Ep 069 - The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
Overdue
Headgum
4.6 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 14 July 2014
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Bernhard Schlink's The Reader was published just five years after the reunification of Germany, and the ways in which it explores the country's troubled history were quite verboten while the wall still stood.
A young man falls in love with an older woman, a woman with a number of secrets, and their tempestuous relationship becomes an allegory for Germany's relationship with itself - with its history, its people, and its uncertain future.
Join as we admit our lack of German book-learnin', discuss the ethical quandaries that arose after the Holocaust, and ask the toughest relationship questions Schlink has to offer.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | While Andrew and Craig believe the joy of discovery is crucial to enjoying any well-told tale, |
| 0:05.1 | they will not shy away from spoiling specific story beats when necessary. |
| 0:10.4 | Plus, these are books you should have read by now. |
| 0:30.0 | I realize this morning that I don't know what to say to hotel staff when they knock on my door and say |
| 0:43.9 | housekeeping. You just you got a nip in the bud just hang up the do not disturb sign and never take |
| 0:51.0 | it down which is what I just I don't know how I haven't is that what you do with someone who lives |
| 0:57.0 | in hotels. Yeah, yeah, I just put the sign up they I mean sometimes they call like |
| 1:02.4 | he says do not disturb and they call and are like hey do you want us to clean and I'm like no I'm |
| 1:07.3 | I'm comfortable with the the sign. I think that's them making sure you're still alive. |
| 1:13.5 | I didn't just like I'm not dead in a bathtub or something. That's her oblique turn. Welcome to |
| 1:19.2 | overdue. This is a podcast about the books and bleak turns you've been meaning to take. |
| 1:24.0 | My name is Craig. My name is Andrew and that's never something that I've |
| 1:28.8 | thought about. We've been watching a lot of the sopranos and so like it completely. |
| 1:35.6 | Got a little dark. Yeah. Well, I was in I was in a hotel room this morning in DC and I don't |
| 1:43.2 | I'm so bad at the do not disturb sign. I just don't use it even though I should because then |
| 1:48.9 | what happens is they knock on the door and I go panic. I just go we're still in here and then |
| 1:55.5 | just say no thank you. I mean that's another thing you could try but that always sounds like I'm |
| 1:59.5 | being a jerk speaking like they don't care. No thank you. I don't want you to do your job here |
| 2:06.3 | in my room. No thank you. No thank you. You don't have to do your job in here today. |
| 2:13.4 | Like here's a free here's a free break like go go take a smoke or something. |
| 2:19.4 | I just I always panic when that happens. I don't know what to say to them or just put it you put |
| 2:24.3 | up the do not disturb sign in the evening and then you like leave and when you leave to go do |
... |
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