Bernhard Schlink

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CRITICISM

Angier, Carole. “Approaches and Escapes.” Spectator 288, no. 9055 (23 February 2002): 36-7.

Angier suggests that Flights of Love has been underrated by English critics.

Bernstein, Richard. “Once Loving, Once Cruel, What's Her Secret?” New York Times (20 August 1997): C16.

Bernstein praises Schlink's prose style in The Reader.

Finn, Stephen M. “Truth without Reconciliation?: The Question of Guilt and Forgiveness in Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower and Bernhard Schlink's The Reader.South African Journal of Philosophy 20, nos. 3-4 (2001): 308-19.

Finn examines the problematic issues of guilt, remorse, and forgiveness in The Reader and Simon Wiesenthal's The Sunflower, arguing that both books raise questions about the limits of forgiveness and the conditions, both historical and moral, for absolving crimes against humanity.

Klein, Julia M. “Schlink Evokes Certain Realities but Eludes Moral Certainties.” Chronicle of Higher Education (7 December 2001): B18.

Klein provides an overview of Schlink's fiction, including his crime novels, and discusses Schlink's historical and thematic concerns as well as the critical response to his work.

Lewis, Tess. “Postwar Solipsisms.” New Criterion 16, no. 4 (December 1997): 74-7.

Lewis criticizes Schlink's narrative structure in The Reader.

Nagorski, Andrew. “A World in Shades of Gray.” Newsweek (12 November 2001): 61-2.

Nagorski presents an overview of Schlink's career, fiction, and thematic concerns upon the publication of Flights of Love.

Ozick, Cynthia. “The Rights of History and the Rights of the Imagination.” Commentary 107, no. 3 (March 1999): 22-7.

Ozick defends the fundamentally unrelated functions of fiction-making and history, but suggests that while fiction should be granted full access to the creative imagination, some works, such as Schlink's The Reader, distort historical reality by focusing on atypical characters whose anomalous actions serve, whether intentionally or not, to divert responsibility for the past away from the majority of typical citizens.

Schuessler, Jennifer. “Happiness Doesn't Make Them Happy.” New York Times Book Review (30 September 2001): 6.

Schuessler asserts that Flights of Love is unfortunately marred by didacticism.

Smith, Dinitia. “Seeking Guilt, Finding Fame.” New York Times (30 March 1999): E1.

Smith discusses Schlink's career and the literary success and thematic concerns of The Reader.

Steiner, George. “He Was Only a Boy but He Was Good in Bed.” Observer (2 November 1997): 15.

Steiner evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of The Reader.

Additional coverage of Schlink's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction, Vol. 14; Contemporary Authors, Vol. 163; and Literature Resource Center.

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