The Train Was on Time

Published in 1949, The Train was on Time was Heinrich BÖll's first novel. Private Andreas, twenty-four, boards a troop train to return to his unit in Poland, and suddenly realizes he has very little time to live. As the train rattles through Germany and Poland he is able to pinpoint when he will die and is shocked to find he can still make friends, play cards, sleep, eat, and drink. The train and what remains of his life hurtle on despite his knowledge of their mutual destination, and although Andreas fights to defy his fate, Hitler's attempt to conquer the world has already defeated this harmless and gentle young man.

"BÖll has feelingly symbolized a guilty Germany doing penance for its sins through suffering and death." --Time