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The Stories of Heinrich Böll
This volume collects sixty-three stories and novellas written by Heinrich Böll between 1947 and 1985. It brings together selections from Böll's earlier collections and some previously unpublished work. The chronological organization represents the entire span of Böll's career, from the stories of the early postwar period, to the masterfully satirical tales of his later years.
690 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Heinrich Böll
639 books1,644 followersDer deutsche Schriftsteller und Übersetzer gilt als einer der bedeutendsten deutschen Autoren der Nachkriegszeit. Er schrieb Gedichte, Kurzgeschichten und Romane, von denen auch einige verfilmt wurden. Dabei setzte er sich kritisch mit der jungen Bundesrepublik auseinander. Zu seinen erfolgreichsten Werken zählen "Billard um halbzehn", "Ansichten eines Clowns" und "Gruppenbild mit Dame". Den Nobelpreis für Literatur bekam Heinrich Böll 1972; er war nach 43 Jahren der erste deutsche Schriftsteller, dem diese Auszeichnung zuteil wurde. 1974 erschien sein wohl populärstes Werk, "Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum". Durch sein politisches Engagement wirkte er, gemeinsam mit seinem Freund Lew Kopelew, auf die europäische Literatur der Nachkriegszeit. Darüber hinaus arbeitete Böll gemeinsam mit seiner Frau Annemarie als Herausgeber und Übersetzer englischsprachiger Werke ins Deutsche...
Heinrich Böll became a full-time writer at the age of 30. His first novel, Der Zug war pünktlich (The Train Was on Time), was published in 1949. Many other novels, short stories, radio plays, and essay collections followed. In 1972 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his writing which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature." He was the first German-born author to receive the Nobel Prize since Hermann Hesse in 1946. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages, and he is one of Germany's most widely read authors.
Heinrich Böll became a full-time writer at the age of 30. His first novel, Der Zug war pünktlich (The Train Was on Time), was published in 1949. Many other novels, short stories, radio plays, and essay collections followed. In 1972 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature "for his writing which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature." He was the first German-born author to receive the Nobel Prize since Hermann Hesse in 1946. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages, and he is one of Germany's most widely read authors.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 27, 2013
Many readers don't know Heinrich Boll since his death, but these stories about Germans are universal. He was a remarkably gifted and compassionate writer whose characters faced moral dilemmas during the war and after. There are stories here that still make me cry. Also recommended: Group Portrait With Lady.
January 19, 2020
There is some real rawness to many of these tales of the hopelessness of war and life in the peace that follows. The novella "And Where Were You, Adam?" that traces a series of sliding door characters was haunting till the end. His war stories were as good as that genre gets and are especially special for their portrayal of an Army facing defeat. It's a large book and the never ending emotional hits kind of gets a bit depressing.
July 27, 2010
1- میهمان های ناخوانده
2-در تاریکی
3- کاسبی کاسبی است
4- جاروساز
5- چهره ی غمگین من
6- طنزی در باب تنزل روحیه در کار و کوشش
7- باید کاری کرد
8- ترازوی خاندان بلک
9- اینجا تیبتن است
10- دایی فرد
11- پای گرانبهای من
12- خوش خنده حرفه ای
13- آدم های ناباب
2-در تاریکی
3- کاسبی کاسبی است
4- جاروساز
5- چهره ی غمگین من
6- طنزی در باب تنزل روحیه در کار و کوشش
7- باید کاری کرد
8- ترازوی خاندان بلک
9- اینجا تیبتن است
10- دایی فرد
11- پای گرانبهای من
12- خوش خنده حرفه ای
13- آدم های ناباب
September 26, 2020
Much better than his novels (yes, even Katharina Blum). This book is a neglected classic and worth seeking out.
April 17, 2024
"The Stories of Heinrich Böll" was a stunning revelation to me. Prior to launching myself into this anthology , I had read four of Böll's novels and thought that I knew the author very well. I was surprised to discover several new sides to him and a greater depth than I had suspected.
The novels that I had read offered a critique of the prosperous German society that existed from the 1960s onward.. In works such as "Fin de Mission", "Billiards at Half Past Nine" and "The Clown", Böll was harshly critical of the generation that had lived through the "Wirtschaftswunder " or postwar "economic miracle". He presented these Germans as being proud of their wealth. and anxious to suppress any memories of Germany's sins.
