Publisher, Random House Audiobooks (November 2008)

Listen to a FREE audio clip.

The printed edition of this title is an Oprah's Book Club Selection!

"A masterly work....The reviewer's sole and privileged function is to say as loudly as he is able, 'Read this' and 'Read it again." --George Steiner

Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.

When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover--then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.

About the Author: Bernhard Schlink was born in Germany. He is the author of the internationally best-selling novel The Reader, which was an Oprah's Book Club selection. He lives in Berlin and New York.