Die Verlorene Ehre der Katherina Blum

Told with dry humor and report-like precision, this novella tells the story of the downfall of Katherina Blum. From her supposed first meeting with a wanted bank robber to her murder of a tabloid journalist four days later. In between these two moments lie the sensationalism of the cheap press, police misogyny, everyone's easy prejudice and love of gossip, and the hurt all these cause. In the end Böll gives Blum a hand in her destiny, even though it ends in violence.

A smart and sarcastic society portrait of a specific era in pre-fall Western Germany, that very much can speak to any period in time dealing with the yellow press, defamation and nepotism. I enjoyed how Böll's writing style kept us guessing Blum's innocence.