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jonasvogler's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mamely's review against another edition
4.0
6 settembre 1958. Un solo giorno. Un solo lunghissimo giorno per capire la storia di una famiglia, le emozioni e le motivazioni che muovono i suoi componenti. Tutto ciò attraverso monologhi e narrazione, cambiando di volta in volta prospettiva a seconda di chi racconta, e andando avanti e indietro lungo un'intera epoca.
Confusione? Smarrimento? Assolutamente no. Il filo del discorso riesce a mantenersi sempre intatto in questo racconto in cui si intrecciano in modo indissolubile le vicende personali dei membri della famiglia Fahmel con quelle di una Germania che sembra voler dimenticare senza tanti scrupoli il suo scomodo e doloroso passato. Una nazione che ha abbracciato incondizionatamente l'ideologia bellica e nazista in modo ottuso e impietoso, che si è nutrita di quello che Boll chiama "il sacramento del bufalo", sacrificando sull'altare della violenza e della delazione gli "agnelli", coloro che non possono e non vogliono voltare la testa davanti alle persecuzioni perpetrate dal nazismo o da qualsiasi regime simile ad esso. Nello sforzo di proiettarsi nel futuro post bellico tutto viene dimenticato, ogni peccato buttato dietro le spalle, ogni vittima cancellata dalla memoria come un'inutile zavorra morale. Ma non per tutti é così. La famiglia Fahmel, nonostante sia ricca e privilegiata, non ha mangiato, eccetto uno dei suoi componenti, il sacramento del bufalo, e ha pagato in prima persona, col sangue, l'esilio e l'indigenza, il privilegio di stare sempre dalla parte degli agnelli. E non ha mai dimenticato che per un periodo esecrabile della sua storia, il paese a cui appartiene non ha saputo proteggere gli agnelli che gli erano stati affidati, contribuendo invece con indifferenza al loro massacro.
Padre, figlio e nipote ; Heinrich, Robert e Joseph. Legati tra loro dal destino della prima e grandiosa opera realizzata dal capostipite. Edificata dal padre. Distrutta durante la guerra dal figlio, che vedrà in questa azione il modo per erigere un monumento di macerie in memoria di tutti coloro che la guerra non considera abbastanza importanti da essere risparmiati. Presa in carico dal nipote per essere riedifificata nel dopo guerra, ma poi abbandonata.
In questa lunga giornata nella quale tutti i Fahmel sopravvissuti si riuniscono per festeggiare l`ottantesimo compleanno del capostipite, nonno figlio e nipote, senza bisogno di parole o spiegazioni, mostreranno di aver compreso ognuno le azioni e le motivazioni dell'altro, superando il divario generazionale che li aveva tenuti fino a quel momento lontani tra loro.
Oltre a questi tre personaggi il romanzo ha altri protagonisti altrettanto potenti e drammatici le cui storie verranno narrate e svelate durante il racconto, e che ci portano ad un crescendo di interesse e di pathos che si protraggono fino alla fine della storia. Libro appassionante che si discosta abbastanza da quelli che ho già letto dello stesso autore ma che rimane allo stesso altissimo livello. Consigliatissimo!
Confusione? Smarrimento? Assolutamente no. Il filo del discorso riesce a mantenersi sempre intatto in questo racconto in cui si intrecciano in modo indissolubile le vicende personali dei membri della famiglia Fahmel con quelle di una Germania che sembra voler dimenticare senza tanti scrupoli il suo scomodo e doloroso passato. Una nazione che ha abbracciato incondizionatamente l'ideologia bellica e nazista in modo ottuso e impietoso, che si è nutrita di quello che Boll chiama "il sacramento del bufalo", sacrificando sull'altare della violenza e della delazione gli "agnelli", coloro che non possono e non vogliono voltare la testa davanti alle persecuzioni perpetrate dal nazismo o da qualsiasi regime simile ad esso. Nello sforzo di proiettarsi nel futuro post bellico tutto viene dimenticato, ogni peccato buttato dietro le spalle, ogni vittima cancellata dalla memoria come un'inutile zavorra morale. Ma non per tutti é così. La famiglia Fahmel, nonostante sia ricca e privilegiata, non ha mangiato, eccetto uno dei suoi componenti, il sacramento del bufalo, e ha pagato in prima persona, col sangue, l'esilio e l'indigenza, il privilegio di stare sempre dalla parte degli agnelli. E non ha mai dimenticato che per un periodo esecrabile della sua storia, il paese a cui appartiene non ha saputo proteggere gli agnelli che gli erano stati affidati, contribuendo invece con indifferenza al loro massacro.
