57 pages • 1 hour read
Bernhard SchlinkA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Describe the structure of the novel. From one angle, Michael maintains a linear narrative. The story follows him and Hanna from their affair when he was a teen to her trial to her incarceration. Conversely, Michael scrambles time. He leaps back and forth to generate a thoughtful, complete narrative. How does the manipulation of time impact the plot?
Interrogate the problematic aspects of Michael’s affair with Hanna. How does the story abide by and deviate from beliefs about grooming and sexual predation? How does Michael view their relationship, and how does Schlink use literary elements to support or subvert that viewpoint?
There are many symbols in the story, including the trial, reading, and the tin the daughter keeps. Choose one symbol and examine how it relates to the story’s themes. How does it evolve in the text and deepen your understanding?
Guilt
View Collection
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
View Collection
Memorial Day Reads
View Collection
Memory
View Collection
Military Reads
View Collection
Oprah's Book Club Picks
View Collection
Romance
View Collection
Valentine's Day Reads: The Theme of Love
View Collection
World War II
View Collection