The Reader

I bought The Reader in 2001, but never finish the book. As I recall, I only read half of it and then put it aside. It could be because my ability of reading English literature was low. Like other Thai students who study English in school, I wanted to understand every single word in the book. But that was just impossible. When I did no longer understand the story, I stopped reading.

Many years have gone, in other words, I am getting old. I have seen, learned and read a lot. I won’t give up good books. I would keep reading it if I didn’t entirely understand the story. Eventually I would get it.

The Reader is the book about the love of a young boy who falls for a much older woman. It takes place in postwar Germany. War and love never go together so you get the gist of what the book is going to be. The first part of the book is about the young boy’s relationship. It is very touching. I was hooked right away. The later part was more about the old lady’s trial, and how the boy deals with his new-found knowledge.

Don’t be afraid of the book that once you put aside. The feeling when you finished that book was incredibly amazing.