For decades the painting was believed to be lost. But, just as mysteriously as it disappeared, it reappears, an anonymous donation to a gallery in Sydney. The art world is stunned but so are the three men who loved the woman in the painting, the woman on the stairs. One by one they track her down to an isolated cottage in Australia. Here they must try to untangle the lies and betrayals of their shared past - but time is running out. The Woman on the Stairs is an intricately-crafted, poignant and beguiling novel about creativity and love, about the effects of time passing and the regrets that haunt us all.

THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER 'Bernhard Schlink speaks straight to the heart' New York Times Olga is an orphan raised by her grandmother in a Prussian village around the turn of the 20th century. Smart and precocious, she fights against the prejudices of the time to find her place in a world that sees her as second-best. When she falls in love with Herbert, a local aristocrat obsessed with the era's dreams of power, glory and greatness, her life is irremediably changed. Theirs is a love against all odds, entwined with the twisting paths of German history, leading us from the late 19th to the early 21st century, from Germany to Africa and the Arctic, from the Baltic Sea to the German south-west. This is the story of that love, of Olga's devotion to a restless man - told in thought, letters and in a fateful moment of great rebellion.

'A thriller, a love story and a deeply moving examination of a German conscience' [Independent on Saturday] For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems. Years later, as a law student observing a trial in Germany, Michael is shocked to realize that the person in the dock is Hanna. The woman he had loved is a criminal. Much about her behaviour during the trial does not make sense. But then suddenly, and terribly, it does - Hanna is not only obliged to answer for a horrible crime, she is also desperately concealing an even deeper secret.

From the author of The Reader, a mesmerising tale of discovery, identity and forgiveness When thirteen-year-old Peter discovers an old manuscript in his family home it instantly captivates him. The manuscript tells the compelling story of a German soldier's homecoming after escaping from a POW camp, but the document is incomplete. Years later, the adult Peter rediscovers the text and goes in search of the missing pages - but far from unearthing an ending, he finds himself at the beginning of a quest that leads him across Europe to New York City, to the mystery of his father's disappearance, a love story, and the question of his own identity... 'A fine novel' Guardian 'A brave attempt at confronting Germany's stained past and uncertain identity' Daily Telegraph 'An accomplished and intelligent writer' Evening Standard 'A novel of great density and power' Literary Review 'An invigorating read' Metro A novel beloved by thousands of readers 'Too good to finish' ***** 'Highly recommended' ***** 'A must read' ***** 'Brilliant' ***** 'Complex and profound' *****

Im April hat der Deutsche Bundestag entschieden, Import und Forschung an menschlichen embryonalen Stammzellen nur unter strengsten Auflagen und nur fA1/4r "hochrangige Forschungsziele" zu erlauben. In Deutschland selbst ist die Gewinnung embryonaler Stammzellen zu Forschungszwecken durch das Embryonenschutzgesetz verboten. Dennoch ist die Affentliche Gesellschaft aufgefordert, den ethischen Fragen zur PrAimplantationsdiagnostik, zu Stammzellenforschung sowie des therapeutischen und reproduktiven Klonens im Raum zwischen Wissenschaft und Recht verstArkt nachzugehen. Bernhard Schlink, an der Humboldt-UniversitAt zu Berlin lehrender Professor fA1/4r A-ffentliches Recht und Rechtsphilosophie, untersucht in nun vorliegender erweiterter Fassung eines im Dezember 2001 gehaltenen Vortrages die verfassungsrechtlichen Vorgaben fA1/4r Embryonenschutz im Kontext der bisherigen Rechtsprechung des Bundesverfassungsgericht zum Schwangerschaftsabbruch. Gut verstAndlich geschrieben, formuliert der Autor sich widersprechende Ergebnisse und verdeutlicht damit, dass der Gesetzgeber zurzeit in seiner Haltung zum Lebensschutz uneindeutig regelt. Schlink appelliert sowohl an die rechtswissenschaftliche Dogmatik als auch an den Gesetzgeber, den WidersprA1/4chen klArend zu begegnen.

Hailed for its coiled eroticism and the moral claims it makes upon the reader, this mesmerizing novel is a story of love and secrets, horror and compassion, unfolding against the haunted landscape of postwar Germany.

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.

From the author of the internationally acclaimed and bestselling novel, THE READER, a mesmerising collection of stories about about love in all its guises. A conversation between strangers on a long-haul flight will change lives for ever; one night in Baden-Baden will threaten to tear a couple apart; a meeting with an ex-lover will give a divorcee a second chance; holiday lovers will struggle in the harsh reality of daily routine... As Schlink's characters navigate their lives, we discover the many faces of love: the small betrayals, hidden truths and abiding affections. In Schlink's trademark spare prose, we come face to face with the desires and jealousies that define our daily lives, with the fragility of happiness and with the abiding possibility of hope. Tender yet unsentimental, achingly personal yet utterly universal, SUMMER LIES asks what it means to love, to deceive and, ultimately, to be human.

