The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Title/Author: The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Publisher/Date published: Cossee in 2009, first published in 1995
How I got this book: bought it.
Why I read this book: I always try and read the book before I watch the movie. And I love Kate Winslet in almost any movie, so I knew I had to read this!

Goodreads summary: "Michael Berg is 15 when he begins a long, obsessive affair with Hanna, an enigmatic older woman. He never learns very much about her, and when she disappears one day, he expects never to see her again. But, to his horror, he does. Hanna is a defendant in a trial related to Germany's Nazi past, and it soon becomes clear that she is guilty of an unspeakable crime. As Michael follows the trial, he struggles with an overwhelming question: What should his generation do with its knowledge of the Holocaust?"

I don't know what it is exactly that I expected from this book, but let's just say that it was something.. well.. more than this. Though I have no special reason for it, I always dislike reading about World War II. I guess it's my living in Holland and it all being a bit too close for comfort. I know my grandma remembered those times, but though she told me a lot of stories, she never mentioned anything about this period in her life.

This book is not set during WWII, but it is definitely a huge part of the novel. Hanna is on trial in the aftermath of it and the whole of Germany is dealing with their country's dark past. It's all rather depressing.

The affair going on between 15-year-old Michael and the much older Hanna was not as tastfully done as I would have thought somehow (though I know it's ironic that I thought it would be tastful, seeing as weirdness surrounds the age-gap) and I did not connect with either of them. I did however cheer for Hanna when she noticed Michael skipped school to be with her and told him not to come if he skipped again.

Neither of the characters is very engaging and during the trial I was just baffled at the lengts Hanna went through to protect a secret. I mean, it's just crazy! I'd rather know a little shame than rot away in prison for the rest of my days. I can imagine trials dealing with WWII crimes going the way this one did. Everybody wants to lay the blame on someone else. And there has to be someone who is punished for something a lot of people were guilty of. This is probably not just something of the past.

I did think it was sweet that Michael continued his reading to Hanna, their relationship is so complicated. And weird. And I thought it was sad that their being together influenced Michael so much throughout his life, imagine what it would have been like had he never met her that one day.

Anyway, though this book was interesting, I did not feel invested and it somehow was less than I expected. I hope the movie will be better for me.

My rating: 2,5 stars

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman

Title/Author: Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman
Publisher/Date published: Harper Perennial, first published in 1998
How I got this book: it was a present from my brother for my birthday :D
Why I read this book: I've been really curious about Georgiana ever since I watched the movie adaptation based on this book.

Goodreads summary: "Georgiana Spencer was, in a sense, an 18th-century It Girl. She came from one of England's richest and most landed families (the late Princess Diana was a Spencer too) and married into another. She was beautiful, sensitive, and extravagant - drugs, drink, high-profile love affairs, and even gambling counted among her favorite leisure-time activities. Nonetheless, she quickly moved from a world dominated by social parties to one focused on political parties. The duchess was an intimate of ministers and princes, and she canvassed assiduously for the Whig cause, most famously in the Westminster election of 1784. By turns she was caricatured and fawned on by the press, and she provided the inspiration for the character of Lady Teazle in Richard Sheridan's famous play The School for Scandal. But her weaknesses marked the last part of her life. By 1784, for one, Georgiana owed "many, many, many thousands," and her creditors dogged her until her death."

Foreman takes us into the world that is the ton of English society in the 18th century. It is a world where men can be a great many of things and women can support them in this, but not too much or they're accused of being vulgar and improper. Enter the highly spirited and opinionated Georgiana Spencer. At 16 she senses her parents want her to marry the Duke of Devonshire (though they don't push her into this) and as she's always eager to please them, she fancies herself in love with him and accepts his hand.

Georgiana soon becomes a favourite in society and is regularly featured in the newspapers. Everything seems to be going well for her, except the one thing that I would think most important: her home life. As is mentioned in the book: the Duke of Devonshire must be the only one NOT in love with his wife. He seems to want nothing of Georgiana except an heir. And in this lies trouble, her first two children are girls. After long years of marriage and scorn from his relatives, she finally does have a son. But not before there is an addition to the marriage: Lady Elizabeth Foster finds a way into their home by befriending Georgiana and somewhat later becoming mistress to the Duke and even having 1 or 2 children by him.

Georgiana is no saint, having an affair of her own with Charles Grey and having his child. She's also very active in politics, which is sort of frowned upon by the general public. She holds a lot of both social and political influence.
And then there's her gambling problem. Georgiana loses vast amounts of money on a regular base and with their less then warm marriage, she is afraid to ask the Duke for money, so the debts keep piling up.

Georgiana seems to have been a loveable person, touching all but her husband. I think it's so tragic that their marriage was like this, perhaps the both of them would have been happier had they been with different people. I can't imagine what she must have gone through having 3 people in her marriage, though she seems to have genuinely loved Bess herself.

I was a bit shocked at all the affairs going on! Everybody was going around sleeping with everyone, married or not, having illigitemate children. Georgiana was the older woman in her relationship with Charles Grey and she gave him up when the Duke threathened to take her children away. As it was, she was exiled for 2 years to Europe, in this timeperiod she also gave birth to Grey's daughter. I think she made a good mother, though she was really busy with politics.

I almost never read non-fiction. I love getting lost in a story and most of the time with non-fiction you don't get that. But I did get a bit lost in Georgiana's world. And though I probably won't read this book as a whole again anytime soon, I really did enjoy it. Foreman's writing is engaging and not just textbook information. Though I won't say I remember all of the political goings on, it was interesting to learn a bit more about this as well. Georgiana is a fascinating historical character and I enjoyed reading about her life.

My rating: 4 stars