The Clown

By Heinrich Boll, Leila Vennewitz (translator),

Book cover of The Clown

Book description

Acclaimed entertainer Hans Schneir collapses when his beloved Marie leaves him because he won’t marry her within the Catholic Church. The desertion triggers a searing re-examination of his life—the loss of his sister during the war, the demands of his millionaire father and the hypocrisies of his mother, who first…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Clown as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The title was sufficient to draw me in for I warm to life’s absurdities, and clowning is one form of absurdity. For decades, I have been actively involved with Humanism, so the absurdities in Clown of the hypocrisies in Catholicism naturally appealed, yet more so were the exposures of hypocrisies in love, relationships, and social and political pronouncements indeed, in being human. Yes, Catholicism is attacked here, but so, also, Humanity. To quote:  “Goodbye,” I said, “and thank you for so much humanity.”

If you love The Clown...

Ad

Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…

Want books like The Clown?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Clown.

Browse books like The Clown

Book cover of Nausea
Book cover of Through the Looking-Glass
Book cover of Justine

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,898

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Clown, you might also like...

Book cover of Kurtz

Kurtz by John Lawson III,

Annie Kurtz joins the Marines, deploys to Afghanistan, and has to make a split-second decision. She can follow her orders. Or she can follow her conscience. Nick Willard is a journalist who has pined for Annie since they were in prep school together. While doing his job, he discovers what…

Book cover of Built on Sand

Built on Sand by S R Kay,

Elsie has two feet in the 20th century. Smith has one foot in the 19th. Their marriage, founded on physical attraction, is built on sand as all around them the earth of Europe also starts to quake. Prised apart by emotional conflict and the loss of two children they are…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Catholic Church, Germany, and humanism?

Germany 496 books
Humanism 33 books