I bought this book few months before cz of the appealing title. It was simple and i thought a photograph with it would be a nice for bookstagram. Then i picked the book today to read - did i expect anything as heart wrenching as this one? NO!!!
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Michael Berg meets Hanna when he was fifteen. Though Hanna was 36 years old, their relationship blossoms. Physical intimacy aside, they bond over books - Michael reads to Hanna daily. Then one day, Hanna leaves. Michael ponders if he should have made her part of his wider social circle. If he should have paid more attention to the person she was. 6 years later they meet in shocking circumstances - Michael is a law student and Hanna is accused! Soon the plot shifts from young adult coming of age kind of book to the darkness of holocaust. The rest of the story painstakingly deals with Michael's efforts to redeem
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While there are so many books around holocaust, this is a rare one that asks uneasy questions from SS officer perspective - the question of right and wrong! The apparent subjectivity of it
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It is amazing that Hanna is alright to be branded as a heartless criminal than to confess her innocent secret
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The book doesn't delve into aspects of right or wrong in conventional ways - but in more circumstantial and subjective way. The writing is free flowing; nothing seemed to be lost in translation
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Highly recommend this one. Clearly could be finished in one sitting (I did!)
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⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
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