The Reader

The Reader (1998) by Bernhard Schlink – Phoenix Edition
Offered by Crappy Old Books – where the pages may be yellow, but the stories still burn bright.

Dive into one of the most haunting post-war novels of the 20th century — if you don’t mind a few dog-eared pages and maybe a suspicious coffee ring or two. The Reader tells the unsettling tale of a young boy’s affair with an older woman and the slow unravelling of her dark past. Morally complex, emotionally devastating, and written in crisp, elegant prose, Schlink’s novel poses the kind of questions that keep you up at night — assuming the spine holds up long enough to reach the ending.

This Phoenix edition has seen better days, but hey — so have most of the characters. Perfect for readers who like their books thought-provoking and just a little bit scruffy.

Keep browsing: See more Fiction books Other books by Bernhard Schlink