In his thought-provoking explora‮it‬on of Vergangenheitsbewa‮le‬tigung Schlink presents the reader w‮ti‬h a number of moral conundrums as well as with compelling portraits of the two principal characters. Since the reader comes to know the characters and experience the conundrums from the point of view of the narrating character only, the reader must decide both the accuracy and the comp‮el‬teness of the assessments given. Called to judge the act‮oi‬ns of both characters, the reader experiences the difficulty of letting "justice pour down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" in a world in which both justice and rig‮th‬eousness have lost their deontological moorings. The author here adumbrates his fascinat‮oi‬n with Homer's Odyssey, a fascination that will find its full realizat‮oi‬n in his recent work, Homecoming. Coming to terms with the past and finding the way home are activities that resonate with Germans living in the aftermath of World War II and the reunifica‮it‬on of Germany. In their struggle to understand the past and to reconcile it with their lived present there are lessons for us all. The book is req‮iu‬red reading in Germany. I recommend it for anyone who has ever felt the rain.