Der Vorleser (The Reader)

[Clunkshift]

I am thinking of reading "The Reader" (Der Vorleser) and possibly "Flights of Love" (Liebesfluchten) by Bernhard Schlink and wondered if anyone, especially Beucherwurm or Ivy had read them.

I am always suspicious of the faithfulness of film to a writer's original intent and am intrigued by a book that has been championed by Oprah Winfrey and endorsed by the British Goverment Department of Education, but has since become a film which is attracting criticism from "Hollywood" critics.

I have read reviews of the book and the author and I am interested in both from several viewpoints, so I would value any comments if anyone has read either book.

Clunk x.

p.s. Here is a profile of the Author from The Guardian in 2002 when Liebesfluchten was launched which is not a "spoiler" for either book:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2002/feb/09/fiction.books

[buecherwurm]

well, just written something and then it disappeared; but I think I spent too much time reading that article about Schlink and didn't realise that I wasn't logged in anymore.
I haven't read any of the books, yet Clunk. I might not read "Liebesfluchten" as I don't really like shortstories. The "Vorleser" sounds quite interesting (there are still illiterate people living in Germany by the way). Would read it in German, though. Sometimes translations aren't a 100% accurate. So next time I go to town I'll browse throuhg the book. Too many times I've bought books because I liked what people had said and/or written only to be disappointed by the style of writing.......

[Clunkshift]

Being of an impulsive nature about literature I have just read "Flights of Love" (Liebesfluchten) by Bernhard Schlink and am just about to plough into "The Reader" (Der Vorleser) by the same author.

What Ivy said recently about her time in England struck a chord with me as I have been pondering national stereotypes and perceptions. It seems to me that US foreign policy over the last century has skewed the British view of other nationalities.
Leaving aside my views on the treaty of Versailles, WW1 reparations and collisions of expansionist regimes, I am not happy that some nationalities carry a burden of guilt for the acts of their grandparents and great-grandparents while others do not.
We have Japanese owned golf clubs in the South and they have separate changing rooms for Japanese and “others” – Gaijin, inferiors. This is worse in Japan itself and is most definitely racism. For war crimes that were never dealt with or even apologised for, google “Unit 731” and see how McArthur ignored morality and law so that the US could have and use “experimental results”, yet there is no guilt affixed to Japanese nationals of any age.

Modern German literature is sometimes coloured by this “burden” and my interest in "The Reader" was sparked by criticism of a “holocaust film” when I knew that the book was already an international success and on British the education authority recommended list. Well Amazon sent "Flights of Love" first, so I read that first and enjoyed some thought provoking stories on different types of love.
Bernhard Schlink is a very good descriptive writer and while all stories have a universal appeal, there are two in particular which express “being a modern German” very well.
I have to say that the stories are particularly suitable for men and mainly written from a male viewpoint. The short stories deal very well with the traumas, stresses and misunderstandings of relationships and are possibly a good pointer for women as to why men are so incomprehensible…

I rarely watch films at the cinema and we don’t have video rental locally, so I can enjoy “The Reader” without thinking of Kate Winslet at all.

On the subject of films, I note that the latest Tom Cruise film is about an all German event and the “hero” (Cruise) is played by an American and all the “bad guys” are played by British actors (as usual). This may seem an odd view but why don’t they use actors of the required nationality?

Is it just me?

p.s I asked my sons, who have never visited Germany, what they thought “German” meant and I was gratified to be told that they think it means quality, innovation, good design, good planning and efficiency. Asked if they liked German people, the answer was an emphatic “yes – of course”. Asked what they think British means, it came down to good research with no funds to take to production, mismanagement, dishonesty, laziness and barely suppressed anarchy, so two more generations should see a return of rationality all round.

With best wishes and utmost respect to all; including Japanese, Afghans and Somalis
Clunk x.

[Ivy]

Clunk I read der Vorleser and must say I didn't like it a lot but maybe I read it at a bad time... About Walkyrie : there are zillons of films on that topic and very good ones too but they are made by German producers and using German actors so they do not stand a chance internationally. That's how it goes. If you come to Oscar's for example you get all sorts of Oscars and one for a film that isn't English. (no matter what genre)
As to Unit 731 until today I though Germany was exclusive with bestialities like that! No animal would treat an other animal like that!

[Clunkshift]

Ivy,
The reason that Der Vorleser is educationally approved is for its protrayal of an illiterate person who will go to the ustmost lengths to cover up their inability to read and it was forthisrason that it sold well in the US too.
I think that Schlink is good at writing about attitudes and motivations and how they can change over a small matter, but I suspect that his writing is male orientated in its approach to life and relationships.

I have a friend working in the Polish film industry and sometimes I proof read English translations of film reviews and reports on European film festivals. It always strikes me how Hollywood centred our film distribution is and how many good award winning "foreign language" films we just don't see.
The situation with books is even worse. European books either don't get translated into English or they are ignored by our distributors. It is easier to get an Indian novel than a European one, but I suppose they are published in English as a matter of course.

Yes I should be fluent in at least one other language, but like most Brits of my age, we were taught French (and Latin in my case) but we didn't even start until age 11there was never any great incentive to become proficient.

So other than being able to point out the location of my Auntie's fountain pen, my partial knowledge of French has lapsed into disuse.

Unlearned Clunk x

[bonnie]

I have to say i personely hav'nt read this book but have heard it's very good.

More a Janet & John person me.

[Clunkshift]

Bonnie,
Think Hanna and Hans rather than Janet and John. You won't need to read the book if you see the film with Kate Winslet as Hanna. It is not about the holocaust, it is about human feelings of desire, love, pride and possibly vengeance. It is also about the worth of literacy and education, and actions speaking louder than words.

I just read the books rather than watch the films, because I want to understand what the writer meant without the aid of film interpretation.