Reading Journal ~ The Reader ~ 15th September 2017

Title: The Reader
Author: Bernhard Schlink
Publication Date: 1995
Genre: Historical/romance

"Only one thing can make a soul complete and that thing is love" - Bernhard Schlink

Contextual Information 

This book was published in 1995 even though it talks about the period of post second world war in Germany. It addresses the outcomes of the Holocaust and mainly the way it effects people - it also visits the trials of Nazi War Criminals. Schlink was born in 1944 (during war time) this would mean that he would have has to research the war as he did not really experience the war first hand. The protagonist is presented as a young man who clearly is opposed to the Nazis beliefs and the crimes that were committed by many in the name of Fascism.

Plot

It is overall about a fifteen year old boy (Michael Berg) who meets and falls in love with a thirty six year old woman. They have an intimate secret relationship which comes to an abrupt ending as the woman, Hannah Schmitz, mysteriously and suddenly disappears. It then later skips on Michael as uni law student investigating on a trial concerning Nazi War Criminals. Hanna Schmitz is revealed to have been an SS guard - much to Michael's shock and disbelief as the crimes in question evidently happened before he had met Hanna. Hanna eventually receives a life sentence due to the fact that she supposedly 'writes' a false report concerning the days spent at the concentration camps. However Michael discovers that Hanna is actually illiterate, which explains why she was constantly asking him to read to her during their affair. This discovering also explains Hanna's disappearance - the tram company thats she worked for had wanted to promote her which would have involved reading and writing, this resulted in her running away. This is a great example of how Hanna's life ends up revolving around keeping this secret. Hannah does end up receiving a lighter sentence but later kills herself before being released into Michael's company again. 

Narrative

The narrator is first person which mean that as a reader you do feel as though you are hearing all of Michael's true thoughts and feelings; which ultimately leads to a better understanding of the protagonist. However this does also mean that sometimes you feel that your knowledge and understanding of the other characters (mainly Hannah) is limited. Finally, as the reader you do hear a lot of questions from Michael which of course is realistic but can become irritating. 

Characters 

The two main characters are Michael Berg and Hanna Schmitz:

Michael -

A young German boy who falls in love with Hanna. He ends up divorced with one daughter, who in my opinion he seems unnaturally unconnected to. His main theme is that he struggles to come to terms with his past regarding Hanna and the crimes she commits. 

Hanna - 

A woman with history of being an SS guard at Auschwitz. When she meets Michael Berg, who at the time is only a young boy, she quickly becomes a very dominant force in their relationship. She is also later is revealed as being illiterate. 

                                    

Themes

Illiteracy -

This is a main theme of the novel as it impacts everything in Hanna's life and therefore in turn Michael's. Hanna begins to centre her life around concealing her secret illiteracy. Being unable to read and write also makes Hanna clearly frustrated throughout the novel as it means that she has to depend on people which doesn't seem to fit well with the character that she is. 

War Crimes - 

This is mainly die to the fact that Hannah is discovered to be an SS guard at Auschwitz and Michael is apart of her trial, however also because the book is set after the second World War. Michael's views on Hitler/Nazi's are clear as he expresses anger towards his parents generation for not doing anything to prevent the wartime tragedies.

Relationships -

Hanna and Michael have an intimate/sexual relationship which is a fairly inappropriate one as at the time he is fifteen and she is thirty six. Due to this, Hanna (being the adult) should have refused to take part in such actions, even if she was unaware of what these actions would cause Michael in later life. The relationship which Hanna and Michael shared ultimately had a catastrophic outcome on Michael's following relationships, especially regarding women.  

Opinions and Connections

In my opinion I did enjoy this book, I thought the narrative of it was good as the plot twists were effectively placed. However, I was aware throughout the book that there were quite a few underdeveloped characters this is mainly due to the first person narrator. I also found the abundance of self questioning quite annoying. In complete honesty I did find that you had to persevere through some selective vocabulary (relating to law) and more dull parts but you were always rewarded with a surprising twist - which is what made the book enjoyable. Finally, I did enjoy the in depth display of Michael character and the way in which i became familiar with Michael's thought processes. 

The only novel which I can tenuously link 'The Reader' to is 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens due to the fact that it is bildungsroman and the fact that it deals with a complicated relationship, which is never fully explained or resolved. 

- Katie Smallwood x