It is not difficult to understand why Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader is such an international success. Unlike The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, this late twentieth century example of Holocaust literature is entirely plausible and sheds a new light on a period of history that is no longer in the living memory of the majority of us.

The story is told in three parts, with a brief epilogue. Michael, at the age of fifteen, is seduced into a passionate sexual relationship with Hannah, a much older woman. In the course of their encounters, he reads aloud to Hannah. His life is changed forever but he never becomes emotionally close to Hannah and does not understand why she flees when promotion is offered in her job as tram conductor.

Years later, Michael, as a law student, is a spectator at a trial of war criminals and is surprised to find Hannah in the dock. As the trial unfolds, Hannah becomes the scapegoat for the group of SS guards who had allowed a convoy of concentration camp inmates to burn to death in a locked church. A lone survivor is the witness who will indict Hannah. Michael becomes horribly aware that Hannah would rather accept the guilt than admit that she could not read. He is faced with the dilemma of intervening or honouring Hannah’s pride and dignity. She is sentenced to eighteen years in gaol.

During her imprisonment, Michael reads books on tape and sends them to Hannah. As she masters the art of reading, her understanding of the past changes. Michael’s own life has been a series of unsuccessful relationships. When the date of Hannah’s release approaches, he feels responsibility towards Hannah.

In the context of history, the readers recognise that there can be no ‘happy’ ending to such a story. We can only admire the subtle way that Schlink, a Professor of Law and a former judge, concludes his narrative. The novel was published by Phoenix Fiction and has also been made into a successful film.

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