#michael berg

"This is what must happen to old married couples, I thought: the young man is preserved in the old one for her, the beauty and grace of the young woman stay fresh in the old one for him."

Bernhard Schlink, The Reader

Its January 10th, and I've just finished my first week back at school after the holidays. After a couple days off reading, I pick up The Reader and settle down.

[Image of the title page of The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. It reads, "The Reader. Bernhard Schlink. Translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway". This image is my own]

I read a couple of times today, mainly before dinner and then when I got into bed. I was surprised I managed to finish it, but I felt compelled to. Once the story reaches a certain point [which I cannot say for spoiler reasons] it drags the reader in [no pun intended].

I read from chapter 10 of part two through to the end. In this chunk I read, a lot happens. Big reveals and twists and shocking events. All of the bits and pieces of the beginning of the book finally come together. When I first read it, I think I realised one of the big reveals just before Michael did, which tells me that Schlink did excellently at the way he told this story, although that's to be expected of a professional.

I'm not sure what to say. My previous posts of this book have been very analytical, and while I could still do that, I don't want to for two reasons.

Firstly, it would ruin the story for anyone who hasn't read it. My brother and a friend of mine, who both studied this book at A Level German, both told me upon my asking that the book was about a boy, Michael, who gets yellow fever. The friend then went on to say that he visits her, helps her with an errant and then they have sex. That was all I was told. I thought that that was the book in its entirity. It wasn't, so I won't say anything more about the plot.

Secondly, I enjoyed it too much. This book is such an amazing read. Yes, it tells the important story of the generation after the war questioning their parents' actions in the war which is important still for Germany today, but it's also just an amazing story about a boy and a woman, and some very interesting moral concepts thrown in.

You don't have to be a history stud or a English literature fan or a German student to read this. The book is written in a way that it's easy to read, well paced, and grabs your intrigue as a reader the way any good book does.

I don't know if I would go as far as to say this book is life changing. Perhaps it is, it does cover interesting morals; after all, Michael's father is a philosophy lecturer, which I imagine is important for the story.

Regardless, I would definitely recommend this book. It's not too long (yes it's split into three parts and has a fair few chapters, but many are only a page or two!) and the story is not only easy follow but immensely interesting.

The Reader (2008) by Stephen Daldry