''And Never Said a Word'' (german: Und sagte kein einziges Wort) is a novel by German author
Heinrich Böll
Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...
, published in 1953. The novel deals with the thoughts and actions of Fred and Käte Bogner, a married couple. Fred, feeling sick of the poverty of their house, has left her with their three children. They continue to meet on a casual basis every time Fred can find money enough to book a hotel room. As in numerous works from the German writer, the main theme is the situation in Germany after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
[A Study Guide for Heinrich Boll's "Christmas Not Just Once a Year"
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Gale, Cengage Learning "his second novel, And Never Said a Word, which appeared in 1953, sold well enough to allow Böll to continue as a ..."]
The title stems from a song listened to by Käte in the fourth chapter, creating a parallel between her and Jesus; like Christ, she is shown bearing all humiliations without rebelling.
See also
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1953 in literature
Events from the year 1953 in literature .
Events
*January 5 – '' Waiting For Godot'', a play by the Irish writer Samuel Beckett, has its first public stage performance, in French as ''En attendant Godot'', at the in Paris. Beckett's novel ' ...
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German literature
References
1953 German novels
Novels by Heinrich Böll
Novels set in Germany
Kiepenheuer & Witsch books
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