I must make a few notes here before I forget all about this book, read soon after finishing After Romulus and then Romulus, My Father. These books are written about life after escaping from Europe after WWII. The Silent Angel is about the first days in Cologne after Germany gave in. The town was particularly devastated by the Allied bombings.

It was Boll's first novel and he couldn't find a publisher. It is easy to point at the subject matter for that. I gather he is known as Germany's post-war conscience and it isn't clear that Germany wanted to have one. As a huge number of Nazis, as well as sympathisers must have done well politically and economically in the reconstruction, one can see that the market for such a book would be uncertain at best. And yet, one can't exactly say he gets stuck into his compatriots either. He portrays one wealthy bad man, bad before, during and after the war. But that's it. Everybody else is okay. As if the odd bad man were enough to explain the whole appalling rise and spread of the Nazis. I hope his conscience took stronger hold at some point in his work.

rest is here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/the-silent-angel-by-heinr... ( )

I must make a few notes here before I forget all about this book, read soon after finishing After Romulus and then Romulus, My Father. These books are written about life after escaping from Europe after WWII. The Silent Angel is about the first days in Cologne after Germany gave in. The town was particularly devastated by the Allied bombings.

It was Boll's first novel and he couldn't find a publisher. It is easy to point at the subject matter for that. I gather he is known as Germany's post-war conscience and it isn't clear that Germany wanted to have one. As a huge number of Nazis, as well as sympathisers must have done well politically and economically in the reconstruction, one can see that the market for such a book would be uncertain at best. And yet, one can't exactly say he gets stuck into his compatriots either. He portrays one wealthy bad man, bad before, during and after the war. But that's it. Everybody else is okay. As if the odd bad man were enough to explain the whole appalling rise and spread of the Nazis. I hope his conscience took stronger hold at some point in his work.

rest is here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/the-silent-angel-by-heinr... ( )

I must make a few notes here before I forget all about this book, read soon after finishing After Romulus and then Romulus, My Father. These books are written about life after escaping from Europe after WWII. The Silent Angel is about the first days in Cologne after Germany gave in. The town was particularly devastated by the Allied bombings.

It was Boll's first novel and he couldn't find a publisher. It is easy to point at the subject matter for that. I gather he is known as Germany's post-war conscience and it isn't clear that Germany wanted to have one. As a huge number of Nazis, as well as sympathisers must have done well politically and economically in the reconstruction, one can see that the market for such a book would be uncertain at best. And yet, one can't exactly say he gets stuck into his compatriots either. He portrays one wealthy bad man, bad before, during and after the war. But that's it. Everybody else is okay. As if the odd bad man were enough to explain the whole appalling rise and spread of the Nazis. I hope his conscience took stronger hold at some point in his work.

rest is here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/the-silent-angel-by-heinr... ( )

Hans Schnitzler deserteerde uit het Duitse leger en op de dag van de capitulatie keert hij -met valse papieren- terug naar zijn geboortestad.
In het boek wordt nergens over oorlogshandelingen geschreven; het verhaal gaat over de bewoners en hun over overlevingsdrang. Hans ontmoet een vrouw en op de puinhopen ontluikt een liefdesrelatie.
Kort gezegd: dat is het verhaal. Maar er is meer. In een tijd van wederopbouw zat het Duitse volk -volgens de uitgever- niet te wachten op oorlogsliteratuur, dus werd het boek in 1950 niet uitgegeven. In 1992 gaf de weduwe Böll het volledige manuscript vrij.

De vertelling is anekdotisch opgezet met als samenhangend element de plaats waar het verhaal zich afspeelt. De pen is van een schrijver die gerekend mag worden tot de belangrijkste erflaters van de naoorlogse literatuur. Met een stem die nog steeds gehoord mag worden en naar mijn mening node wordt gemist.

Inmiddels diverse malen gelezen en steeds weer komt die leegte die na het overlijden van Böll is ontstaan weer “tot leven”. ( )

It's out of print I believe, but worth picking up a copy on eBay if you can find it. Sad & touching. ( )