Order of Book Series
0

Bernhard Schlink Books in Order

Bernhard Schlink has written 14 books, published between 1987 and 2021. The first book is Self's Punishment (1987) and the newest is The Granddaughter (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
14
Published
1987–2021
Pages on record
2,656 in 10 of 14 books
Reading time
44–66 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,656 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 10 of 14 titles with a page count on record.

See all 14 books in order Printable Bernhard Schlink checklist
Photo of Bernhard Schlink, author of the Gerhard Self series

Bernhard Schlink, born on 6 July 1944, is a German novelist who also works as a lawyer and an academic. The Reader, first published in 1995, became an international bestseller and remains the novel most associated with Schlink. The 2014 Park Kyong-ni Prize went to Schlink. Fourteen books are catalogued, from Self's Punishment (1987) to The Granddaughter (2021). Schlink's catalogued series is Gerhard Self, and subject headings list Gerhard Self as a fictitious character.

How many Bernhard Schlink books are there?

Bernhard Schlink has 14 books, released between 1987 and 2021. 3 of them belong to the Gerhard Self series.

Bernhard Schlink Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 14 Bernhard Schlink books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Self's Punishment by Bernhard Schlink, book 1 of the Gerhard Self series (1987)
  2. Cover of Self's Deception by Bernhard Schlink, book 2 of the Gerhard Self series (1992)
  3. Cover of The Reader by Bernhard Schlink (1995)
  4. Cover of Flights of Love by Bernhard Schlink (2000)
  5. Cover of Self's Murder by Bernhard Schlink, book 3 of the Gerhard Self series (2001)
  6. Cover of Homecoming by Bernhard Schlink (2006)
  7. Cover of Guilt About the Past by Bernhard Schlink (2007)
  8. Cover of The Weekend by Bernhard Schlink (2010)
  9. Cover of The Woman on the Stairs by Bernhard Schlink (2014)
  1. 1
    Self's PunishmentGerhard Self #11987 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Self's DeceptionGerhard Self #21992 · 334 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992334
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Reader1995 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Flights of Love2000 · 308 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000308
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Self's MurderGerhard Self #32001 · 262 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001262
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Homecoming2006 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Guilt About the Past2007 · confirmed 1/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Gordian Knot2009 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Summer Lies2010 · 229 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010229
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Weekend2010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Woman on the Stairs2014 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2014227
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Abschiedsfarben2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Olga2020 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2020288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Granddaughter2021 · confirmed 1/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Bernhard Schlink books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Gerhard Self in order

3 books
  1. 1. Self's Punishment
  2. 2. Self's Deception
  3. 3. Self's Murder

Standalone books

11 books

11 Bernhard Schlink titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Bernhard Schlink books in order?

You only need to read Bernhard Schlink books in order within the Gerhard Self series, which holds 3 of the 14 Bernhard Schlink books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Bernhard Schlink

Start with Self's Punishment (1987), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Bernhard Schlink book?

The Granddaughter (2021) is the newest Bernhard Schlink book released so far.

Is there a new Bernhard Schlink book coming?

No next Bernhard Schlink book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Bernhard Schlink has won

Wikidata records 7 awards for Bernhard Schlink. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Pak Kyong-ni Prize2014Won
  • Evangelischer Buchpreis2000Wonfor The Reader
  • Honorary Award of the Heinrich Heine Society2000Won
  • Hans Fallada Prize1998Won
  • Prix Laure Bataillon1997Won
  • German Crime Fiction Award1993Won
  • Friedrich Glauser Award1989Won

Bernhard Schlink at a glance

Paused
No new Bernhard Schlink title has appeared for 5 years. The last was published in 2021.
Release pace
Bernhard Schlink books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
Length
2,656 pages across the 10 of 14 books with a recorded length, a median of 259 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Bernhard Schlink books, 5 of 14, were published in the 2000s.

What the Bernhard Schlink books are about

12 of the 14 Bernhard Schlink books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: germany is tagged on 4 of 12. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.