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Set in post-war Germany in the late 50's (although large parts of the narrative focuses on events from the past), Heinrich Böll has written a multi-layered and complex work of brilliance, that uses a free-form narrative, and, on a limited scale, a more structured recognizable one, which alternates around depending on whether in the past or present. And I have to say it's masterfully done. Böll starts out by giving nothing away, regarding names, where we are, or what's going on, landing the reader smack-bang in a scene that could have been plucked from the middle of a story rather than the beginning of one. Adept, and with a keen eye, he unravels the Faehmel family that lie at the heart of his novel. Covering three generations of the family, two world wars, thus spanning many decades. You might think a sweeping epic is on the cards, but it fact, it's quite the opposite. In real time, the novel plays out over only a single day.

One could believe the grass roots of the novel lies with father and son architects. Heinrich the elder, is selected post-WW1 to rebuild a local abbey suffering from neglect. The son, Robert (who plays billiards, with a cognac, without fail, from half-past nine to eleven), follows his father's footsteps into the building trade, but then averts away from development into demolition during WW2. And then we have Joseph, Robert's son, who likewise keeps with family tradition. But, actually the core theme of Böll's novel is that of the struggles of women, especially that of the mother, entrenched in the ideas of virtue, sacrifice, and honesty, and how greater the choices made can affect the wider scope. So, in essence, the manic confessions of Robert's mother, Joanna, really is the bread and butter of Böll's story. It is also, more importantly, a searing indictment of Nazi Germany.
The more I think about the level of depth Heinrich Böll depicts throughout the novel, the more passionate I will praise it. And I could write on and on about the many different underlying questions Böll has us locked into, but wouldn't want to serve everything up on a silver platter.

I simply found this immensely rewarding, more so, because it does require complete and utter attention. No, it's not one for the beach. It's a book I could have locked myself away with in a panic room. The key information to the novels interior is presented seemingly at random, and then given weight and context as the story slowly unfolds. For me, it was like wearing in a new pair of shoes that looked uncomfortable, expecting blisters, but then not getting any. How he approached the novel was intelligent, thought-provoking, tough when it needed to be, but also humane.
And it was great not to be spoon fed all the details, it made for a better read, and Böll absolutely knew this. It's in no way a book for the masses, but I couldn't care less. It's all the better for it.