I thoroughly enjoyed the last part of the Reader. The last
part tied up the novel perfectly and finally made me like it. It was short,
full of action, and interesting. I think the third part was definitely the best
part of the novel. As a whole, the novel was an easy and fast read. However,
there were times, especially the first part, where the novel was extremely
boring and hard to focus on.
Obviously the major plot point of the third part is Hanna
committing suicide. She hangs herself the day before being released from
prison. I could not understand why she would do this. She spent so much energy
on getting released early. She makes an appeal for clemency and the parole
board granted the appeal. Why would Hanna do this and then hang herself the day
before she leaves? Could she not deal with going back to the real world after
eighteen years in prison? Or did she feel to guilty about what she did in her
past and felt that she did not deserve to leave prison? The ending does not
grant the readers any answers and leaves them empty handed.
The main theme of the third part of the novel is Absolution.
This theme is brought up during the conversation between Michael and the
survivor of the burning church. The survivor asks Michael if she should grant
Hanna absolutism after finding out that Hanna’s last wish was to give the
survivor seven thousand marks. I do not think Hanna should get any absolutism.
She did a terrible thing by letting those people die in the burning church.
Hanna lied to many people and used kids for sexual desires and reading.
At the end of the novel, it seems as if Hanna gets a happy
ending while Michael does not. Hanna’s seven thousand marks go to a Jewish
Charity for Illiteracy and it goes under her name. While the somewhat innocent
Michael is left to deal with Hanna’s death and live the rest of his life.
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