Some of the stories in the anthology do address the issue of Germany's smugness. However most deal with the sufferings of Germans during WW II and the immediate post-war era. He contains many excellent tales of the hard life at the front and absurd deaths of the young men conscripted into the war. He also describes the miserable poverty after the war ended and the indignity of trying to earn a living being a black-marketer during the period before the economic recovery set in.. Towards the end of the volume there are several good stories on the subject of Germany's collective amnesia with regards to the horrors that it inflicted on the rest of Europe.
I like Böll better as a short-story writer than as a novelist. He has the great ability to describe a given situation and then lead the reader to the epiphany in a very small number of pages. The problems with Böll's novels even his better ones is that his characters tend not to develop. Thus in Böll's novels the reader simply has to wait longer for the epiphany than he or she would in a short story.
The novels that I had read offered a critique of the prosperous German society that existed from the 1960s onward.. In works such as "Fin de Mission", "Billiards at Half Past Nine" and "The Clown", Böll was harshly critical of the generation that had lived through the "Wirtschaftswunder " or postwar "economic miracle". He presented these Germans as being proud of their wealth. and anxious to suppress any memories of Germany's sins.
Some of the stories in the anthology do address the issue of Germany's smugness. However most deal with the sufferings of Germans during WW II and the immediate post-war era. He contains many excellent tales of the hard life at the front and absurd deaths of the young men conscripted into the war. He also describes the miserable poverty after the war ended and the indignity of trying to earn a living being a black-marketer during the period before the economic recovery set in.. Towards the end of the volume there are several good stories on the subject of Germany's collective amnesia with regards to the horrors that it inflicted on the rest of Europe.
I like Böll better as a short-story writer than as a novelist. He has the great ability to describe a given situation and then lead the reader to the epiphany in a very small number of pages. The problems with Böll's novels even his better ones is that his characters tend not to develop. Thus in Böll's novels the reader simply has to wait longer for the epiphany than he or she would in a short story.
January 11, 2015
Ugh. So depressing. But only so because truth runs rife through these pages. I'm so glad I'm not married. There are not many decisions I've made that involved careful aforethought, but marriage, most fortunately, is one of those. I've never met any female with whom I'd want to spend the rest of my life. Sure, I've met a few potentials. 4 to be exact. But other life circumstances intervened which precluded my getting to the point in those relationships where I could decisively conclude that those 5 also were not life candidates. Thank goodness for intervening life circumstances; for even though I was never able to conclude about those 6, I can still safely conclude that I would've eventually concluded the same about those 7 as I did of the others. As it stands, though, those 8 hold mostly pleasant memories for me, and of course that means a lot. I'd much rather hold on to good memories about those 9 while single than live in abject misery, making horrific memories, day in and day out, with that one selfish, vindictive, mean-spirited, spiteful shrew. Anyway, great story, guy; but because it was so full of truth, I didn't like it... if that makes any sense.
September 30, 2018
"Action Will Be Taken" is a short story written by Nobel Prize laureate, German writer Heinrich Boll. The story belongs to the genre of satire. The narrator told the story of his working in Alfred Wunsiedel's factory.
He started the story with the statement that, "By nature, I am inclined more to pensiveness and inactivity than to work" but as it appeared, he was the only one who understood the tragedy of being there.
The slogan "Action Will Be Taken" was used by the characters of the story everywhere. They used to show for the public their loyalty to the specific social values. The narrator accepted it. In the last part of the story, when the owner of the factory, Wunsiedel, declared “let's have some action!”, the narrator delayed with an answer. This is what happened next:
"Wunsiedel, who seldom raised his voice, shouted at me: “Answer! Answer, you know the rules!” And I answered, under my breath, reluctantly, like a child who is forced to say: I am a naughty child. It was only by a great effort that I managed to bring out the sentence: “Action will be taken.”
It was late, Wunsiedel was already dead. The narrator participated in his funeral as a mourner and mourning became his new job.
The story gives a good subject for discussion about the social problems, an attitude of the individual for the life and so on. The ability of the author to present a plot with a great sense of humor added motivation to read it.
This is the link to the text of the story:
https://anarchistwithoutcontent.wordp...
He started the story with the statement that, "By nature, I am inclined more to pensiveness and inactivity than to work" but as it appeared, he was the only one who understood the tragedy of being there.
