Blurb on back cover says...

"Bernhard Schlink's extraordinary novel The Reader is a compelling meditation on the connections between Germany's past and its present, dramatised with extreme emotional intelligence as the story of a relationship between the narrator and an older woman. It has won deserved praise across Europe for the tact and power with which it handles its material, both erotic and philisophical" (Independent Saturday Magazine).

"Deeply moving, sensitive enough to make me whince, a Holocaust novel, but light years away from the common run." (Ruth Rendell).

Wonderfully written and thought provoking - quite different (as Rendell says) from what I expected. Somehow this novel puts a more humanistic side in all it's complexities and, sometimes, simplicity to the actions of the wrong doers during those dark times. This novel just makes you focus on the issues and ponder on some quite difficult issues. Then you also ask yourself what was Hanna thinking by having an affair with such a young boy? This opens up another Pandora's box of questions.

Posting to shimi tomorrow as runner-up in my "Surprise 3 books to 1 lucky winner" RABCK. Congratulations shimi. I hope you like this and the other book I've selected for you.

Happy reading:-)

Your wonderful package arrived in my mailbox today, so thank you so much for selecting two books that look very promising, and which I can wait to get started on! This title has caught my attention before, so I'm pretty sure I will like it! Thanks again for your fun RABCK draw! :)

This book was definitely different from what I expected, yes. Part 1 didn't really impress me, having read another book on the same theme (relationship between older woman and young man) recently, but of course, this aspect of the relationship is never the point of this book, as we discover in part 2 and onwards.

I really liked the language of the book, and the story takes on a view of the legacy of holocaust that is worth thinking about. It doesn't give any universal or revolutionary answers, but a human side to difficult questions. I had read rave reviews about this book, so I guess I was a little disappointed, but all in all it's a book worth reading and thinking about.

Will travel on to a new reader soonishly! :)

Edit: Sent to my friend Heidi in Finland 19/3-08! Happy reading!

29.3.2008 The book (and a wonderful letter :) had arrived sometime last week. Thank you for fulfilling my wish, shimi!

16.7.2022 I actually read the book already a few months ago, but only now noticed that I had forgotten to write a jounal entry about it. A peculiar read in my opinion. I don't really know what I expected of the book beforehand, but it was certainly different than I expected. The relationship with an older woman and a teenager boy didn't feel something I enjoy reading about, but it made an interesting structure to the even more severe theme on the book. The language was beautiful, however, and made the reading enjoyable.

I left the book on a table be the entrance.

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LÖYTÄJÄLLE:

Kiitos, että nappasit tämän kirjan mukaasi ja tulit vielä vilkaisemaan sen matkapäiväkirjaa. Tieto siitä, että kirja on hyvissä käsissä, on minulle tärkeä. Siksi pyydän sinua kertomaan, että se on sinulla. Toivon myös, että luettuasi kirjan poikkeat uudestaan täällä kirjoittamassa mietteitäsi lukemastasi. Sinun mielipiteesi kiinnostaa minua :). Samalla voit myös kertoa mahdollisista jatkosuunnitelmistasi kirjan varalle.

Jos et ole aikaisemmin tutustunut Bookcrossingiin, niin seuraavat linkit ovat avuksesi:
* Suomenkielinen keskustelufoorumi: http://www.bookcrossing.com/forum/30
* BookCrossing suomenkielisessä Wikipediassa: http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookcrossing

LUKUILOA!