The Reader
Bernhard Schlink's novel opens in postwar Germany, where fifteen-year-old Michael Berg begins a secret affair with Hanna, an older woman who asks him to read aloud to her. Years later, as a law student, Michael watches Hanna stand trial for crimes committed as a concentration camp guard, and he realizes there is a secret she is hiding that shapes everything. The book explores guilt, complicity, and how the generation born after the war reckoned with the actions of the one before it. Translated into many languages and widely read, including as an Oprah's Book Club selection, it was later adapted into an acclaimed film. It is a quiet, troubling meditation on love, shame, and history.
What you might want to know about The Reader
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A German teenager's affair with an older woman returns years later when he sees her on trial for Nazi-era crimes.
Yes. A 2008 film starring Kate Winslet is based on the novel.
The Reader was written by Bernhard Schlink, published in 1995 by Vintage Español.
The Reader is 206 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Reader takes most readers 3 to 4 hours to finish.
The Reader is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.