All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
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Book Summary Information
Author: Erich Maria RemarqueTranslator: A W. Wheen
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1987-03-12
ISBN: 0449213943
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of All Quiet on the Western Front
Book Review: A Different Perspective on Remarque's Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Few words of praise can be used in describing such a profound piece of literature that has remained in circulation successfully since its first publication [English version] in 1929. It has been reviewed internationally over the years with such descriptions as "... the greatest of all war books...", "... a great document...", "... a powerful work of art..." , and has been hailed with the such recommendations as the following "It should be distributed by the millions and read in every school". There remains little else that can be said in praise of "All Quiet on the Western Front" that has not been said already. Thus, the following review is presented under the given premises that it is both a great story and work of art. It has been written from personal experience of having read it (four times) and with the purpose of adding a new perspective to support the claims that have exalted it in its seven decades of circulation. NOTE: This review refers specifically to "All Quiet on the Western Front" as translated by A. W. Wheen and not the actual "Im Westen Nichts Neues" by Erich Maria Remarque. From the opening words of the preface: "This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure..." it is evident that "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a story that breaks away from the traditional standards of the war story. The phrase "...least of all an adventure..." presents the book as antithesis to the banal theme that recurs in its genre. (Some American W.W.II novels tend to be notorious in this aspect.) It is the frankness presented in the preface and carried throughout the story that gives it so much appeal to the discriminating reader. The story is told through the first-person perspective of its protagonist, Paul Baümer - a young German soldier of around twenty who, like so many of his generation, voluntarily left the high school classroom and the world he knew in order to fight in the Great War. It is through his narration as the disillusioned youth who forces himself to endure the daily fight to survive in the war he once believed in, which gives the story its depth and character. The reader feels for Paul and all that befalls him; s/he finds him/herself being able to relate to the experiences conveyed through the story. The personal level of the narration is such that without the superficial details, particularly the characters' names, it could be a story told from either side of the war; hence, its international acclaim. In style, "All Quiet on the Western Front" does not follow a concrete plot line, but rather is presented as a series of excerpts from Paul's experiences. The story resembles a diary in format as it includes not only descriptions of combat, but also of how the protagonist feels as he witnesses first-hand the mayhem and slaughter around him. However, the narration does not focus on the battlefield alone; a great deal of the story centralises on Paul Baümer himself, his interests, his friends, and the comradeship he has forged with his group leader Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinky - a bond so intimate, and so unlikely to have formed in circumstances outside the war, that he describes it as "...a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have" (Chapter 5). Like the comradeship forged amidst the destruction of the battlefield, many events in the story give hope to the protagonist that all has not been lost in the war. It is this minute and fragile bit of hope that gives Paul the strength to carry on and allows him to grow. For, what it is that gives "All Quiet on the Western Front" its greatest appeal is that it is a story of personal growth set against the background of the human race's most deplorable manifestations of its folly: war. EPILOGUE I was first introduced to the story "All Quiet on the Western Front" through the 1930 movie (Directed by Lewis Milestone) watched in a Grade 10 History class. It was two years later at the age of seventeen that I read the book for the first time. For myself, the book had great appeal, as there were so many aspects of the protagonist, Paul Baümer, to which I could relate. Unlike the protagonists found in other war novels I had read, Paul had the appeal of being frank, thoughtful, and - prior to his entry in the war - artistic. He is not presented as the dominant leader of a gang of "caricature" soldiers, but rather as the figure of an average student - one awakened to the world of the humanities, and both fascinated by, and in love with, life - a more realistic portrayal of a young man in war. His narration is at a personal level and told in a mixture of academic eloquence and the base vocabulary of the field. The personal growth of the protagonist is what has led me to read the story over and over again. I like to compare myself with Paul as time progresses for me, while he remains perpetually in the time frame of the book. For this reason, although I recommend "All Quiet on the Western Front" to all readers, I recommend it primarily to readers of either sex between the ages of 16 and 22 years.
Summary of All Quiet on the Western Front
Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive."The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first trank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
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