num_pages: 82
description: In 1981, Heinrich Böll returned to the streets of his childhood in this remarkable collection of nonfiction. This volume captures the musings of a mature Böll as he looks back with fondness and with anger on his formative years: as a student who avoided school but lived for his education on the street; and as a young man forced to grapple with the moral horror that was Hitler. "What's to Become of the Boy"—superbly translated by Leila Vennewitz—provides uncommon insight into Böll's maturation as an author and as a man.
language: English
title: What's to Become of the Boy? Or, Something to Do with Books
titlecomplete: What's to Become of the Boy? Or, Something to Do with Books
genres: Germany, Biography, Literature, German Literature, Autobiography, Nonfiction, History, Memoir, World War II, Biography Memoir
ratings_count: 419
publisher: Northwestern University Press