Опасността с прекалено популярните книги, чиито екранизации често ги засенчват по известност, е че често ме довеждат до възклицание “О, пак ли това!”. В цялата тази какофония най-често изплуват само по няколко лозунга и клишета, които са досадни. Но всъщност те самите никога не се съдържат в самата книга, която кротичко си чака подходящия момент, когато истерията ще е поела в друга посока, а тишината ще се окаже великолепен фон, който да открои целия букет от послания. “Четецът” благородно ме изчака да достигна до него в правилния момент.

Рядко съм попадала на толкова силно обвинение и изобличение на неграмотността като избор и житейска позиция. Страхът и арогантността, комплексът за малоценност и инатът в крайна сметка могат да обърнат целия живот в престъпление, а света да превърнат в пепелище. Защото умишлено избраното невежество е най-страшният възможен избор.

Шлинк съвсем естествено го преплита с травмата на следвоенното германско поколение, което за първи път се сблъсква с каменната стена от мълчание и доброволна неграмотност на родителите си, никога непрежалили Хитлер и райха. Слепи, неми и глухи за зверствата, за които е връх на лошо възпитание дори да се намеква. Колко може да помогне и любовта, когато е лишена от знание и от справедливост?

Тъжното е, че тези тежки уроци са вече някак забравени, затова паметта, предавана през поколенията, не бива никога да угасва. А четецът носи единствено просвещение и в крайна сметка - просветление. Затова нека да четем - наум или на глас, е без значение.

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▶️ Цитати:

[Before reading: posted late 2009]

Haven't read it, but was completely blown away by the movie. Masterpiece! Kate Winslet was even better than I'd expected, and that's saying quite a bit.

Maybe I'll finally get serious about improving my German... no question about the appropriateness of the book.
_______________________
[After reading: posted early 2019]

It's funny how all the books you read link up inside you and start talking to each other. I finished Der Vorleser a week or so ago, and for once I just didn't know what to say. Everything I thought of seemed inadequate. But then yesterday I started Romain Gary's Chien blanc, which a French friend had recommended to me, and after a couple of hours I found a scene that brought everything into focus.

In Gary's supposedly autobiographical novel, the author, who's living in 1968 LA, adopts a stray dog, a German shepherd he calls Batka. Gary is a dog person, Batka is a kind, good-natured dog, and they really hit it off. Within days, Gary and his wife feel he's part of the family. But then a terrible and unexpected thing happens. A guy comes to clean their pool, and the moment Batka sees the visitor he's transformed into a murderous, snarling beast. Teeth bared, he lunges at the terrified pool cleaner, who's luckily still on the other side of the gate. Gary can barely hold him back. He apologises profusely and the pool cleaner, still shaking, leaves. A couple of days later, the same thing happens again, this time with a Western Union delivery boy.

Gary thinks about it, and there's a link between the two incidents which is distressingly obvious: the pool cleaner and the delivery boy were both black, all their other visitors that week have been white. He takes Batka to a friend who's an expert on animals, and the friend confirms his suspicions. Batka is a "white dog", a dog who's been painstakingly trained to attack blacks. They have them in the American South. Originally, they tracked escaped slaves; now the police use them against demonstrators. Gary's friend says Batka, who is about seven, is way too old to be retrained and is highly dangerous. The only sensible thing is to put him down.

Gary sits with the dog for several hours. Then he takes Batka to his car and visits a friend who lends him a revolver. They drive out to an isolated place in the woods. They get out of the car. Batka is happy to be with his master. He sits expectantly, waiting for new instructions. Gary takes out the revolver. Batka knows what is is, but he doesn't run. He just sits where he is, looking at Gary sadly. Gary aims, but he's now crying so much that he can't see properly. He fires and misses. Batka still doesn't run. Instead, he slowly walks over to Gary and licks the barrel of the gun. Gary can't take any more. They get back in the car and drive home.

Well, Der Vorleser is like that. Except that it's not a stray dog he's known for a week, it's the love of his life.

La recitire (a treia oară) și tot 5 stele.

I have to admit that this book had made me came out from my reading comfort zone, and it's probably my first philosophical novel I ever read, thus it means a lot to me. Although I find this book is quite a hard read(at least for me), I still find the story is very moving and interesting.

After all, it's a story about forgiveness and redemption.

Ontroerend, ingetogen, prachtig!

Van alle thema's en vragen waar dit boek me over na liet denken zijn schaamte en schuld de rode draad en het meest indringend. Hoe zwaar kunnen schuld en schaamte wegen en hoe onontwarbaar kan dat uiteindelijk worden in iemands leven, een heel leven lang... De verteller, Michael Berg, zet een stap achteruit in het terugblikken op zijn leven, wat precies genoeg afstand schept om na te denken over alle (filosofische) vragen die dit boek oproept.

n  'Wanneer ik word gekwetst, komen de destijds ondergane kwetsingen opnieuw naar boven, wanneer ik me schuldig voel, de schuldgevoelens van destijds, en in het verlangen van het nu, het heimwee van nu voel ik het verlangen en het heimwee van toen. De lagen van ons leven liggen zo dicht op elkaar dat we in het latere altijd het vroegere tegenkomen, niet als iets wat afgedaan en afgehandeld is, maar actueel en levend.'n

"So we said goodbye, even before we had to separate inside."

