Welcome

Everything you need to know about The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

This website about the novel, The Reader, written by Bernhard Schlink, was published during a project work in a German class. We created summaries on every single chapter, wrote characterizations, built presentations, and collected information on the Holocaust topic during the weeks of our project work. Maybe this is the biggest resource about Schlink’s, The Reader, on the web.

Book cover The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Book cover The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

The page should give you an overview of the whole plot and the story, The Reader, with Hanna and Michael Berg. You can easily use it to get in touch with the book, repeat different things during reading, or prepare for an exam.

If you have any questions regarding the content of The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, its characters, or something about the analysis of this novel, feel free to put a comment under the corresponding page. You can be sure one of us or another visitor will help you.

One last thing. We are not associated with Bernhard Schlink or the publishing house. Don’t be annoyed by our advertisements, please keep in mind that running this site without advertisements would not be possible.

 

 

The German version of this page is available at Der-Vorleser.com.

11 thoughts on “Welcome”

  1. Hello! I am writing about the Student Uprising that happens in the book, and I could not find any information online. So I need help in answering why exactly that event was mentioned? Why is this relevant to the book? What role does it play? What did it mean?
    Any thoughts? Thanks for answering!

    Reply
  2. My granddaughter read this book as well as my daughter. After reading twice, I chose it for my BookClub to read. This site is very helpful to me to put together some questions to help move the story and insights garnered by reading. However, if you have questions to move the discussion, please forward to me as discussing the book is important to this group. Also we plan to watch the movie at a later date. Thank you for this site.

    Reply
    • I think the film was great, but have to agree with critics who say it should not be lauded; Kross seems a better actor when he’s angry, and who hasn’t had a Hanna or two, for those of us with any appreciation of stray nannies. As a film, it got me thinking, as films rarely do; that’s the DVD version, not the preferable, more impressionable sometimes big-screen. I thought Winslet was great, and that acting, as some in the business claim, doesn’t seem that difficult at all; it seems just about anyone could have pulled off some of the scenes. The shock of seeing Schmitz on the stand, hearing her name first, of course, after all that time, who dumped him when it was time to move forward although the relationship would have probably never went much farther, anyway, is, of course, when things become an unspeakable nightmare; the film seemed a possible example, though, and my first thoughts on how right some have been on how too-young males can be negatively influenced in the long run if getting into things too early, by, in this case, experienced, endowed, illiterates of the opposite sex, often naked and angry.

      And no one’s mother these days would say “Make sure you thank her personally”

      Reply
      • When I read the book I felt that Hanna’s intentions were portrayed differently to in the film. There was much more of an emphasis on the idea that she didn’t want to leave but felt she had to. I think saying that Hanna ‘dumped’ Michael as opposed to ‘left’ him is a bit more accurate considering her circumstances, however I can see from Michael’s perspective it merely looked like she had ‘left him in the dust’ because perhaps she got bored of him. This is explored a lot more in the book as well.

        Reply
  3. In the film The Reader Michael Berg’s daughter plays a much larger role than she does in
    the novel. Why this discrepancy illustrates a number of key issues of film adaptation.

    Reply
    • There is issue in the film, clearly, concerning Berg’s “distance.” When an old flame was essentially an SS in-the-making, well, yeah, you watch your 6 after that with everyone

      Reply
  4. Hi! I am supposed to do a short assignment on the narrator techniques of the book. I have some stuff written down, but narrator techniques is definetely not among my abillities. Could you maybe give me a few notes on it?

    Reply
  5. Hello
    And what about the books Michael reads to Hanna ? Can I find any information about links between some of them and the story (there is the Odyssee, of course, but he also talks about book titles like Emilia Galotti or Intrigues and Love) ?
    Thank You for you answer

    Reply
  6. If hanna was was illiterate,how she got the job of a tram or streetcar conductor ?
    I don’t think an illiterate person can get that job and moreover she was permoted on basis of her work ? Pls explain

    Reply

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