How does the author, Heinrich Boll, present the novel as a subjective view of German society?

In the novel, The Clown, Boll is commenting on prevalent trends in modern German society that he finds threatening, distasteful, and at times abhorrent. Suspicious of intention and mindful of past experience, Boll points a disparaging finger at both church and state, and through the character of Hans Schnier, he incessantly rails against the narrow-mindedness, hypocrisy, and opportunism dominating the West German society of the novel. Relentless in his criticism, Boll simultaneously offers the reader a despairing view of the present as well as a pessimistic and disheartening vision of the impending future.