Padre, figlio e nipote ; Heinrich, Robert e Joseph. Legati tra loro dal destino della prima e grandiosa opera realizzata dal capostipite. Edificata dal padre. Distrutta durante la guerra dal figlio, che vedrà in questa azione il modo per erigere un monumento di macerie in memoria di tutti coloro che la guerra non considera abbastanza importanti da essere risparmiati. Presa in carico dal nipote per essere riedifificata nel dopo guerra, ma poi abbandonata.
In questa lunga giornata nella quale tutti i Fahmel sopravvissuti si riuniscono per festeggiare l`ottantesimo compleanno del capostipite, nonno figlio e nipote, senza bisogno di parole o spiegazioni, mostreranno di aver compreso ognuno le azioni e le motivazioni dell'altro, superando il divario generazionale che li aveva tenuti fino a quel momento lontani tra loro.
Oltre a questi tre personaggi il romanzo ha altri protagonisti altrettanto potenti e drammatici le cui storie verranno narrate e svelate durante il racconto, e che ci portano ad un crescendo di interesse e di pathos che si protraggono fino alla fine della storia. Libro appassionante che si discosta abbastanza da quelli che ho già letto dello stesso autore ma che rimane allo stesso altissimo livello. Consigliatissimo!
ap2007's review against another edition
5.0
This was assigned for the German Literature in Translation course I took my first year of college. I remembered class discussion more than I remembered the actual book, but the underlining throughout tells me I actually read the book. Most of the underlined passages still ring bells for me. On my second reading a little more than 25 years later (how is that possible?) I'd say this book means even more to me. I was reading it to see if I wanted to weed it from my collection, but it will be staying.
llorenza's review against another edition
3.0
Krachtige thematiek, bijzonder mooie taal, knap geconstrueerd. Het boek leest als een stroom waarin je je moet laten meeslepen/meesleuren. Een stroom waarbij je constant wisselt tussen personages en tijdstippen. Want ja, een mooi boek is dit zeker.
En toch heb ik met twee dingen moeite:
- Dit boek is ontzettend lastig om te lezen. Ik ga een uitdagend boek niet uit de weg, maar op het einde moet ik wel het gevoel hebben dat het de moeite waard geweest is. Hier had ik het gevoel: "OK, ik snap nu het verhaal en hoe de band tussen de personages ineen zit, nu zou ik het eigenlijk eens opnieuw moeten lezen." Zo heb ik mijn boeken niet graag: op het einde moeten ze af zijn. Nog eens herlezen om kleine details op te vangen: OK. Nog eens herlezen om het echt deftig te kunnen lezen: dat gaat te ver.
- Heinrich Böll schrijft vanuit het standpunt van veel personages. Het is vaak gissen wie er nu aan het woord is, soms had ik het maar tegen de helft van het hoofdstuk door. Het is allemaal literair mooi, maar Böll geeft de personages geen eigen stem, ze praten en denken allemaal hetzelfde (op de hotelbediende na misschien). En eigenlijk vind ik dat een goed schrijver dat wel moet kunnen.
Sorry Heinrich. (Tenzij het aan de vertaling ligt, dan: excuus.)
En toch heb ik met twee dingen moeite:
- Dit boek is ontzettend lastig om te lezen. Ik ga een uitdagend boek niet uit de weg, maar op het einde moet ik wel het gevoel hebben dat het de moeite waard geweest is. Hier had ik het gevoel: "OK, ik snap nu het verhaal en hoe de band tussen de personages ineen zit, nu zou ik het eigenlijk eens opnieuw moeten lezen." Zo heb ik mijn boeken niet graag: op het einde moeten ze af zijn. Nog eens herlezen om kleine details op te vangen: OK. Nog eens herlezen om het echt deftig te kunnen lezen: dat gaat te ver.
