The Reader is a novel by German law professor and judge Bernhard Schlink, published in Germany in 1995 and in the United States in 1997. The story is a parable, dealing with the difficulties post-war German generations have had comprehending the Holocaust; Ruth Franklin writes that it was aimed specifically at the generation Bertolt Brecht called the Nachgeborenen, those who came after. Like other novels in the genre of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, the struggle to come to terms with the past, The Reader explores how the post-war generations should approach the generation that took part in, or witnessed, the atrocities. These are the questions at the heart of Holocaust literature in the late 20th and early 21st century, as the victims and witnesses die and living memory fades. Schlink's book was well received in his native country and elsewhere, winning several awards. Der Spiegel wrote that it was one of the greatest triumphs of German literature since Günter Grass's The Tin Drum.
| Author | Bernhard Schlink |
| Original title | Der Vorleser |
| Translator | Carol Brown Janeway |
| Publisher | Vintage International |
About The Reader
Set in post-WWII Germany, the film tells the tale of a law student who re-encounters a former lover nearly decade later when she resurfaces as a defendant in her own war-crime trial.
Achievement of The Reader
Kate Winslet earned an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award for Best Actress. The film was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About The Reader
Vergangenheitsbewältigung.. 20th-century German novels.. Novels set in the 1950s.. Novels set in the 1960s.. German novels adapted into films.. German-language novels.
Latest information about The Reader updated on July 28 2021.
