The Train Was on Time

by Heinrich Böll and Heinrich Boll

Book Overview

Heinrich B ll'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... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810111233
• ISBN13: 9780810111233
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Northwestern University Press
• Length: 110 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.3" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Der Zug war pünktlich

I had to read this for a senior-level university class on the wars of the Twentieth Century. I read it originally in English, although I have since re-read it in the original German. I remember very clearly the day I sat down to read it. I had to read it and its companion novel, "Where were you, Adam?", and I was running behind on my reading. I had just finished the first novel, and I sat down to read the second novel-only 110 pages. And something happened that rarely happens to me reading: I was so affected that I cried. I sobbed through a good half of it...The story is of a young German soldier who leaves Paris on a train on a Wednesday in September of 1943 and he is absolutely positive he will die on Sunday at 6:00am. He has numerous opportunities to leave the train (on pain of court-martial, of course), and yet he cannot and will not. He feels powerless to resist his fate.Heinrich Böll was a master. And, while this is not one of his more famous novels, it is splendid. I strongly encourage you to pick this one up.

Tragic Postwar Delicacy

I started reading this book for a project in my high school German class, and finished it while I was traveling in Europe. it's very short, and shouldn't take more than a day to read-my mom claims it took less than two hours-but it took me a while, for whatever reason. Anyways, I highly recommend this book. The bleak, wartime images that Böll conjurs up stick with the reader long after finishing the book; I read it over a year ago, and certain lines and pictures still run through my head.Wolfgang Borchert and Erich Remarque get more press as German postwar authors, but Heinrich Böll, with this book, deserves attention. Read it- despite the bleak subject matter, it's fun, and even funny at parts.

Enter The Twilight Zone

This is a remarkable book that is only about 100 pages long. The author, Heinrich Boll, won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1972. It's clear as to why he won the Prize after reading this book. It's a well-written European Classic. I forget how I discovered it. I think I saw it listed as required reading for a Literature class somewhere in New York. It's about a German Soldier and his adventure on a train as he envisions and wonders how he will die. The 'Twilight Zone' ending comes only too SOON. Great book with some great lines...like the one that reminded me that life is beautiful and that cheese, white wine, bread and cookies make for a glorious meal. It's true. I tried the simplicity of this glorious meal, today, on this summer afternoon of June 23,2001.

"Fatalistic"

Poigniant and startling, The Train was on Time explores the idea of fate, and people's overwhelming concern with the future. Boll's sensitive writing allows this grim story to shine beyond its catastrophic end.