(8/12/2001)
Poison Ivy
As far as books go, Bernhard Schlink's The Reader, is a must. It is a fascinating book that depends completely on emotions--both the protagonist's and the reader's. By allowing the reader to accompany the young Michael Berg through his emotional and physical maturation, Schlink paves the way for a union between the reader of the book and the reader in the book. As a 15-year-old boy, Michael's first sexual experience is with the 36-year-old Hannah. Too young to cope with the overwhelming power of sexual gratification and emotional attachment, the protagonist is shaped and molded in ways even he couldn't understand. Despite this inverted power struggle, Hannah becomes an idolized illusion for Michael. During the trial, he comes across as a man whose buried guilt has turned him into a jaded reviewer of history, justice, laws written and unwritten. Michael Berg's detached yet riveted interest in Hannah's trial parallels and reflects his inner struggle with love, confusion, and guilt. Can one ever be rid of the instinct to dominate, violate, and control? Whether in war or in personal relationships, power struggles ignite . . . explode. . . implode. . . and leave their ineradicable mark on humanity.