The Reader - Bernard Schlink - 3 stars

I decided to pick this book up and read it simply because I had heard some pretty decent things about it, so I looked forward to getting into it. It took me quite some time to get through and even had to put it down for a time because it made me a little slumpy.
Synopsis
When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.

It was the plot of the story that drew me to this book in the first place. I really did not know what to expect from it. I thought maybe it was going to be all about forbidden love, but it seemed to be more than that. Once I started reading the book it flowed pretty well, but I just felt like it got real slow about midway through the book. I felt like there was enough to it, for me to finish it, but decided to put it down for awhile. I also found that the writing was somewhat choppy, it skipped a lot detail and left me at a part where I did not understand how I got there. Those details all came after the fact, and the story picked up again once I understood what was going on. I think this story would benefit with a bit more backstory allowing us a better glimpse of the story and our characters.

I liked the characters but I did not feel like I really knew them. I wanted to know more about them and their lives before and after their relationship. There were some details about that, but not really enough to be able to really relate to them. I feel like readers really missed out on Hanna's life in this story. There would certainly be a lot more that the author could tell us about her, so we could understand more about who she was and what she believed.

As far as recommending this book, I could recommend it to those who like to read post war Germany, but it is not just about that, it is pretty vague on that subject until more towards the end, it is more about love and understanding of people and their situations. I do think it is worth the read if you are patient, there is a message to be told with this.