And Where Were You, Adam?
by Heinrich Böll
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Hitler's once great army is broken and demoralized, the end of the war is imminent--but still soldiers are rounded up like criminals and sent to the front, Jews are 'evacuated, ' guns are fired, shells explode. In this novel Boll paints war as a series of idiocies, senseless accidents, and bizarre coincidences related only through death.Tags
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Mermiler vınlayarak kıl payı farkla yanından, üzerinden geçiyordu. Arkasında camlar şangırdıyor, ahşap binalar parçalanıp birbirinden ayrılıyor, evin birinde bir kadın haykırıyor, çevresinde sıva topakları ile kalas parçaları uçuşuyordu... Yattığı yerde kaldı, bir an için bütün yaşantısı döndü dolaştı gözlerinin önünde. Sözü edilemeyecek tekdüze acılar ve aşağılamalarla dolu bir kaleydoskop. Bir mermi gelip bir samanlığın çatısındaki kalasa çarptı, büyük ahşap bina saman balyalarıyla birlikte Greck'in üzerine yıkıldığı sırada o hâlâ ağlıyordu."
Heinrich Böll, Ademoğlu Nerdeydin adlı kitabında, bizi insanoğlunun karşılaşabileceği en büyük acıyla, savaş show more acısıyla yüz yüze bırakıyor. Savaşın acımasızlığı altında ezilen, yitip giden genç insanlar, küçücük umut kırıntılarına tutunanlar, onca olumsuzluğun içinde yeşeren küçük sevdalar ve ölüm, hep ölüm.
Hitler's once great army is broken and demoralized, the end of the war is imminent--but still soldiers are rounded up like criminals and sent to the front. Jews are evacuated, guns are fired, shells explode. In this novel Böll paints war as a series of idiocies, senseless accidents, and bizarre coincidences related only through death. show less
Heinrich Böll, Ademoğlu Nerdeydin adlı kitabında, bizi insanoğlunun karşılaşabileceği en büyük acıyla, savaş show more acısıyla yüz yüze bırakıyor. Savaşın acımasızlığı altında ezilen, yitip giden genç insanlar, küçücük umut kırıntılarına tutunanlar, onca olumsuzluğun içinde yeşeren küçük sevdalar ve ölüm, hep ölüm.
Hitler's once great army is broken and demoralized, the end of the war is imminent--but still soldiers are rounded up like criminals and sent to the front. Jews are evacuated, guns are fired, shells explode. In this novel Böll paints war as a series of idiocies, senseless accidents, and bizarre coincidences related only through death. show less
Tisztára mint egy Remarque-regény, amit egy olyan Remarque írt, aki elfelejtett cselekményt szőni. Persze Böllről nem feltételezném (hiába ez az első könyve), hogy képtelen elmesélni lineárisan egy történetet – inkább arról van szó, hogy ő ezt az egészet ignorálja. Nem egy háborús sztorit akar végigvinni, hanem a háború leglényegéről akar mondani valamit: a nyugtalanságról, a tehetetlenségről, és arról, hogy Ádám nem ott van, ahol kéne (otthon), hanem ott, ahol aztán pont nem kéne lennie (a háborúban). De hát ezt már annyian annyiféleképpen megírták, és jó páran sokkal jobban is. Szóval értem én, „mit akar mondani a szerző” (ahogy az egyszeri irodalomtanár mondaná), csak show more mintha túl közeli lenne az élmény, túlságosan rátelepszik a szövegre, és Böll nem tud tőle két lépésre eltávolodni. Ettől aztán ez az egész mozaikos szerkezet olyan lesz, mint egy konstruktivista festmény (a címe legyen mondjuk: „Növendék macska a teraszon”): akadnak benne szép színű kockák, de úgy az egész rohadtul nem hasonlít egy cicára. Úgyhogy ha lenne egy időgépem, visszamennék az ötvenes évek elejére, és azt mondanám Böllnek: „Desztillálj, Heinrich! Desztillálj! Jó író vagy, engedd, hogy ez érvényesüljön! Ne az élmény irányítsa a tollad, hanem a tollad irányítsa az élményt!” És alighanem van is egy időgépem, mert Heinrich később desztillált. Azért kapott Nobel-díjat. show less
In this simple yet profound novella Heinrich Boll provides a brief portrait of the lives of some members of the Wehrmacht as they are in retreat near the end of World War II. Told episodically with a casual style the makes the horror of some of the episodes even more powerful. Bolls simple straightforward style is perfect as he tells of the horrific details. He draws extensively from autobiographical events during his time as a soldier in World War II. What characterizes all of Böll's war literature is the fact that there are no heroes; his protagonists are ordinary, downtrodden soldiers who lack control over their lives and whose deaths are usually presented as being completely pointless, often painful, and always ugly. In keeping show more with his condemnation of war, Böll's style is realistic; he saw the war not as an exciting adventure but as an illness "like typhoid." This is an unforgettable work as it portrays a perspective on the war that few if any non-Germans could imagine. An early work of Boll, this shows signs of the novelist who would go on to write many much more complex works. show less
A series of linked vignettes with a central character, set at various points in the German retreat at the end of WWII. Böll's even-handed style and clarity of phrase throws a stark light on the chaos rippling under the facade of military and societal order.
