The Reader

Michaël is 15 when he meets Hannah who's more than twice is age. For 6 months they are lovers, their relationship based on the books they share and their ignorance of each other's life. Their secret meetings stop abruptly when Hannah disappears. Years later their paths cross again: Michaël, now a law student, attends a trial in which Hannah is one of five accused. Observing Hannah's tentative to defend herself, Michaël thinks he has discovered the secret she has hidden all her life. To better understand the love he's never gotten over, Michaël decides to write their story.

This book tells the story of a man marked for life by his first love. But also shows the destiny of the children of those who participated into the Holocaust, the children of all those who obeyed or closed their eyes to the horrors of the camps. Michaël's story talks about emotions with the distance given by time, which adds to the feeling of detachment Hannah's secret obliges her to have. I loved that book.

Note: My review is about the French version of the book