- Heinrich Böll schrijft vanuit het standpunt van veel personages. Het is vaak gissen wie er nu aan het woord is, soms had ik het maar tegen de helft van het hoofdstuk door. Het is allemaal literair mooi, maar Böll geeft de personages geen eigen stem, ze praten en denken allemaal hetzelfde (op de hotelbediende na misschien). En eigenlijk vind ik dat een goed schrijver dat wel moet kunnen.
Sorry Heinrich. (Tenzij het aan de vertaling ligt, dan: excuus.)
anseora's review against another edition
5.0
Это не рецензия, она не поможет составить впечатление, просто я хотела сказать о важном для меня писателе.
Ритм Бёлля для меня как мантра, с юности, «Нет, я не твой Иерусалим», «Нiколi не пакаштаваць бычынага прычасьця». В его ритме, кинетике, в уместной монотонности выпевается травма — бессилие и стыд людей, которые не собирались принимать причастие буйвола, но оказались на той же стороне. Странно, что травма звучит как traum. Но я почему-то узнаю в этом себя, это я, навошта-навошта-навошта, это мои причитания, и мои молебны, и чётки моих рёбер, и я с теми людьми, и в этом узнаю себя.
Ритм Бёлля для меня как мантра, с юности, «Нет, я не твой Иерусалим», «Нiколi не пакаштаваць бычынага прычасьця». В его ритме, кинетике, в уместной монотонности выпевается травма — бессилие и стыд людей, которые не собирались принимать причастие буйвола, но оказались на той же стороне. Странно, что травма звучит как traum. Но я почему-то узнаю в этом себя, это я, навошта-навошта-навошта, это мои причитания, и мои молебны, и чётки моих рёбер, и я с теми людьми, и в этом узнаю себя.
holgerhaase's review against another edition
4.0
An absolutely wonderful book that manages to be both epic in scope yet very intimate, encompassing 50 years of German history during a single day of preparing for a birthday party in the 1950s. Definitely worth the 1000 Books category.
ashkanph's review against another edition
5.0
حواست جمع باشد، پسر جان، هر جا از مزرعهها دود بلند شد و جنگلها پژمردند، بدان که در آنجا نان و نمک گرگ کالایی است متبرک و مقدس
سخنان یوهانا کیلب در آسایشگاه روانی دنکلینگن، برگردان کیکاووس جهانداری، از صفحهٔ ۱۶۲ چاپ دوم ۱۳۹۱ نشر ماهی
سخنان یوهانا کیلب در آسایشگاه روانی دنکلینگن، برگردان کیکاووس جهانداری، از صفحهٔ ۱۶۲ چاپ دوم ۱۳۹۱ نشر ماهی
kris_mccracken's review against another edition
5.0
"Billiards at Half-Past Nine" by Heinrich Böll is a novel that unfurls its complex tapestry over a single autumn day in 1958, deftly weaving together the present with a series of flashbacks and recollections. This remarkable narrative structure offers readers a profound exploration of the struggle between good and evil, a theme that runs like a dark undercurrent through the lives of richly drawn characters.
What makes the book truly extraordinary is its rotating first-person perspective. Eleven different characters take turns as narrators, each providing a distinct voice and viewpoint that shifts the narrative focus with every chapter. This multiplicity of perspectives offers a kaleidoscopic view of the novel's central characters and their relationships—between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, friends, and even ideological adversaries. Each narrative voice brings with it a unique emotional filter shaped by personal history and experiences, making the reader acutely aware of how the past continues to shape and haunt the present.
Böll's use of flashbacks is not merely a storytelling device but an essential means of revealing the intricacies of his character's inner lives. As they recount their past experiences and memories, we see how deeply these recollections are influenced by their emotions, casting long shadows over their present actions and decisions.
The novel's structure is akin to assembling a puzzle, with each piece—a memory, a conversation, a revelation—adding depth and complexity to the overall picture. This narrative technique demands the reader's full engagement, rewarding those who approach the text with patience and attention. It is not a book for casual reading; rather, it is a profoundly rewarding literary journey that immerses the reader in its world.