Zeer originele verzameling min of meer samenhangende verhalen waarin niet de oorlog centraal staat maar de manier waarop de individuele soldaat en officier zich in de eindfase van die verloren en door de auteur en het hoofdpersonage Feinhals als bizar ervaren oorlog gedraagt.
Este libro trata sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Con personajes que cuentan su particular forma de vivir en tiempos de guerra. Aunque algunos aparecen sólo unas páginas todos dejan una inolvidable huella. El protagonista, un soldado llamado Feinhals nos enseña cómo vivir, sueña y ama durante una guerra. Es raro encontrar personajes tan humanos dentro de un relato tratándose de soldados del ejército alemán. El autor hace una profunda crítica de la guerra y de la xenofobia desde el punto de vista de los opresores.
Feb 8, 2023Spanish
El escritor alemán Henrich Boll escribió en 1951 ¿Dónde estabas, Adán?`, que narra la óptica de un soldado alemán llamado Feinhals en los últimos meses de la guerra.Como en toda la literatura de Boll, no hay héroes ni villanos, sino personas comunes que no pueden gobernar su propio destino, sometidas a decisiones sin sentido y situaciones absurdas.
Jun 23, 2022Spanish
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German Literature
518 works; 55 members
Books Set in Germany
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1950s
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Author Information
355+ Works 17,537 Members
Heinrich Böll was born in Cologne, Germany on December 21, 1917. He studied German at the University of Cologne. He was drafted into military service in 1938 shortly after he finished his schooling and served several years in the infantry before his demobilization in 1945. His first novel, Der Zug war pünktlich (The Train Was on Time), was show more published in 1949. His other works include Billiards at Half-Past Nine, The Clown, Absent without Leave, Enter and Exit, and The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum. He received numerous awards including the Georg Büchner Prize in 1967 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972. He died on July 16, 1985 at the age of 67. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- And Where Were You, Adam?
- Original title
- Wo warst du, Adam?
- Original publication date
- 1951 (Duits) (Duits); 1958 (Nederlands) (Nederlands)
- Epigraph
- Una catastrofe mondiale può servire a parecchie cose. Anche a trovare un alibi davanti a Dio. Dov'eri, Adamo? "Ero alla guerra mondiale."
THEODOR HAECKER
Tag- und Nachtbucher
31 marzo 1940
Prima avevo vissuto delle avventure: l'apertura di linee postali, l'assoggettamento del Sahara, l'America del Sud - ma la guerra non è una vera avventura, è solo un surrogato dell'avventura... La guerra è una malattia. Com... (show all)e il tifo.
ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPÉRY
Pilota di guerra - First words
- Una faccia larga, gialla, tragica passò per prima davanti a loro: era il generale.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)L'asta della bandiera si era spezzata e il bianco panno ricadde sopra di lui.
- Original language
- German
- Disambiguation notice*
- Ook verschenen o.d.t.: Geen alibi voor God, en o.d.t.: Waar zijt gij, Adam?
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- General Fiction, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 833.914 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures German fiction 1900- 1900-1990 1945-1990
- LCC
- PT2603 .O394 — Language and Literature German, Dutch and Scandinavian literatures German literature Individual authors or works 1860/70-1960
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