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Synopsis
Heinrich Böll’s taut and haunting first novel tells the story of twenty-four-year-old Private Andreas as he journeys on a troop train across the German countryside to the Eastern front. Trapped, he knows that Hitler has already lost the war ... yet he is suddenly galvanized by the thought that he is on the way to his death.
As the train hurtles on, he riffs through prayers and memories, talks with other soldiers about what they’ve been through, and gazes desperately out the window at his country racing away. With mounting suspense, Andreas is gripped by one thought over all: Is there a way to defy his fate?
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About the Author
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.
Language Notes
Text: English, German (translation)
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- PublisherPenguin Books Ltd
- Publication date1979
- ISBN 10 0140047980
- ISBN 13 9780140047981
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
- Number of pages120
- Rating
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The Train was on Time
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Paperback. Condition: Fair. A readable copy of the book which may include some defects such as highlighting and notes. Cover and pages may be creased and show discolouration. Seller Inventory # GOR003278781
Quantity: 1 available
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The Train Was on Time
Published by
Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1979
ISBN 10: 0140047980
ISBN 13: 9780140047981
Used
Pictorial Wraps
First Edition
Seller: Bookwood, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Pictorial Wraps. Condition: Very Good. First Thus. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature 1972. Translated from the German by Leila Vennewitz. Cover illustration by Candy Amsden. Mass market paperback. Printed in Great Britain. Slight handling wear, former owner's neat ink name to first page, otherwise a nice clean tight solid softcover copy. 113pp. SB-94. Seller Inventory # 037692
Quantity: 1 available