THE READER- by bernhard schlink

This is a book that's been sitting around for a while. I think I tried to read it once a few years ago, but it didn't take. After putting a ton of effort into the most recent bookclub book, I really wanted a short (and therefore quick) read. I started it one night when I couldn't sleep, and read more then half of it in two hours. I finished it in one more sitting.
At the beginning, Michael Berg (who's name we don't learn until the end) is a fifteen year old who meets Hanna, a 30+ woman, in a small town in Germany. They develop an intimate relationship which they hide from friends and family. At one point, Hanna asks Michael to read aloud to her. This continues for the length of their relationship, which ends abruptly when Hanna disappears. Several years later, Michael is in law school and attends a trial in which several woman are being tried for crimes committed while they were guards at Nazi concentration camps. Hanna is included in this group, and soon becomes the scape goat for the rest of the guards. Despite attending every day in court, Hanna never acknowledges Michael, and he soon discovers a secret Hanna has been hiding for years. Sentenced to life in prison, she remains there for eighteen years before being released. Michael stays in touch, and learns how his actions have given Hanna a way to change.
This is a good book to read in a few sittings as it's divided into sections that make this easy. I liked the incorporation of both optimistic aspects as well as dark pasts. It made the story more real, as well as interesting to read.
Netflix rating? 4.5/5 stars.