The Essential Heinrich Böll

THE COLLECTED STORIES
“Böll combines a mammoth intelligence with a literary outlook that is masterful and unique.”—Joseph Heller

BILLIARDS AT HALF-PAST NINE
“Daringly and hypnotically written… an extended soliloquy on memory, recrimination and tenuous hope.” —Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

THE TRAIN WAS ON TIME

“Böll has feelingly symbolized a guilty Germany doing penance for its sins through suffering and death.” —Time

GROUP PORTRAIT WITH LADY
“His most grandly conceived [novel]… the magnum opus which so far crowns his work.” —The Nobel Prize Committee

THE SAFETY NET
“His work reaches the highest level of creative originality and stylistic perfection.” The Daily Telegraph

IRISH JOURNAL
“Irish Journal has a beguiling charm that perfectly suits the landscape and temperament of its subject.” —BILL BRYSON, The New York Times Book Review 

WHAT’S TO BECOME OF THE BOY? OR SOMETHING TO DO WITH BOOKS
What’s to Become of the Boy? makes an ideal short introduction to Böll. At the same time, it offers an unusual perspective on Hitler’s rise to power: The rise of totalitarianism and the stultification of cicil society, as seen through the eyes of a teenage boy.” —Anne Applebaum, from the introduction

HEINRICH BÖLL was born in Cologne in 1917. Despite his background as a Catholic pacifist, Böll was conscripted and saw combat during the second World War. He was wounded four times before surrendering to American Soldiers. He published his first novel, The Train Was on Time, in 1949. His best-known novels include The Clown, Billiards at Half-Past Nine, and Group Portrait with Lady. Böll served as president of PEN and was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1972.

Close
MobyLives