Der Vorleser

It’s great book and I got used and its pretty much new.

I saw the second part of the film "the reader" on television while doing some channel hopping and got stuck in the absorbing story. I decided to read the book in the original German, in stead of watching the beginning of the film (the part that I have missed) on the following day. I was also eager to know whether I would be able to understand the German text, as it is my third language and I have not used it for a long time. So I ordered the book from Amazon and it arrived a week or so later in perfect condition. (The outside box was, however, secured by the SA post office authorities, as it was found open and damaged. Fortunately the book was securely packaged inside the box.) I found the first part easy to read and could not put it down. I was fascinated by the boy's behaviour. I tried to understand Hannah's reasons for behaving the way she did. I enjoyed the part where they traveled by train for their holiday. It was such an impossible situation and yet the author made one believe it is perfectly normal. In the end I was sad for the way life often turns out. I also became quite interested in the philosophical undercurrent in this book - it adds to the value of the novel - not merely a simple story. (this part was more difficult to read, however.) It was a good experience to read the book. In fact, I do not think I want to see the first part of the film any more.

This book is worth the read; if not for the story itself, then for the situation it puts the reader in: "What would I do if...?" The author has written the book in mainly the first person, like a memoir, so there is very little actual dialogue between the characters. I find this aspect rather apealling. The author takes the reader on a journey with the 15 year old Michael Berg & his 36 year old lover, Hanna. One day Hanna disappears and Michael has to wrestle with the question of "why?". He goes on to become a law student & unexpectedly discovers that Hanna is now on trial for a Nazi war crime. What happens after that is a series of unanswerable questions that Michael has to deal with and he doesn't seem to get any satisfaction one way or the other. The ending is both bittersweet and sad. The German version of this book is not extremely difficult to understand, but German students will probably want a dictionary just in case.

Before you judge a person, you should take the time to know the history of that person. This is certainly the lesson people should take home from this book. So often I hear people condemning Nazis for what they have done, while in their own life they commit injustices against other people all the time. The story Schlink is telling us is about a woman who became a guard in a concentration camp because she never learned to read or write, but was able to hide that fact all her life. But hiding it resulted in her agreeing to things she did not understand because she could not read. It is a tragic and moving story. I am lucky enough to be able to read it in the original language, but I read the English translation too and it is very good too. I did not care very much for the movie though.

In so many ways, this is an amazing book. It describes the hazard of male adolescence and the sad conditions of Nazi Germany,

This is a good read, although it is very bleak. Be prepared to have your dictionary in tow, as Schlink uses some esoteric words. I read the English translation and it is rather free. If you can, stick to the better: auf Deutsch.

Superb book about love, guilt, redemption and the opacity of fellow human beings, even the ones we love most and think we know best.

I read this for a German class where we were discussing the patterns of blame and responsibility in the generations in Germany after World War II and the Holocaust. It was an enjoyable read and I'd recommend it so somebody interested in that sort of thing, however, It was also about a rather unique love story so it almost seemed like the book took on too much and came across as disjointed. It's not on my list of favorite books by any means, but it's worth a try.

Habe es sehr genossen. Relativ leicht zu lesen und verstehen, ich habe nebenbei viele neue Adjektive gelernt. Gut geeignet zum deutschlernen.

Der Vorleser ist ein beeindruckendes, tragisches und fesselndes Buch, das mich von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite nicht mehr losgelassen hat. Ich habe es in einem Rutsch durchgelesen, so sehr hat mich die Geschichte in ihren Bann gezogen. Das Buch ist in drei Teile gegliedert: Zunächst die Liebesgeschichte – oder vielmehr das, was man so nennen könnte –, dann der Gerichtsprozess, und schließlich das Leben danach. Diese klare Struktur macht es dem Leser leicht, den inneren Wandel der Figuren nachzuvollziehen. Besonders beeindruckt hat mich, wie gut der Autor die Gedanken und Gefühle der Charaktere schildert. Ihre inneren Konflikte und moralischen Dilemmata sind authentisch und nachvollziehbar beschrieben. Bernhard Schlink gelingt es auf eindrucksvolle Weise, komplexe Themen wie Schuld, Scham und Verantwortung literarisch greifbar zu machen. Ich kann dieses Buch wirklich jedem empfehlen. Es sollte meiner Meinung nach unbedingt gelesen werden, denn es trägt dazu bei, ein differenzierteres Verständnis für die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus zu entwickeln. Es zeigt, dass nicht alle Menschen in dieser Zeit von Grund auf böse waren, sondern dass viele einfach nicht wussten, wie sie sich aus ihrer Situation befreien sollten – und deshalb mitgemacht haben. Das soll keine Entschuldigung sein, aber ein Versuch, menschliches Verhalten in Extremsituationen besser zu verstehen.

Un libro veramente fatto bene. Fattura ottima, il tedesco è abbastanza difficile per un principiante, ma lo consiglio comunque per imparare nuove parole.

Bom livro, com vocabulario do dia a dia, bom para quem tem um alemao intermediario.

Ganska svår tyska, kräver god kunskap i språket.