What readers think of The Reader, plus links to write your own review.

The book was fantastic. I am studying it for my final year and it opens your eyes to the raw human emotions that are shown and portrayed through the characters. It covers all levels, and makes the reader realise what happened post war and that the people are still suffering for it.

I really liked the way the author asked questions which made me stop and think. The ideas he was trying to express often times made me wonder if things in my life were similar to his. I must have read the book 2 or three times because the thoughts pulled me in that direction. I could not let go and continue reading till I thought it all out. I enjoyed the love story, as far as the holocaust portion it was horrible (but all of the them are). I keep thinking if I were the character Michael would I have done the same??? I don't know. I highly recommend the book.

As an American university student reading this novel in its native German language, I was absolutely captivated by its colorful descriptions and depictions of characters, who became real living people far before the end of the novel. I believe it is a common complaint of people who read books that have been translated. I am happy to have read it in German, while being in Germany. Michael and Hanna have real places in this book and act as real people, often involving themselves in difficult decisions and predicaments. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like an unglamorized glimpse into the frailty and compassion of the human heart.

This was a great book and couldn't put it down.

This book was difficult to put down and I finished it within a few days.

I thought it displayed the power that love & passion has in a person's life.
Also, sympathy and forgiveness was displayed towards all who lived through the Holocaust.

It's an excellent book.

best book ever written

This is an excellent novel. The feeling that post-War Germany had about the Holocaust is captured beautifully, and the end of the story is real, as opposed to a "happily ever after" fantasy. If one really needs that fantasy, we can capture the fact tha Hannah did learn how to read as the happily ever after.
This book is emotionally draining but at the same time parrallels the numbness of the Jewish people during their persecution as well as the cold and silent world of someone in a concentartion camp as well as someone who is illiterate. Splendid book

it was an interesting read, totally unexpected that a 15 year old boy and 38 year old woman would get in to a relationship and have daily sexual practices like their baths, and their nightly sleeps together. The way that a 15 year old boy cared for a 38 year old woman, who did not care much for him, was extraordinary. In this book, the truth benefits not only the personal relationship of both of them, but also the good of all people.