This makes up the first part of the book and perhaps it is a testament to events that have occurred since the time of its writing that all of us (mothers of teenagers!) found the prose rather discomfiting, and not a little implausible. Michael never questions Hanna’s desire to have him read to her, he just accepts it.
One of the more intimate aspects of their relationship is that Michael reads aloud to Hanna, after sex and in the bath mainly, although never the other way around. Hanna is twenty years Michael’s senior and employed as a bus conductor, but despite the social and age gap between them, they begin a passionate affair, both parties equally consenting. Once he is well again, Michael’s mother sends him off to find the mystery good Samaritan in order that he can thank her. The story begins when 15 year-old Michael, off school for many months after contracting hepatitis, seeks out Hanna Schmitz, a woman who had been passing when he found himself being sick in the street and who had helped him. The following review contains some spoilers. I’m afraid we were all slightly disappointed. I had high hopes for the book and was excited at the prospect of reading it, especially since the comments on the cover of my edition were extremely enthusiastic. It was adapted for the screen in 2008, starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes. It was not a title I was familiar with although I had a vague recollection about a film adaptation coming out a few years ago. This was a recent choice for my book club.
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