Michael Berg is fifteen when he becomes sick on the street in postwar West Germany and is helped by Hanna, a woman in her thirties who works as a tram conductor. They begin an affair, and she asks him to read to her, from Homer, Chekhov and others. Then she vanishes. Years later, Michael, now a law student, attends a trial of former concentration camp guards and finds Hanna among the accused. He realizes she is hiding something that affects her defense. Bernhard Schlink asks how the postwar generation should relate to the crimes of their parents, and what it means to love someone who did terrible things.
It is a good fit for readers interested in German history, moral guilt and short, spare novels. Book clubs often use it to discuss responsibility and shame.
Deep, inward-looking and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1997
- Publisher
- Diogenes
- ISBN
- 9783257229530
- Language
- DE
