An exceptionally powerful novelexploring the themes of betrayal, guilt and memory against the background ofthe Holocaust. An international bestseller.
For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chancemeeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The womanin question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestinelove affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is notall she seems.
Years later, as a law student observinga trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dockis Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour duringthe trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does - Hannais not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperatelyconcealing an even deeper secret.
'A tender, horrifying novel that showsblazingly well how the Holocaust should be dealt with in fiction. A thriller, alove story and a deeply moving examination of a German conscience' INDEPENDENT