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What Members Thought
Is it bad that I really liked this book? From some of the other reviews, I should hate this book. I should think it's fluff or cheesy or banal or pointless or underdeveloped, but I enjoyed it! Okay, it's short, so there's maybe not as much character development as one might like (we never really learn much about Hanna, and come to think of it, we don't learn *much* about Michael, either), but I still thought it was enough of a story to keep me reading for hours at a time. For me, this was a forg
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This book really earned its Oprah's Book Club sticker. It was simplistic and obvious and just not that interesting, despite the topic: a 15 year-old German boy reads to his 40 year-old lover, who turns out to be a Nazi criminal. I think the trial scene actually had some interesting twist but I still found the whole thing weak.
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Hmmm....I wonder why this isn't one of the first books to come up when I type in The Reader? Strange.
Well, this was interesting. I found myself being disturbed by the fact that Michael, the male main character, was only 15 while Hanna is 37. It's surprising that not that many people I've talked to about the book really dwell on that (maybe it's because I have a son!) Hanna was a preditor! The fact that her illiteracy and not dealing with it lead to her downfall could make for a powerful 'read' c ...more
Well, this was interesting. I found myself being disturbed by the fact that Michael, the male main character, was only 15 while Hanna is 37. It's surprising that not that many people I've talked to about the book really dwell on that (maybe it's because I have a son!) Hanna was a preditor! The fact that her illiteracy and not dealing with it lead to her downfall could make for a powerful 'read' c ...more
I still feel torn on this one-I'll probably come back and edit this again soon. I liked the whole notion of how you can walk around for years with one perception of a situation in your head and then find out you had it all wrong but I guess the idea of going so far to hide a secret just didn't sit right with me. Still feel like I need to think this one over some more.
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Really stuck on what to rate this book, I want to give it a three but I think it's because I saw the movie first. I am not sure how I would feel about the book as a stand alone. Very possible that I will change this rating once I discuss it with others.
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Jan 15, 2009
Heather
marked it as to-read
Jan 23, 2009
Stephanie
marked it as to-read
Dec 18, 2009
Lily
marked it as to-read
Sep 16, 2011
Barb
marked it as to-read
