So it Goes (Zane Mandell)

The final act of The Reader was very fitting in context of the entire novel. Michael has tried to get on with his life, marrying, having a child, then divorcing so that he may work and live alone. But he is still haunted by his past, by his experiences with Hanna that are so ingrained in his mind. He wants to let go of that time but he can’t so he has created this “niche” for supplementing the haunting of his past. He figures out how to correspond with Hanna and make her happy, while satisfying himself in not getting too close. I found it very clever that he chose to use the recordings as a way to communicate with her but he never took the next step. I believe that he does regret this deep down in the end but is able to accept the decisions he has made and the person he is so he can move on with his life.

The perspective that the book takes is very limiting on our view of Hanna. Until that meeting between her and Michael on the bench in the prison I was not truly sure how Hanna had felt about Michael. Her death and the warden solidified the idea that she did truly care about Michael and wanted to reconnect with him. But it was also evident that she needed him to make the first step. This is where I have to put in my own opinion a little. I find this to be not where the novel breaks down but where relationships break down. I think that if she had given Michael a little push or a little hint at her interest he would have jumped on it. But she has closed herself off from the world and is unwilling to show her true emotions just like Michael has. But I feel she has expected him to be the one to open up first, as she has asked for a letter from Michael to the warden. This gets at the male and female relationship issue that is rooted in our society; the man must take the first step. Maybe this is how it is or maybe I am making something out of nothing but it is how I see it. And so it goes.