Great book.Wonderful piece and remotely expressed Words flowing like water in oceans.
I'd Miss someone with that book.
As the Young Lady entangled with teen.
Which flows the flawless love between them even when she got life imprisonment, She was turned to old. And Teen was turned to Man.
Time had changed, but their love sustained as he gave her recordings of stories.
Lovely Book.
Also, Watch movie based on this novel, My one of favourite actress, the drama Queen Kate Winslet's performance was surreal .

Okuyucu'nun sinema uyarlaması çok çok sevdiğim filmlerden biri. Filmi bu kadar etkilediyse kitabı da aynı şekilde etkileyecektir diye düşünerek okumaya başladım ve kitabı bir çırpıda bitirdiğimde yanılmadığımı anladım. Film esnasında kafamda soru işaretlerine sebep olan pek çok noktanın aydınlandığını, Hanna'yı ve Michael'ı çok daha iyi anladığımı söyleyebilirim.

Kitap bence okuyucuyu zorlayan bir kitap. Akıcılık açısından bir zorlama değil bu, yarattığı çatışmalar sebebiyle bir zorlama. Hanna Schmitz'den belki de nefret etmek gerekiyor; ama bir şekilde yapamıyorsunuz, bir yerden sonra anlamaya bile başlıyorsunuz. Hani diyorlar ya "sempati değil, empati" diye, benim yaşadığım da tam olarak bu oldu. Bundan hemen önce Kötülüğün Sıradanlığı'nı okumuştum (aslında akabinde Okuyucu'yu okumayı da bu neden tercih ettim) ve Hanna bana yer yer Adolf Eichmann'ı anımsattı.

Bundan sonrası spoiler olabilir, şimdiden uyarayım:

Hanna, okuma yazma bilmeyen bir kadın ve bu durumdan dolayı da büyük bir utanç duyuyor. Bunu gizlemek için her şeyi yapmaya razı. Siemens'te çalışırken terfi etmek üzereyken sırf okuma yazma bilmediği anlaşılmasın diye SS'e katılıyor. Sırf okuyup yazamadığını belli etmemek için mahkemede bir yerden sonra kendisini savunmak yerine kendisine yüklenen suçlara razı oluyor.

Bunun yanı sıra "görev bilinci" fazla yüksek bir kadın Hanna. Yaptığı doğru mu yanlış mı düşünmüyor bile. Tıpkı Adolf Eichamnn'ın iddia ettiği gibi kendisine gelen emirler var ve bunu sorgulayamayacağına inanıyor. Ne kadar canice olsa da her şartta kurallara uymaya çalışıyor.

Şunu sorup durdum okurken: Peki neden? Bu utancı, yaptığı caniliklere bir gerekçe olarak gösterilebilir mi? Elbette hayır. Peki neden tam olarak öfkelenemiyoruz Hanna'ya, neden tam olarak nefret edemiyoruz ondan? Hanna dışındaki kadınlara daha az cezalar verilirken Hanna'nın ömür boyu hapse mahkûm edilmesiyle adalet gerçekten yerine gelmiş oluyor mu? Olmuyorsa neden o kadar duruşma yapıldı? Ayrıca kilisede pek çok kadını cayır cayır yanmaya terk eden sadece SS görevlileri miydi? Neden köyden kimse yardım etmeye yeltenmedi? Neden kimse onları suçlamıyor?
Bu kötülükleri yapan çoğu insanın Yahudilere karşı özel bir nefreti yok. Yaptıklarından ne zevk alıyorlar ne de onlardan pişmanlık duyuyorlar. Peki neden yaptılar bunu zamanında? Günümüzde bu tür "eziyetler" bitti mi?

"... ne emirden ne itaatten söz ediyorum. Celladın yaptığı emirleri yerine getirmek değildir. İşini yapar o, astığı insanlardan nefret etmez, onlardan intikam almaz, yoluna çıktıları, kendisini tehdit ettikleri ya da saldırdıkları için öldürmez onları. O insanlar celladın umurunda bile değildir. Öylesine umursamaz ki, öldürebilir de öldürmeyebilir de" (s. 131).

Okurken çok fazla soru sordum kendime; ama sanırım bunların büyük çoğunluğunu yanıtlayamadım.
Dediğim gibi filmi beğeniyle izlemiştim kitabı da çok severek okudum.