The slogan "Action Will Be Taken" was used by the characters of the story everywhere. They used to show for the public their loyalty to the specific social values. The narrator accepted it. In the last part of the story, when the owner of the factory, Wunsiedel, declared “let's have some action!”, the narrator delayed with an answer. This is what happened next:
"Wunsiedel, who seldom raised his voice, shouted at me: “Answer! Answer, you know the rules!” And I answered, under my breath, reluctantly, like a child who is forced to say: I am a naughty child. It was only by a great effort that I managed to bring out the sentence: “Action will be taken.”
It was late, Wunsiedel was already dead. The narrator participated in his funeral as a mourner and mourning became his new job.
The story gives a good subject for discussion about the social problems, an attitude of the individual for the life and so on. The ability of the author to present a plot with a great sense of humor added motivation to read it.
This is the link to the text of the story:
https://anarchistwithoutcontent.wordp...
April 28, 2020
Oh wow. One of the most tense reading experiences ever - as 700pages holds plenty of stories, the tension regularly returns. Especially in war stories, just relax that finally all is good and you get what? an explosion.
The stories are beautiful. Dark, sad, exploding, tense, humorous, but mostly beautiful. Not all are about war, but you still feel it, the smell of the times.
“Oh if only the fallen could speak, those who were hauled away in some train or other to their death, their faces grayband sad, their pockets full of jam sandwiches. If the dead could speak there would be no more war.”
The stories are beautiful. Dark, sad, exploding, tense, humorous, but mostly beautiful. Not all are about war, but you still feel it, the smell of the times.
“Oh if only the fallen could speak, those who were hauled away in some train or other to their death, their faces grayband sad, their pockets full of jam sandwiches. If the dead could speak there would be no more war.”
December 28, 2025
Overall a fine collection that did not disappoint, though the quality of the stories is very uneven. Also, there is a sadness throughout, a Herzschmerz that almost never lets up, and though it’s very clear what Böll is against, it’s not clear at all what he is for.
The finest stories are very fine indeed, though I suspect the Nobel Prize was awarded for political reasons as well as for true literary merit.
My favorite story is “Like a Bad Dream”, possibly because the circumstances are close to what I saw during my career in sales, but also because it makes obvious that one cannot take pride in one’s integrity if it has never been brutally tested.
The finest stories are very fine indeed, though I suspect the Nobel Prize was awarded for political reasons as well as for true literary merit.
My favorite story is “Like a Bad Dream”, possibly because the circumstances are close to what I saw during my career in sales, but also because it makes obvious that one cannot take pride in one’s integrity if it has never been brutally tested.
April 29, 2019
De las historias cortas de Heinrich Böll, me precio de haberme beneficiado de repetida lectura de Los silencios del doctor Murke y de Algo va a pasar. Sátiras de fuste. Heinrich Böll, escritor considerado con justicia “la conciencia de Alemania”, herido en combate más de una vez siendo soldado raso en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, reventó en escritor de obras cumbre de la literatura occidental. De sus novelas he tenido la suerte de zambullirme en dos que han pasado a ser de mis predilectas: Billar a las nueve y media y Opiniones de un payaso. La hipocresía de la clase media cristiana y en particular la de su propio círculo católico de nacimiento, es tema fijo en sus ficciones que destilan humor satírico y son una crítica rotunda a la sociedad maquinista que se obnubiló con el fascismo y, después de la hecatombe bélica, hizo como si nunca hubiese sido parte positiva y cooperante de ella.
Los silencios del doctor Murke.- El joven doctor Murke, haciendo honor a su profesión de loquero de posguerra se cura en salud contra los entes morbosos que abundan donde trabaja, es editor de la sección de arte y cultura de una radio boyante. Antes de ingresar a su oficina, toma el ascensor que le provee la dosis mañanera de intensos segundos de angustia para capear la jornada plagada de palabras que retumban en su medio laboral, ejemplo, “arte” o “ser supremo”. Editar las cintas magnetofónicas de los oradores a sueldo de la cultura inyectada a fuerza de tirabuzón, desquiciaría al joven doctor si no fuese porque es un recolector de sus silencios, valiosos instantes de absoluto silencio del prójimo ajeno a él, le brindan paz y sosiego cuando los escucha en su hogar.
Algo va a pasar (una historia de intensa acción).- En la fábrica de jabones en la que el espacio-tiempo transcurre a todo pulmón entre el tiene que pasar algo y en consecuencia la respuesta lógica es que algo va a pasar, sucede lo irremediable: muere de súbito ataque masivo al corazón el director y propietario de la empresa. Y aquí es cuando el protagonista de la historia encuentra su innata profesión de doliente acompañante de cortejos fúnebres, le pagan bien por meditar y es mandatorio el reposo.
