100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Fast Overnight NZ-wide Delivery 🚀

The Train Was on Time

By Heinrich Boll
Series: Penguin European Writers
0.0 (0 reviews)
3.88 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating. ( 3,739 ratings, 369 reviews)
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 Böll 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.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2400
Elsewhere:
$2600
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

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.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

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

View all
  • The Beautiful Summer
    In 1930s Italy, a young girl falls in love for the first time, with devastating consequences; introduction by Elizabeth Strout. Life was a perpetual holiday in those days... It's the height of summer in 1930s Italy, and sixteen-year-old Ginia is desperate for adventure. So begins a fateful friendship with Amelia, a stylish and sophisticated artist's model who envelops her in...
    By Cesare Pavese
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • 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...
    By Heinrich Boll
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Three Summers
    A gorgeous Greek modern classic about three sisters coming-of-age over the course of three summers, introduced by Polly Samson. That summer we bought big straw hats. Maria's had cherries around the rim, Infanta's had forget-me-nots, and mine had poppies as red as fire. . . Three Summers is a warm and tender tale of three sisters growing up in the...
    By Margarita Liberaki
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Lady and the Little Fox Fur
    A quirky and compassionate tale of a woman's solitary wanderings through 1960s Paris, with an introduction by Deborah Levy. The Lady and the Little Fox Fur is an existential feminist classic about an old woman who lives alone in a tiny attic flat in Paris, where she counts out coffee beans every morning beneath the roar of the overhead metro....
    By Violette Leduc
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Women
    A gorgeous Romanian modern classic about love and relationships, with an introduction by Booker-winner John Banville. Stefan Valeriu, a young Romanian student, holidays alone in the Alps, where he soon becomes entangled in romantic relationships with three different women who pass through his guesthouse. We follow Stefan after his return to Paris as he reflects on the women in his...
    By Mihail Sebastian
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Stories of Ireland
    A collection of delightful short stories from one of Ireland's greatest ever writers, Brian Friel. 'A fake! A quack! A charlatan! Get a grip on yourself, woman! We'll say another rosary and then I'll leave you home.' Stories of Ireland is a brilliant, colourful compendium of mid-century Irish experience from one of Ireland's greatest ever writers, Brian Friel. Demonstrating all...
    By Brian Friel
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $3500
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

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 Böll is praised for its creative originality, stylistic perfection, and unique literary outlook. Esteemed authors like Joseph Heller and John Ashbery have highlighted Böll'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.

Book Hero reading reviews

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.

Also by Heinrich Boll

View all
  • The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
    An unforgettable novel that shows how easily a life can be ruined when the police and the media are allowed to run rampant through a person's life. It resonates as strongly today as it did in 1970s Germany. From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum tells the story of Katharina Blum, a...
    By Heinrich Boll
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Women in a River Landscape
    Women in a River Landscape
    As West German society increasingly took on a gloss of economic well-being, Boll's trenchant novels cut through the sleek outward show to reveal festering fears and suppurating psychic states, excluding poison into the system. Women in a River Landscape brings this process to a fierce, fine culmination. Boll brings a humane understanding as well as indignation to the predicament of...
    By Heinrich Boll
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3200
    Backorder
    Ships mid September

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Buy to Win
    New Release
    Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series—now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Big Little Truths
    Parenting teens is not for the faint of heart but Madeline, Jane and Celeste have been through worse. It's been a decade since the school trivia night that changed their lives forever and now they're living blissfully ordinary suburban lives. But when an anonymous grisly package arrives at the local high school, and a man in a green Volvo is...
    By Liane Moriarty
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    17% off
    Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    By Sarah A. Parker
    Hardback
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    On Sale
    17% off
    Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    By Andy Weir
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Buy to Win
    East of Eden
    Set against the backdrop of the fertile Salinas Valley in California, East of Eden is a profound and compelling novel by John Steinbeck, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. This masterful narrative charts the intertwining destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—across multiple generations. Steinbeck's intricate portrayal of human nature and enduring exploration of moral themes...
    By John Steinbeck
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all