Das Buch hat mich auf den letzten 50 Seiten komplett gebrochen. Lange nicht mehr so intensiv geweint. Würde sagen, dass das bis jetzt mein Lieblingsbuch 2024 ist. Ich könnte jetzt noch viel über Schuldgefühle und Vergebung schreiben, aber mir fehlen gerade die Worte dafür. Kann das Buch nur wärmstens empfehlen!❤️

On my last-minute whim,
I grabbed,
a story of an erotic love affair between
a 15-year-old German boy, Michael Berg,
and 35-year-old, Hanna Schmitz!
Suffering from hepatitis and Hanna nurturing him,
In due course both develop passionate feelings for each other.
They keep their relationship under wraps.
He would read out to her, and not vice-versa (avoiding spoilers, on why?)
Eventually, as Michael matures, the relationship starts dwindling,
Hanna disappears into thin air!
Destiny bestows a second encounter between the two,
but in vexatious circumstances.
He is a law student, and Hanna is on a trial as an SS concentration camp guard,
with numerous deaths charged against her during the bombing!
What follows is all circled around discovering whether Hanna is guilty and be incarcerated,
or is innocent (avoiding spoilers)?
The biggest remnant-
He couldn’t love anyone other than Hanna!

n  My Views-n
Originally published in German, I found the English translation to be weak, thin, sporadic, and sparse, and it couldn’t endow an awe-inspiring feeling to me! I just couldn’t stay riveted, irrespective of the compelling plot premise. ☹

Not to mention, the novel got numerous accolades and raving terrific reviews, but this may sound like an outlier.

I was attracted due to the premise around WWII (the holocaust era) and an unwonted love story weaving in the backdrop, between two individuals from totally different backgrounds and a stark age difference.

But honestly, I remained neutral. It didn’t arouse any feelings in me, I couldn’t marry the characters, and found them scattered and weak! The biggest takeaway for me was the fact literacy is a massive accomplishment, and can never be compromised!

The entire narration is from Michael’s point of view, and I am sure the original German text must have done justice to the brilliant plot premise, and so acquired raving positive reviews.
But the English translation just faltered for me, and made my reading experience insipid and banal! I just couldn’t wed the plot, due to the sporadicity.

Without any further belaboring, I close the review, by giving a respectful 3 stars!

NB- Resonating with writing style/translation is a subjective topic, and request people not to take the rating universally. It is strictly my point-of-view, and request readers to explore this short book, with a marvelous plot-line! :) It is my behove, to be honest with my views and rating, and try to do the same with all my reviews.

3,5 estrellas.

Hay cosas que me han gustado mucho y otras, sobre todo una, que me ha frustrado: el narrador. Creo que entiendo que Schlink quería mantener cierta ambigüedad en el texto y escribir un narrador en negación, pero no creo que lo haya desarrollado bien. Porque creo que las pistas están ahí: una mujer adulta de 36 años se lía con un crío de 15 años y básicamente le destroza la vida. No me lo invento, lo dice un personaje (la hija judía) al final del libro, explícitamente, pero no hay un momento en el que el narrador lo vea, lo declare por sí mismo.

Y sí, es una relación abusiva obvia por lo que el propio escritor resalta: las escenas en las que ella le hace "luz de gas" al chaval o cuando le agrede físicamente; todo ello mientras el narrador declara que "eran felices". Pero al mismo tiempo está lo típico de cuando un hombre escribe esta clase de relaciones (siento generalizar) y sus fantasías calenturientas obstaculizan la descripción de un trauma. Porque trauma hay: el propio narrador confiesa que ya no siente nada, que durante años no pudo sentir nada.

¿Cosas que me han gustado mucho? Que Hanna sea ambigüa. Hasta el final. Que nunca sepamos de qué palo va, que tengamos que hacernos un juicio sobre cómo es y si, no ya si merece perdón, sino si siquiera merece compasión. Me parece que eso está muy conseguido. Y también el tema que subyace en todo el libro: sentirse culpable por cosas que no son culpa tuya. El narrador por su relación con Hanna y la generación alemana que no vivió la 2ª Guerra Mundial por las atrocidades cometidas por las generaciones anteriores.

Tal vez la idea es que nunca dejas de sentirte culpable y por eso el narrador nunca cae del guindo expresamente. Pero aun así me pareció que el que no lo hiciera dañaba al personaje y a lo que creo que Schlink quiere expresar.

Set in post WWII Germany, The Reader is the story of the ‘affair’ between the 15 year old student, Michael Berg and the 36 year old Hanna Schmitz who was a tram conductor.

The book is divided into three parts.
The first is about Michael and Hanna’s relationship and Hanna’s obliging Michael to read for her every time before their sexual intercourse.
In the second part, six years have passed since Hanna’s disappearance, when Michael learns that she is on trial for war crimes committed at Auschwitz.
In the third part of the book, Michael is going through his feelings of love , grief and betrayal as after 18 years, Hanna is going to be released.

The story was one I would have loved to read about, but for the flat and sparse writing style of the author, didn’t care much about the characters, nor about the events.
Or maybe it was the translation which was lacking?