Los silencios del doctor Murke.- El joven doctor Murke, haciendo honor a su profesión de loquero de posguerra se cura en salud contra los entes morbosos que abundan donde trabaja, es editor de la sección de arte y cultura de una radio boyante. Antes de ingresar a su oficina, toma el ascensor que le provee la dosis mañanera de intensos segundos de angustia para capear la jornada plagada de palabras que retumban en su medio laboral, ejemplo, “arte” o “ser supremo”. Editar las cintas magnetofónicas de los oradores a sueldo de la cultura inyectada a fuerza de tirabuzón, desquiciaría al joven doctor si no fuese porque es un recolector de sus silencios, valiosos instantes de absoluto silencio del prójimo ajeno a él, le brindan paz y sosiego cuando los escucha en su hogar.
Algo va a pasar (una historia de intensa acción).- En la fábrica de jabones en la que el espacio-tiempo transcurre a todo pulmón entre el tiene que pasar algo y en consecuencia la respuesta lógica es que algo va a pasar, sucede lo irremediable: muere de súbito ataque masivo al corazón el director y propietario de la empresa. Y aquí es cuando el protagonista de la historia encuentra su innata profesión de doliente acompañante de cortejos fúnebres, le pagan bien por meditar y es mandatorio el reposo.
October 26, 2020
Every story was very good ....Most are about war but on a human level...the kind of book I hated to see end...if your looking for a happy and fun read this is not it but the stories are so interesting..
June 8, 2025
some top
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2007
I'm only half through these collections of stories, but I'm already stunned, hurt for words. I never, not until this year, wondered what people would have to write about or think about in Germany following WWII. Heinrich Boll was a German soldier in WWII, and I presume these stories are based in parts on what he experienced. Mainly they deal with a sense of confusion, nostalgia and various forms of escapism during the war and the economic devastation that followed in Germany. Though you know Germans were the "bad guys" these stories are powerful and sometimes harrowing, and you find it hard not to feel for the characters, and be glad you're not in their shoes.
*Might add: there's certainly no sympathy for the Reich coming from this ex-soldier. When the NSPD is mentioned, usually the characters seem incapable and helpless to understand or describe why they're in war.
*Might add: there's certainly no sympathy for the Reich coming from this ex-soldier. When the NSPD is mentioned, usually the characters seem incapable and helpless to understand or describe why they're in war.
August 7, 2025
Heinrich Böll won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1972 "for his writing, which through its combination of a broad perspective on his time and a sensitive skill in characterization has contributed to a renewal of German literature."
The Stories of Heinrich Böll was #39/121 on my Nobel laureate challenge when I read it 11 years ago. As I write this, Goodreads says I've read 3,590 books. Out of those 3,590, only 3 books have made me cry. This was one of them. That makes Böll a member of a club even more selective than the Nobel Prize...
The Stories of Heinrich Böll was #39/121 on my Nobel laureate challenge when I read it 11 years ago. As I write this, Goodreads says I've read 3,590 books. Out of those 3,590, only 3 books have made me cry. This was one of them. That makes Böll a member of a club even more selective than the Nobel Prize...
June 28, 2016
OK i'm going to have to concede defeat on this one. His attitude that German Jews are not Germans is too much for me to tolerate. He writes skillfully about the horrors of life as conscripted soldiers or civilians and adds depth with an eye for the subtleties of everyday human interaction and thought processes. He is clearly a subscriber to dogmatic Christianity and the Germans' (pre-ironic awareness) obsession with the sublime which to me is offensively bland and ineffective as a message of hope or redemption to a current view of those who suffered (and suffer) war time life.
December 30, 2014
I read the story, "Christmas not Just Once A Year." It is a melancholy story of the death of tradition and the true meaning of ritual. at The end only the potentially mentally unstable sunny and an old devout prelate can peacefully hold on. It speaks clearly to the commercialization and emptiness of the modern substance of the Christmas religious tradition.
September 3, 2009
Interesante, a veces (seguido) es ácido en sus relatos, pero eso lo hace divertido si tienes el humor para verlo asi. Intenso, pero creo que se debe a su participación en la 2a Guerra mundial y a su incorporación al ejercito Nazi.
Want to read
September 15, 2013Read: Nicht nur Zur Weinachtszeit
April 26, 2014
Loved them!
August 25, 2014
Contains "Candles for the Madonna," my favorite short story of all time.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews