The Casualty

New York, NY: W. W. Norton. Near Fine. 1989. First Edition Thus [1994]; unstated; First Printing. Paperback. First Edition Thus [1989]; First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence. Very Near Fine in Wraps: sparse, faint foxing to the outside edges of the text block; a hint of shelf-soiling to the bottom edge of same, which also shows what appears to be a very faint remainder mark (the same color as the foxing) ; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of creases to the panels. Free of creases to the backstrip. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, marks, or marginalia in the text. A handsome, nearly-new copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing the mildest wear only. Bright and clean. Close to 'As New'. NOT a Book-Club or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches). Translated by Leila Vennewitz. Trade Paperback. Heinrich Böll (1917 – 1985) was 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). Böll served in an infantry unit on Germany's East and West fronts during World War II, and here he describes with precision and poignancy all the suffering, despair and human tragedy of war. The last six or seven stories of this book are not so much about war, as about its aftermath. They are stories about people in the complicated matters of rebuilding their lives and their livelihoods. The best of this ordinary-people-in-the-every-day-business-of-life stories are comparable to Raymond Carver or Richard Ford's. All in all Böll is a master of the short story. This collection gives ample testimony to it. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 189 pages .