Acquainted with the Night

novel by Böll

Also known as: “And Never Said a Word”, “Und sagte kein einziges Wort”

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Article History

Acquainted with the Night, novel by Heinrich Böll, published in German in 1953 as Und sagte kein einziges Wort (“And Said Not a Single Word”).

One of Böll’s best-known works, the novel is set in Germany just after World War II. It examines the marriage of Fred and Käthe Bogner, who alternately narrate the work. Their marriage suffers from stresses caused by poverty and the acute postwar shortages of food and shelter. Among the institutions Böll satirizes is the Roman Catholic Church.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.