GUILT ABOUT THE PAST (House of Anansi, $15.95), composed of six lucid essays by Bernhard Schlink, landed on my desk, and I am most grateful for the gift. I found this short book to be a provocative and lively set of arguments. Those who missed Schlink’s amazingly successful novel THE READER (Vintage, $13.95) - and even those familiar with it - may not know that Schlink is a lawyer and a judge. One essay is indeed devoted to law as an instrument, and the last is about the role and importance of fiction.
The second essay, "The Presence of the Past," is full of nuggets. "Whatever course of action they follow, it is not for us Germans to raise objections or feel indignation." On the other hand, "Whoever remembers wants the right to forget." In the new generation, the literature of the Holocaust can give up some of its prominence, and it is important to administer the Jewish sites in a way that never seems patronizing.
In another essay called "Forgiveness and Reconciliation," Schlink distinguishes between forgetting, forgiveness, and reconciliation. Read these essays for clarity about difficult issues. Read them also for their beautiful writing.