The Author (Schlink) And His Work (The Reader)

In an interview I read about Jack Nicholson commenting that he once visited a museum and watched a Van Gogh painting. As he was observing the work, he noticed that people were looking at him… That is indeed a paradox of our times; a valuable painting is not as valuable as meeting a famous film star live… Of course, the painting will stay there on the wall.

The reader is the title of the film that has been produced recently and which is based on the same novel. The title both of the translation and of the film is – the reader — is not exactly the meaning of the original title in German, but the new title is also mysterious as the reader has a stake in the clue of the story.

Having read the book and knowing that the film is open for the public I just wondered; do I want to see this film after I have read the book? What will the work of the famous actress Kate Winslet add to the book?

This dilemma but of a different order is present in the book, the reader is written by Schlink who himself has a background in law. One could wonder whether someone with a different background could have written this story.

The main ingredient of the book is about law and the history around it but also about personal “laws;” what would you have done, asks Hanna to the judge who hesitates and can’t really answer the question himself.

Hanna is convicted for her role in the Holocaust and Michael listens to the trial as he has been in love with her not knowing her role in history. The problem is that this secret is more profound and the reader is to judge against this secret and other actions. What is more important at one moment in time?

Beautiful of the whole story and plot is the direct appeal on the real reader. This is why I think that the translated title “the reader” is perhaps even better than the original title in German. In one scene in the book I felt a direct appeal as “a reader” of the story. This is when Michael asks his father how he should act in such a situation. Should he help her and how?

This is one of those books where I think: what a pity we spend too little time on reading these days… How illiterate are we raised in a time like this where culture is served by film we look at for an hour and than switch to the next action…

I would say: don’t watch the film. Read the book instead. No compromise, no and-and. Just forget the film.

The Author (Schlink) And His Work (The Reader)