Böll masterfully explores the relentless forces of history and ideology that impact his characters, leaving many of them either crushed under their weight or deeply scarred by their experiences. These forces are portrayed not just as external pressures but as insidious elements that infiltrate personal relationships and individual psyches.
The narrative's elegant, arcane turns of phrase only serve to heighten the intensity of these themes, with Böll's beautiful, humane writing shining through every page. His prose is marked by a spirit of dignity and an acute awareness of the human condition, making the reader feel both the burdens and the fleeting moments of grace that his characters experience.
Reading "Billiards at Half-Past Nine" is a unique experience, akin to looking through a multifaceted prism. The interplay of perspectives enriches the narrative, providing a textured portrayal of a post-war society grappling with its collective guilt and seeking redemption.
This novel is a tour de force that showcases Heinrich Böll at the height of his literary powers. It is an immensely rewarding read, not only for its complex narrative structure and rich characterisation but also for its profound philosophical insights. For those willing to give it the attention it demands, "Billiards at Half-Past Nine" offers a deeply satisfying experience, blending a compelling narrative with an exploration of humanity's most enduring conflicts.
This novel is in the running for my favourite novel.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
What makes the book truly extraordinary is its rotating first-person perspective. Eleven different characters take turns as narrators, each providing a distinct voice and viewpoint that shifts the narrative focus with every chapter. This multiplicity of perspectives offers a kaleidoscopic view of the novel's central characters and their relationships—between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, friends, and even ideological adversaries. Each narrative voice brings with it a unique emotional filter shaped by personal history and experiences, making the reader acutely aware of how the past continues to shape and haunt the present.
Böll's use of flashbacks is not merely a storytelling device but an essential means of revealing the intricacies of his character's inner lives. As they recount their past experiences and memories, we see how deeply these recollections are influenced by their emotions, casting long shadows over their present actions and decisions.
The novel's structure is akin to assembling a puzzle, with each piece—a memory, a conversation, a revelation—adding depth and complexity to the overall picture. This narrative technique demands the reader's full engagement, rewarding those who approach the text with patience and attention. It is not a book for casual reading; rather, it is a profoundly rewarding literary journey that immerses the reader in its world.
Böll masterfully explores the relentless forces of history and ideology that impact his characters, leaving many of them either crushed under their weight or deeply scarred by their experiences. These forces are portrayed not just as external pressures but as insidious elements that infiltrate personal relationships and individual psyches.
The narrative's elegant, arcane turns of phrase only serve to heighten the intensity of these themes, with Böll's beautiful, humane writing shining through every page. His prose is marked by a spirit of dignity and an acute awareness of the human condition, making the reader feel both the burdens and the fleeting moments of grace that his characters experience.
Reading "Billiards at Half-Past Nine" is a unique experience, akin to looking through a multifaceted prism. The interplay of perspectives enriches the narrative, providing a textured portrayal of a post-war society grappling with its collective guilt and seeking redemption.
This novel is a tour de force that showcases Heinrich Böll at the height of his literary powers. It is an immensely rewarding read, not only for its complex narrative structure and rich characterisation but also for its profound philosophical insights. For those willing to give it the attention it demands, "Billiards at Half-Past Nine" offers a deeply satisfying experience, blending a compelling narrative with an exploration of humanity's most enduring conflicts.
This novel is in the running for my favourite novel.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
ilse's review against another edition
5.0
Memento quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris, as we are quite clearly told. Dust the mortar leaves behind, deeds of mortgage, houses and estates, a statue in a peaceful suburb where children as they play might ask, ' And who ' s that man?'
marc129's review against another edition
3.0
Read a first time in 1987 and I was already pretty impressed. Böll shows in a very oppressive way how Germany in 1959 still had not processed the legacy of the nazi past (in the novel there is no explicit reference to the nazis, but the constant reference tot the "Sacrament of the Buffalo" is clear enough). The idea to follow three generations and their dealings with the Abbey of St. Anonius (the grandfather build it, the son demolished it in the war and the grandson restored it) is very well found and sometimes there are really masterful patches to be found in the book. But overall the storyline is too ingenious, the style is hyper modernistic with ongoing interior monologue and regularly changing narrator and time positions, making some fragments quit difficult to follow. Especially the end is pretty faint.