On Bernhard Schlink's THE READER

Wow. This book is a masterpiece. It can make you feel A LOT, even the emotions you had no inkling of. At least for me. It is a love story, a historical fiction, coming-of-age type of novel. It is a devastatingly beautiful story of two 'misfits' whose relationship was not typical and a little disturbing. Okay, perhaps, completely disturbing.
I don't have any intention to narrate the plot summary here. That is Wikipedia's job. I just want my abstract thoughts laid out.
The main character had his dilemmas, which made me ask questions like: Can you possibly choose what to feel towards a person? Is it impossible to love again with the same intensity as you did in the past? Did "the reader" feel regretful when he realized he was not responsive enough when the time demanded it?
Men can be complicated, too, by not showing enough, by not giving or saying enough. When I thought of complexity, I could picture out disorderliness, of many things. After reading this book, I've learned that complexity is not in the excessiveness of things but also in the lack of them. It is not just in the plethora of showing affection but in the dearth of it.

Will definitely reread after a few years.

On Ha Jin's IN THE POND

Done. Ha Jin is quite a storyteller. This is by far the most entertaining book I've ever read. I couldn't put it down and trust me when I say you can finish it in a day or less.
In the Pond is a satire that tells a story of a fitter, a political activist, an artist, a calligrapher, a family man, and a scholar, all in one, who fights for his rights and refuses to give way to any form of oppression.
In the thick of threatening power turned turmoil, the protagonist allows us to see what it is like to live a life filled with injustice and misery.
Despite the presence of these heavy themes, the author managed to make the story bearable to the readers by adding timely humor.