Set in the late 1950s and 1960s, the novel is said to be about Germany coming to terms with its wartime past there is Hanna’s trial, the account of the events in which she was involved, the opportunity for the survivors of the camps to give an account of their experiences, and for the German judiciary to rightfully punish those responsible and be seen to dispense justice. Hanna never gets out though as she hangs herself in her cell on the night before her release. Eventually, he sees Hanna again, as she is about to be released at the end of her sentence, and helps to set her up with work and accommodation for when she is released. He sends her cassette tapes of himself reading aloud although he never includes any personal messages or letters. The final part of the book is about Michael’s life after the trial, his failed marriage, and his eventual decision to make contact with Hanna in prison. He elects not to, realising that Hanna confessed in order to conceal her illiteracy and for him to expose her would breach her autonomy, even if it means there has been a miscarriage of justice. Only at the end of the trial, does he realise Hanna’s secret, that she is illiterate (and therefore could not have written the report), and he finds himself with the dilemma of whether to intervene and tell the judge, with all the implications that would have. Michael observes the trial in horror unable to come to terms with the back-story of the woman he once loved. There is a detailed report of the events that Hanna is accused of writing, thereby implicating her as the main guard responsible for the atrocity, a charge she does not deny. Michael is horrified to discover that Hanna is one of those on trial. In part two, Michael is older, now at law school, when, as part of his studies, he is sent off to observe the trials of a number of former female guards of a concentration camp who are being charged with allowing the deaths of dozens of Jews, locked in a church when it was hit by a bomb and destroyed by fire. Hanna disappears mysteriously out of Michael’s life, leaving him heartbroken and perhaps also rather damaged. This makes up the first part of the book and perhaps it is a testament to events that have occurred since the time of its writing that all of us (mothers of teenagers!) found the prose rather discomfiting, and not a little implausible. Michael never questions Hanna’s desire to have him read to her, he just accepts it. One of the more intimate aspects of their relationship is that Michael reads aloud to Hanna, after sex and in the bath mainly, although never the other way around. Hanna is twenty years Michael’s senior and employed as a bus conductor, but despite the social and age gap between them, they begin a passionate affair, both parties equally consenting. Once he is well again, Michael’s mother sends him off to find the mystery good Samaritan in order that he can thank her. The story begins when 15 year-old Michael, off school for many months after contracting hepatitis, seeks out Hanna Schmitz, a woman who had been passing when he found himself being sick in the street and who had helped him. The following review contains some spoilers. I’m afraid we were all slightly disappointed. I had high hopes for the book and was excited at the prospect of reading it, especially since the comments on the cover of my edition were extremely enthusiastic. It was adapted for the screen in 2008, starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. It was not a title I was familiar with although I had a vague recollection about a film adaptation coming out a few years ago. Urn:oclc:823241879 Republisher_date 20120227074615 Republisher_operator Scandate 20120225221850 Scanner was a recent choice for my book club. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 22:33:09 Boxid IA176601 Boxid_2 CH115501 Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II City London Donorīostonpubliclibrary Edition 17.
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