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The Train Was on Time
by Heinrich Boll
- New
- Paperback
- Condition
- New
- ISBN 10
- 0241370388
- ISBN 13
- 9780241370384
- Seller
-
Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom
10 Copies Available from This Seller
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About This Item
Paperback / softback. New. 'Boell's novel blows a stent in the human heart. . . It feels more necessary than ever.' Anna Funder, from the introduction 'This is the best book I have read this year; not by miles, but by whole astronomical units; I am stunned by it as if by a blow. It is *astonishing* to the extent that I cannot convey to you its power' Sarah Perry, bestselling author of The Essex Serpent and Melmoth Twenty-four-year-old Andreas, a disillusioned German soldier, is travelling on a troop train to the Eastern Front when he has an awful premonition that he will die in exactly five days. As he hurtles towards his death, he reflects on the chaos around him - the naive soldiers, the painfully thin girl who pours his coffee, the ruined countryside - with sudden, heart-breaking poignancy. Arriving in Poland the night before he is certain he will die, he meets Olina, a beautiful prostitute, and together they attempt to escape his fate... 'His work reaches the highest level of creative originality and stylistic perfection' Daily Telegraph 'Boll combines a mammoth intelligence with a literary outlook that is masterful and unique' Joseph Heller, author of Catch-22 'My most-admired contemporary novelist' John Ashbery 'From the moment I stepped on board the troop train with Private Andreas, concerns pertaining to my own world fell away completely. Holding this impelling book is tantamount to holding the young soldier's fate in one's hands. It is impossible to let go.' Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Pond
Synopsis
In 1972, Heinrich Böll became the first German to win the Nobel Prize for literature since Thomas Mann in 1929. Born in Cologne, in 1917, Böll was reared in a liberal Catholic, pacifist family. Drafted into the Wehrmacht, he served on the Russian and French fronts and was wounded four times before he found himself in an American prison camp. After the war he enrolled at the University of Cologne, but dropped out to write about his shattering experiences as a soldier. His first novel, The Train Was on Time , was published in 1949, and he went on to become one of the most prolific and important of post-war German writers. His best-known novels include Billiards at Half-Past Nine (1959), The Clown (1963), Group Portrait with Lady (1971), and The Safety Net (1979). In 1981 he published a memoir, What’s to Become of the Boy? or: Something to Do with Books . Böll served for several years as the president of International P.E.N. and was a leading defender of the intellectual freedom of writers throughout the world. He died in June 1985. Translator Leila Vennewitz was a distinguished translator of many German authors including Uwe Johnson, Hermann Hesse, Uwe Timm, Alexander Kluge, and Alfred Andersch.
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Details
- Bookseller
- The Saint Bookstore
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- A9780241370384
- Title
- The Train Was on Time
- Author
- Heinrich Boll
- Format/Binding
- Paperback / softback
- Book Condition
- New
- Quantity Available
- 10
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 0241370388
- ISBN 13
- 9780241370384
Terms of Sale
The Saint Bookstore
Refunds or Returns: A full refund of the price paid will be given if returned within 30 days in undamaged condition. If the product is faulty, we may send a replacement.
About the Seller
The Saint Bookstore
Biblio member since 2018
Southport, Merseyside
About The Saint Bookstore
The Saint Bookstore specialises in hard to find titles & also offers delivery worldwide for reasonable rates.
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