内容简介
Old friends cautiously reunite at an isolated German estateafter one of them is released from prison in Schlink's (The Reader)meditative novel on the past's grip on the present and thepossibility--or impossibility--of redemption. Convicted ofquadruple murder and numerous acts of terrorism on behalf of theradical left, J?rg spent 24 years in prison before beingunexpectedly pardoned. His sister, Christiane--whose obsessiveconcern for her brother's welfare has turned her into a borderlinerecluse--arranges a gathering to welcome J?rg back into society.Among those assembled are journalist Henner, whom J?rg believesbetrayed him to the police; quiet Ilse, using the weekend to begina novel about a common friend's alleged suicide; and Marko, a youngrevolutionary keen on convincing J?rg to use his newly earnedfreedom to speak out against the current government. Schlink avoidsthe easy route of condemnation and salvation, never lingering toolong on J?rg's crimes--though the ties to the RAF aren'tcloaked--and though the past is admirably handled (sketched in, butnot overbearing), the book's real strength is the finely wroughtdynamics among the characters, whose relationships and historiesare fraught with a powerful sense of tension and possibly untowardpotential.