The Reader

While cleaning out the bookshelves last weekend in search of books to list on Paperback Swap I came across a few books that I had not read yet - an amazing and exciting find! One that I discovered was The Reader, upon discovery I remembered that this book (now movie) was up for a few Oscars. According to the Oscar website The Reader was nominated in five categories: Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Directing, Best Motion Picture of the Year, and Adapted Screenplay. Although the movie was up for five nominations, it managed to sweep one away from Slumdog Millionare, the Best Actress award. I'm not sure why I am going on so much about the movie since I haven't seen it yet.

More about the book..... although it is a short and quick read it is packed with events that make you contemplate decisions that people make. Here is what amazon.com had to say:

Michael Berg, 15, is on his way home from high school in post-World War II Germany when he becomes ill and is befriended by a woman who takes him home. When he recovers from hepatitis many weeks later, he dutifully takes the 40-year-old Hanna flowers in appreciation, and the two become lovers. The relationship, at first purely physical, deepens when Hanna takes an interest in the young man's education, insisting that he study hard and attend classes. Soon, meetings take on a more meaningful routine in which after lovemaking Michael reads aloud from the German classics. There are hints of Hanna's darker side: one inexplicable moment of violence over a minor misunderstanding, and the fact that the boy knows nothing of her life other than that she collects tickets on the streetcar. Content with their arrangement, Michael is only too willing to overlook Hanna's secrets. She leaves the city abruptly and mysteriously, and he does not see her again until, as a law student, he sits in on her case when she is being tried as a Nazi criminal. Only then does it become clear that Hanna is illiterate and her inability to read and her false pride have contributed to her crime and will affect her sentencing. The theme of good versus evil and the question of moral responsibility are eloquently presented in this spare coming-of-age story that's sure to inspire questions and passionate discussion.

Enjoy ~SJ