Cititorul

Cititorul tells of a strange love affair with a tragic course. Germany’s Nazi past casts a shadow over it. The story takes place in Germany after the war. It blends desire and mystery with horror and care for others.

Bernhard Schlink starts with a love story. The next two parts turn to the Holocaust and guilt. They ask what moral duty those who lived through it bear. They also ask how those born later face that past. This novel joins romance with questions of right and wrong. Schlink tells events in time order, in clear, spare prose.

Ana Mureşanu translated the book into Romanian. Its German title is Der Vorleser.

Schlink was born in Bielefeld in 1944 and studied law. In 1992, he became a professor at Humboldt University in Berlin. In 2006, he turned to writing full-time. This novel made his name known around the world. It reached over forty languages and won several awards.

A 2008 film brought the book to the screen. Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet starred in it. It earned five Oscar nominations and five BAFTA nominations. It also won a Golden Globe.