Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living… in Berlin in 1958 with his anxious parents and a multitude of brothers and sisters.
Visiting… Hanna Schmitz’s apartment, frequently. Michael met 36-year-old Hannah one day on his tram ride home. Michael felt incredibly sick and sprint into the streets for air, only to vomit in the entryway of a nearby apartment building where Hanna lives. Hanna helped him get home to his worried mother. After Michael’s recovery from his illness, he brought Hannah flowers as a gesture of thanks, and they have been in a passionate affair ever since. Michael spends time at her flat every day after school.
Profession… student. Much to Hanna’s delight, Michael is highly skilled in the subject of literature. She makes him read classics like The Odyssey, The Lady with the Little Dog, and Emilia Galotti out loud to her in Greek, Latin, and German.
Interests… reading. Michael is thrilled that Hanna derives so much pleasure from hearing him read his school books. It makes him eager to share more. He even uses different voices to act out all the characters.
Relationship Status… in love. Michael has been in a passionate affair with Hanna, and he loves her dearly: “We’ve been together four weeks and I can’t live without you. I can’t. Even the thought of it kills me.” Hanna is complicated, moody, and demanding, but Michael is infatuated with every bit of her.
Challenge… dealing with his heartbreak. One day, Hannah moves without a warning or farewell, leaving him absolutely devastated.
Personality… eager, sweet, and animated. Michael is the most affectionate young lover a 36-year-old woman could ask for. He enthusiastically responds to Hanna’s every whim, takes her on holiday, and writes her romantic poetry.
Get to Know him in...
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The story of Michael Berg, a German lawyer who, as a teenager in the late 1950s, had an affair with an older woman, Hanna, who then disappeared only to resurface years later as one of the defendants in a war crimes trial stemming from her actions as a concentration camp guard late in the war. He alone realizes that Hanna is illiterate and may be concealing that fact at the expense of her freedom.
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When he falls ill on his way home from school, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. In time she becomes his lover—then she inexplicably disappears. When Michael next sees her, he is a young law student, and she is on trial for a hideous crime. As he watches her refuse to defend her innocence, Michael gradually realizes that Hanna may be guarding a secret she considers more shameful than murder.
