The reader / [a Gab bag for book discussion groups] ; translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway

Already an acclaimed and best-selling work of fiction in Europe (currently being translated into fourteen different languages worldwide), The Reader is both a literary surprise and a moral challenge: a riveting, provocative, and deeply moving novel about a young boy's erotic awakening in a passionate, clandestine love affair with an older woman, and what happens to them both when the secrets in her past are revealed.Fifteen-year-old Michael Berg becomes ill on the way home from school. A woman takes care of him. Later, the boy arrives at her home with a bunch of flowers to thank her. And then comes back again. Hanna is the first woman he has ever desired. But there is something slightly off-key about her. His questions about her family and her life go unanswered. One day Hanna simply disappears. Michael's life goes on, but he can't forget her.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 so passionately is a criminal. Much about her behavior during the trial makes no 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.As the past erupts into the present--both Michael's past with Hanna, and the past of Germany itself--Michael must accept that he will never be free of either of them. Sie ist reizbar, rätselhaft und viel älter als er ... und sie wird seine erste Leidenschaft. Sie hütet verzweifelt ein Geheimnis. Eines Tages ist sie spurlos verschwunden. Erst Jahre später sieht er sie wieder. Die fast kriminalistische Erforschung einer sonderbaren Liebe und bedrängenden Vergangenheit. Auf dem Nachhauseweg gerät der fünfzehnjährige Michael Berg in eine heikle Situation. Eine Frau, Mitte dreißig, kümmert sich um ihn. Später kommt der Junge mit einem Blumenstrauß, um sich zu bedanken. Und er kommt wieder. Hanna ist die erste Frau, die er begehrt. Eine heimliche Liebe beginnt. Doch es ist etwas Düsteres, Reizbares um Hanna. Seine Fragen, wer sie war und ist, weist sie schroff zurück. Eines Tages ist sie verschwunden. Aus Michaels Leben, nicht aus seinem Gedächtnis. Als Jurastudent sieht er Hanna im Gerichtssaal wieder. Der junge Mann erleidet einen Schock. Er hat eine Verbrecherin geliebt. Vieles an Hannas Verhalten im Prozess ergibt keinen Reim. Bis es ihm wie Schuppen von den Augen fällt: Sie hat nicht nur eine grauenhafte Tat zu verantworten, sie hat auch ihr verzweifelt gehütetes Geheimnis. Die Vergangenheit bricht auf – die seiner Liebe und die deutsche Vergangenheit. Michael muss erleben, dass er von beiden Vergangenheiten nicht loskommt. Eine Frauengestalt, mit der man auch als Leser nicht einfach fertig wird. Und das Dilemma einer Generation. The Reader is both a literary surprise and a moral challenge: a riveting, provocative, and deeply moving novel about a young boy's erotic awakening in a passionate, clandestine love affair with an older woman, and what happens to them both when the secrets in her past are revealed. Fifteen-year-old Michael Berg becomes ill on the way home from school. A woman takes care of him. Later, the boy arrives at her home with a bunch of flowers to thank her. And then comes back again. Hanna is the first woman he has ever desired. But there is something slightly off-key about her. His questions about her family and her life go unanswered. One day Hanna simply disappears. Michael's life goes on, but he can't forget her. 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 so passionately is a criminal. Much about her behavior during the trial makes no 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. As the past erupts into the present - both Michael's past with Hanna, and the past of Germany itself - Michael must accept that he will never be free of either of them. The Reader......Page 1 CHAPTER ONE......Page 34 CHAPTER TWO......Page 36 CHAPTER THREE......Page 38 CHAPTER FOUR......Page 41 CHAPTER FIVE......Page 44 CHAPTER SIX......Page 46 CHAPTER SEVEN......Page 48 CHAPTER EIGHT......Page 51 CHAPTER NINE......Page 54 CHAPTER TEN......Page 57 CHAPTER ELEVEN......Page 60 CHAPTER TWELVE......Page 62 CHAPTER THIRTEEN......Page 65 CHAPTER FOURTEEN......Page 67 CHAPTER FIFTEEN......Page 69 CHAPTER SIXTEEN......Page 72 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN......Page 74 Schoolboy Michael Berg, 15, Meets An Older Woman And They Have An Affair, Which She Breaks Off And Disappears. Seven Years Later Berg, Now A Law Student Attending A Trial, Sees Her In The Dock, Accused In A Crime Dating Back To World War Ii And The Death Camp At Auschwitz. By A German Writer. Bernhard Schlink ; Translated From The German By Carol Brown Janeway. At the age of fifteen, Michael Berg falls in love with a woman who disappears, and while observing a trial as a law student years later, he is shocked to discover the same woman as the defendant in a horrible crime