Alex Williams Reaction 3

            Overall this book was enjoyable in that it was a quick and simple read. I read with a certain bias because of the themes paper we were given. As I read, I kept trying to tie everything in with the themes we were given, and with some of them I just don’t think they have strong support. I saw Michael and Hanna’s relationship as one sided, with Hanna holding all the power and constantly manipulating Michael. At the same time though, I thought she really did care for him. Perhaps in the beginning he was simply an object for her to use, but I think it developed into more than that. She wanted him to not miss school and do his work and when she was in prison she eventually communicated with him.

            Part 3 was a shock with Hanna’s death. I did not think this would be the kind of story that would have a happy ending, but I was still surprised that Hanna killed herself right before she got out. I thought that maybe the guilt was too much for her. She felt that as long as she was in prison, she could live because she was being punished, but when faced with freedom, she thought that she did not deserve this and took her own life as a final punishment for what she did. However, even though she was a Nazi, I don’t think she is as guilty as the court portrayed her. She held readings for those who were sent to their death and she took responsibility for many things she did not do. She taught herself to read in prison, and instead of reading something she would enjoy, she tortured herself with memoirs written by holocaust survivors. She clearly regretted what she did and even left all her money with the hope that she could make amends for what she did.

            Michael was also heavily affected. This one relationship screwed up his entire life. After Hanna, it seemed he was incapable of love. His marriage failed and he does not have a good relationship with his daughter. It seemed that Hanna left him empty, void of deep emotion like others around him. It seemed that he was just going through the motions when he was donating her money and he only visited her grave once.