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The Train Was on Time

By Heinrich Boll
Series: Penguin European Writers
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3.88 goodreads logo

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Train Was on Time by Heinrich BΓΆll follows the journey of a German soldier named Andreas as he travels by train to the Eastern Front during World War II. Throughout the journey, Andreas grapples with a growing sense of foreboding and existential dread, reflecting on life, fate, and the inevitability of death. The novel paints a vivid picture of the human condition amid the stark reality of war.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate evocative storytelling set against the backdrop of World War II. This compelling narrative focuses on a soldier's existential journey, exploring themes of fate, mortality, and the human condition. It may appeal to readers who are drawn to introspective stories framed within historical contexts.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A hauntingly beautiful tale about a young German soldier, from a Nobel Prize-winning author, introduced by Anna Funder.

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.

The Train Was on Time explores themes of fate, existential dread, and the fleeting moments of connection that make life meaningful amid chaos.

Series: Penguin European Writers

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  • The Train Was on Time
    A hauntingly beautiful tale about a young German soldier, from a Nobel Prize-winning author, introduced by Anna Funder. 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...
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Train Was on Time by Heinrich BΓΆll is praised for its creative originality, stylistic perfection, and unique literary outlook. Esteemed authors like Joseph Heller and John Ashbery have highlighted BΓΆll's intelligence and innovative narrative style. Readers find themselves completely immersed in the fate of the protagonist, Private Andreas, with the story's gripping nature making it hard to put down. Reviewers emphasise the novel's ability to convey profound emotions and necessary themes, making it a powerful and essential read.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241370384

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 April 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Anna Funder

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 8.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 103g

Pages: 128

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Heinrich Boll Literary Fiction Penguin Books Series: Penguin European Writers

About the Author

Heinrich B ll won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972. Born in Cologne in 1917, B ll was raised in a pacifist Catholic family who later opposed Nazism. After an apprenticeship at a bookseller's, he was drafted into the Nazi Wehrmacht before being sent to an American prisoner-of-war camp in 1945. After the war he enrolled at university, but dropped out to write about his shattering experiences as a soldier- The Train Was on Time was his first novel and he went on to become one of the most important postwar German authors. B ll 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 1985.

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