SOURCE: "Heinrich Böll's Die verlorene Ehre der Katherina Blum as Novelle," in Colloquia Germanica, Vol. 14, No. 2, 1981, pp. 158-74.

In the following essay, Sinka summarizes how Die verlorene Ehre has been classified (variously as a novella, novel, and political pamphlet) and explores how genrebased perceptions affect interpretations of Böll's work.

Reader response to Heinrich Böll's Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum, accessible thus far mainly from interviews and media coverage, focuses on Böll's characterization of Katharina and on the interpretation of her deed—that of killing the newspaper reporter TÖtges. In the course of pondering whether or not Katharina is a credible figure, critics either reject her as an anarchist or sanctify her as a heroine. Equating the author with his main character, they either criticize Böll for advocating terrorism or praise him for justifying concrete action to counter dehumanizing attacks of the...