15-year-old Michael Berg gets sick near Hanna's apartment. She helps him, and later the two begin a secret relationship (she's in her 30s). But an odd one (aside from the inappropriate age); Hanna acts strangely, flying into odd rages or being strangely silent on different topics. One day, she disappears entirely.
Years later, Michael is now a law student. His class attends a court hearing of former concentration camp guards who left imprisoned women locked in a burning church to die; Hanna is one of the defendants. As the trial goes on, Michael comes to realize: Hanna is illiterate, and she'll go to any length- even self-incrimination- to protect her secret. He can help her; should he?
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This award-winning book (made into a movie with Kate Winslet) was on my German reading list. It's a very fast read, easily done in a day or two. The sexual relationship between the adult and child main characters is indecent and revolting- I lower its rating for this alone. That aside, this is an excellent book. There's a lot to think about; I'll share two themes.
One theme is understanding and condemnation. Knowing Hanna, Michael struggles at her trial as he seeks a balance between understanding and condemnation (mercy and justice or grace and truth, as I'd put it). And soon, it becomes clear that Michael's struggle goes beyond Hanna to that of post-war Germany grappling with its Nazi past. Clearly the leaders in charge were monsters, but what of everyday citizens- like Michael's parents? At what point were all Germans complicit in the crimes against humanity? And can you love a criminal without being complicit in their crimes? Can you both understand and condemn, or is it impossible? And, as Michael thinks through things . . . he realizes that he, too, has failed- he has betrayed Hanna. So to what degree are we all worthy of condemnation, and how do we handle that?
Another theme has to do with weakness. Hanna goes to great lengths to hide her illiteracy. It's likely why she become a concentration camp guard in the first place (spurning better opportunities that may have exposed her), why she betrays those around her in different situations, and why she causes a great deal of pain to Michael. Confessing weakness would have saved Hanna a good deal of prison time and improved her relationships and opportunities in life. But she doesn't. She'd rather sit in jail for 18 years (she does learn to read there, finally). How far will we go- and who will we hurt- in covering our weaknesses- hiding our failures?
Rating: B+
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