Summary of Billiards at Half-Past Nine
German Architect Robert Faehmel struggles with his war memories when he encounters a former acquaintance who used to be a policeman during the Nazi regime. This unexpected meeting triggers memories about his family’s history before, during, and after the war.
Reasons to read Billiards at Half-Past Nine
“Billiards at Half-Past Nine” by Heinrich Böll focuses on three generations of the Faehmel family, all architects in an unnamed city, inspired by Cologne. The novel examines themes of resistance, memory, reconciliation, and the role of architecture in society. At the heart of the novel lies the reluctance of Germans to confront their wartime past. Heinrich Böll won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972, and the Georg Büchner Prize in 1967, and is recognised as one of the most significant German authors of the twentieth century. Other notable works by Böll include “The Bread of Those Early Years”, “The Clown”, “Group Portrait with Lady”, “The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum”, and “The Safety Net”.
Setting: Cologne (Germany)
Book set in Germany (Cologne): While the novel’s setting is not explicitly named, it is clearly inspired by Heinrich Böll’s hometown of Cologne. The fictional abbey in the story is modeled on Maria Laach Abbey, located in Glees on the shore of Lake Laach.
Original title: Billard um halb zehn
Year of publication: 1959
Nr of pages: 256
