The Reader

Author(s): Bernhard Schlink

Fiction

An exceptionally powerful novel exploring the themes of betrayal, guilt and memory against the background of the Holocaust. An international bestseller. For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems. Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour during the trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does - Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret. 'A tender, horrifying novel that shows blazingly well how the Holocaust should be dealt with in fiction. A thriller, a love story and a deeply moving examination of a German conscience' INDEPENDENT


Product Information

Part of the Phoenix 'Eyewitness to History' promotion

Shortlisted for Heathrow Travel Product Award: Travel Read, Fiction 2009.

"A stunning examination of evil, this novel explores crime and punishment, love and guilt, dignity and degradation." GOOD BOOK GUIDE

Bernhard Schlink was born in Germany in 1944. A professor of law at the University of Berlin and a practising judge, he is the author of the major international best-selling novel The Reader as well as several prize-winning crime novels. He lives in Bonn and Berlin.

General Fields

  • : 9780753804704
  • : Orion Publishing Group, Limited
  • : Phoenix
  • : 0.23
  • : September 1997
  • : 198mm X 129mm X 16mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Bernhard Schlink
  • : Paperback
  • : English
  • : 833.914
  • : 216
  • : Modern fiction
  • : Carol Brown Janeway