Alex's Reaction to Part 1

     I am enjoying Bernhard Schlink’s The Reader mainly because its different from what I am used to reading. The book follows Michael through his recollection of his intimate past with a much older woman, Hanna. This unconventional love story is both disturbing and heartwarming. The two have a very peculiar relationship. Without knowing the woman’s name, 15 year old Michael falls in love (love out of lust) with a stranger- Hanna, a 36 year old woman he met by chance. She quickly takes “possession” of him while he falls powerless under her spell, leaving behind his family and wanting to abandon his studies. Initially, the relationship depended upon sex, however the added element of literature between them is what elevates their relationship to a deeper, richer level. 

     Although Hanna knows Michael’s name, she chooses to refer to him as “kid”, perhaps reminding him as well as herself of his age and maturity. In one scene Hanna gets aggressive and slaps Michael hard across the face. This perhaps hints towards a violent past; a past which she refuses to talk in detail about.  

     This kind of relationship and intimacy between two people with this age gap is illegal and inappropriate in our society, scandalous even, yet it flows so naturally between the two lovers. Since I have seen the movie, much of the scenes are very familiar to me. The book, of course, is more detailed and graphic.