A prize-winning Cold War spy novel from the author of international megaseller THE READER Young lawyer Georg Polger gives up a comfortable existence in Germany to work as a freelance translator in the South of France. But business in the picturesque village is far from booming, and Georg struggles to make ends meet. One day he is approached by a certain Mr Bulnakov, who wants Georg to take over a local translation agency. The previous owner has just died in mysterious circumstances. Everything seems to be going perfectly: Georg falls in love with Bulnakov's attractive secretary, Francoise, and takes on a lucrative project left unfinished by his predecessor, translating plans for military helicopters. But everything changes when Georg notices Francoise copying his plans. She tells Georg that Bulnakov has threatened to harm her brother, who lives in Poland, if she refuses to do his bidding. When Georg confronts Bulnakov Francoise disappears, and mysterious elements within the village try to hound him out. All he has left of Francoise is a picture she gave him of a church, which she told him was in Warsaw. But when a friend tells him the church is actually in New York, Georg flies to America in a desperate bid to track down Francoise, and unravel the web of deceit. Tailed from his arrival, Georg quickly realises that he is stuck between the CIA and the KGB, and further out of his depth than he can begin to comprehend. But which side was he working for? Who is the mysterious Mr Bulkanoff? And did he ever know the real Francoise?

'Perfectly crafted, intricate and haunting stories' from the bestselling author of THE READER. A mesmeric collection of stories about love. In his characteristically unsentimental, elegant and spare prose, Schlink unveils characters and relationships haunted by betrayal and guilt, in situations where self-examination is inescapable. FLIGHTS OF LOVE consists of seven stories, all of them weaving around the idea of love - why people are drawn to it and why some run away. Schlink shows us in turn love as desire, love as confusion, love as a quick affair, love as a drastic life-changing rebellion, love as a force of habit, love as self-betrayal. The cumulative effect is a book which uses effortlessly beguiling language to examine the universal human desire to find a lasting loving relationship, however thwarted that desire ultimately is.

Growing up with his mother in Germany, Peter Debauer knows little about his father, an apparent victim of the Second World War. But when he stumbles upon a few pages from a long-lost novel, Peter embarks on a quest that leads him across Europe to the United States, chasing fragments of a story within a story and a master of disguises who may or may not exist. Homecoming" "is a tale of fathers and sons, men and women, war and peace. It reveals the humanity that survives the trauma of war and the ongoing possibility for redemption.

As a young man, Gerhard Self served as a Nazi prosecutor. After the war he was barred from the judicial system and so became a private investigator. He has never, however, forgotten his complicity in evil.
Hired by a childhood friend, the aging Self searches for a prankish hacker who's invaded the computer system of a Rhineland chemical plant. But his investigation leads to murder, and from there to the charnel house of Germany's past, where the secrets of powerful corporations lie among the bones of numberless dead. What ensues is a taut, psychologically complex, and densely atmospheric moral thriller featuring a shrewd, self-mocking protagonist.

The author of international phenomenon THE READER returns with a tale of old jealousies, explosive politics and uncertain futures. Meet the Baader-Meinhof Group, 25 years on... Old friends and lovers reunite for a weekend in a secluded country home after spending decades apart. They plumb their memories of each other and pass quiet judgements on the life decisions each has made since their youth. This isn't, however, just any old reunion, and their conversations of the old days aren't typical reminiscences. After 24 years, Joerg - a convicted murderer and terrorist, is released from prison on a pardon. A former member of the Red Army Faction (or Baader-Meinhof Group), the announcement of Joerg's release is sure to send shock waves throughout Germany. But before this happens, his group of friends - most of whom had been RAF sympathizers - gather for his first weekend of freedom. They are invited by Christiane, Joerg's devoted sister, whose suffocating concern for her brother is matched only by the unrelenting pull of Marcko, a dangerously passionate young man intent on using Joerg to continue the cause.

Michael Berg tiene quince anos. Un dia, regresando a casa del colegio empieza a encontrarse mal y una mujer acude en su ayuda. La mujer se llama Hanna y tiene treinta y seis anos. Unas semanas despues, el muchacho, agradecido, le lleva a su casa un ramo de flores.
Este sera el principio de una relacion erotica en la que, antes de amarse. Ella siempre le pide a Michael que le lea en voz alta fragmentos de Schiller, Goethe, Tostoi, Dickens... el ritual se repite durante varios meses, hasta que un dia Hanna desaparece sin dejar rastro.
Siete anos despues, Michael, estudiante de derecho, acude al juicio contra cinco mujeres acusadas de criminales de guerra nazis y de ser las responsables de la muerte de varias personas en el campo de concentracion del que eran guardianas. Una de las acusadas es Hanna. Y Michael se debate entre los gratos recuerdos y la sed de justicia, trata de comprender que llevo a Hanna a cometer esas atrocidades, trata de descubrir quien es en realidad la mujer a la que amo...