for both Michael and Hannah. Ultimately I felt a little heavy-hearted after turning the last page. The book does not have the perfect ending. The ending is still really bothering me, I am still trying to figure out why the author ended it the way that he did. Definitely a must read!

Posted by Blueicegal ♥ at 21:35
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