Billiards at Half Past Nine

Synopsis

In billiards at half past nine we are shown the state of post war germany through the lives of the faehmel family. Böll uses his widely applauded narrative gift to create a cast of splendid complexity. His all-seeing eye falls upon every type of person: the mousy secretary, the psychopathic killer, the saint and the sinner, the worldly-wise and the innocent. Böll's wit and objectivity made him one of the most celebrated commentators on germany's attempts to come to terms with its past.