Billiards at Half-Past Nine Author:Heinrich Boll Fictionalized history of "the complex threads of guilt and redemption in the German character 1900 - 1950, roughly, depicted through the war-torn lives of three generations of the middle-class Faehmel family as they build and rebuild an abbey. — Boll's well-known, vehement opposition to fascism and war informs this moving story of ... more »Robert Faehmel. After being drawn into the Second World War to command retreating German forces despite his anti-Nazi feelings, Faehmel struggles to re-establish a normal life at war's end. He adheres to a rigorous schedule, including a daily game of billiards. When his routine is breached by an old friend, now a power in German reconstruction, Faehmel is forced to confront both public and private memories.« less