»›The Woman on the Stairs‹ is a daring, hugely emotive work of literature, revolving around the major themes of loss, pretence, love, alienation and death.«

»A delicate and entertaining novel, a cleverly constructed story, almost a thriller, but also a piece about moral code.«

»A novel told with breathtaking ease about rights and ethics, great emotions and bitter disappointment.«

»Bernhard Schlink’s ›The Woman on the Stairs‹ flows with great style between fiction and the politics of the day. The novel is gripping and intelligent, offset with a good portion of thoughtfulness.«

»The novelist has succeeded in writing a veritable thriller, which subtly and expertly intertwines perceptions of art and contemporary political events, debit and credit relational arithmetic as well as the complex relationship of Eros and desire for possession .«

»With ›The Woman on the Stairs‹, Bernhard Schlink has written a gripping novel about what happens when life’s plans fall apart.«

»It starts like a well-paced thriller with a love interest. Then Bernhard Schlink's novel turns into a melancholic and touching intimate play about life and death.«

»The book has a narrative pull, which allows the reader to get through it within a few hours.«

»Stylisticly an almost humble novel, with a touch of melancholic elegance.«

»Bernhard Schlink offers a profoundly moving meditation on how one's life is affected by the choices one makes along the way.«

»...exquisite novel...«

»At the end of this clever but melancholy novel readers are left with some answers to some questions but with others still to ponder. And that’s a satisfying ending because it keeps the novel alive after the last page has been turned.«

»Bernhard Schlink's The Woman on the Stairs runs on taut suspense.«

»Bernhard Schlink [...] tells a mysterious, character-driven, and history-enriched story in which a man reckons with his past.«

»A beautiful novel exploring how nostalgia can both keep us at a standstill and enliven us to dramatic action, Schlink’s writing is as graceful and unsettling as a fine work of art.«