All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
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Book Reviews of All Quiet on the Western Front
Book Review: The greatest war novel? Yes, by a large margin
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm trying to recall a novel about war that makes it sound like a good thing. If I were stronger on historical fiction, I think I might be able to find something in the 19th Century, but once cameras were invented and people could see what a war does to the soldiers who have the great good fortune to fight in it, I suspect the ancient idea --- Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori --- hit an irrevocable sell-by date. And let's not forget that old chestnut --- "It is a sweet and seeming thing to die for one's country" --- dates from Horace (65-8 BC).
Unless one of you can suggest a compelling pro-war novel, I'm going to say that all great war novels are anti-war novels --- and that the best of them is Erich Maria Remarque's deceptively simple story of a few German soldiers in World War I, "All Quiet on the Western Front." The proof? The astonishing reaction to the book. Published in 1929, it sold 1.2 million copies in its first year. The film won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director in 1930 and sits securely at number 54 on the American Film Institute's list of the best movies ever made. Hitler and Goebbels hated every version of this story; they banned and burned the book. (The French, for reasons I can't fathom, banned the film until 1962.) Remarque was vilified in Germany --- the authorities noted that his real last name was "Remark," and that name spelled backwards was "Kramer", which was surely the author's real, Jewish name --- and had to leave the country. In 1943, the Nazis executed his sister, in part for being related to the author. The executioner used an ax.
The story of the book is largely autobiographical. Remarque was a university student who had to enlist in the German army when he turned 18. On the Western Front, he was wounded five times. When the war ended, he worked as a teacher, stonecutter and test driver before taking up writing. The standard advice --- "Write what you know" --- worked for him; "All Quiet on the Western Front" was his first novel.
Told in the first person, we meet Paul Baumer on the chow line, five miles behind the front. After a siege of 14 days, his company has been relieved. Now their bellies are full. And there's still more food. That's because 150 men went to the front and only 80 returned. No one had informed the cook. Double rations are only the start of the bounty....
These are not the troops of 1914, who inhaled the fumes of patriotism and rushed into battle. These are the recruits of 1917, when it's clear the Germans are not winning. From the very beginning of the book, they know too much to be conned by waving flags and politicians grown fat on their own rhetoric: "No one [back home] had the vaguest idea what we were in for. The wisest were just the poor and simple people. They knew the war to be a misfortune, whereas those who were better off, and should have been able to see more clearly what the consequences would be, were beside themselves with joy."
The squad leaders are stupid and officious and a bit cowardly. As well they might be --- the average life span of an officer on the front lines was 22 minutes. And it wasn't much better for the grunts. Seven of Paul's friends started out with him. By 1918, he's the sole survivor. At 20, he feels old: "I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow."
But the tone of the book is hardly heavy. War brings out vulgarity and tenderness, riotous laughter and collective gloom, and it's these alternating emotions that make the characters unforgettable. "All Quiet" is the proverbial "easy read" --- that's one reason it's assigned so often in schools. But it's not so susceptible to the questions you find in reading group guides. It's thornier than that. In the end, we're asked to figure out, yet again, why generations of young men are sacrificed by their governments --- and why they participate in this ritualized slaughter.
War has changed greatly since 1918. I'm not so sure soldiers have. Which is why, I sense, this will be an essential book long after the world has forgotten about trenches and mustard case and barbed wire.
Book Review: Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front
Summary: 5 Stars
Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is a powerful novel about the disillusionment brought on by World War I. Before the Great War, many countries in Europe had been extending their powers and establishing empires and strong trade developments. Many in these countries saw these strengths as signs of their nations' greatness. Also before World War I, there had never been a war that used so much fire power in the form of grenades, mortar shells, machine guns, etc. Wars were also seen as a moral activity and the winning country often attributed its success to its own virtue. World War I changed all of these opinions and Remarque (who fought in WWI himself) does an excellent job of portraying the horrors of war and the awakening experienced by so many of the young men who fought on the front. Before the novel opens, there is a short explanation which states:
"This book is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war."(dedication page)
The book's point of view is that of a German foot soldier who spends much of his time fighting on the front. While other nationalities are mentioned and questioned, Remarque at no time says anything that would offend a reader's personal loyalties. He simply states what every soldier from each side of the war must have felt as they faced each other in such inhuman circumstances.
The main thing I appreciated in this book was Remarque's ability to instill in the reader the grotesque images and events that men face in a war. Remarque was able to do this without painting complicated and graphic pictures. The few words he did use sufficed to give the reader enough information to fill in the blanks and see for himself the terrors that Remarque was describing.
Remarque is also able to avoid the obscene language that inevitably flows through a soldier's vocabulary. He does not try to cover the fact that such words were spoken, he merely leaves the language out and tells the reader that such an answer or statement was given.
As well as giving a report on life on the front line, this book also explores the psychology of the soldiers. There are scenes where the soldiers question their reasons for being where they are. They remember the speeches thrown at them in school about the glory and honor they will receive for defending their country. They ask themselves if the boys on the other side also received such speeches and if so, who was right and who was wrong. They wonder about the issues they are fighting for and many of them realize that they have no idea about why they are there.
At one point the men are dressed up and paraded before their Kaiser. They begin to question the motives of their country and the motives of the others who are involved in the war. As they discuss it one of the men says, "One people offends the other-" Upon which his friend states, "Then I haven't any business here at all. I don't feel myself offended."(p. 204) These statements give an excellent insight into a soldiers feelings and questions. Remarque is once again able to place the reader inside his characters and let him feel for himself what it must be like to be in such a position.
As far as I'm concerned, this book, All Quiet on the Western Front, gives an eye-opening and realistic view on the terrors of war. Most people recognize war for the horror that it is, and while there may be times when it is unavoidable, most are ready to do everything it takes to avoid such a catastrophe. Unfortunately though, there are always those that are ready at the slightest provocation to go blindly into the foray. Perhaps if more people read books like this one, they would be more cautious about such hasty action. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for something real and though provoking. They will definitely not be disappointed.
Book Review: The ugly reality of war
Summary: 5 Stars
This remarkable novel conveys the true face of war in ways that no memoirs, no academic monographs, and no movies can. There is no romance in war, only mud, blood, starvation, and death. World War I was the war to end all wars, and it is quite appropriate that the Great War is the setting of this novel. Any idealism was quickly torn asunder by month after month, year after year of trench warfare. This is the story of one German soldier, a boy who was talked into joining the German army along with all of his classmates. At the front lines, Paul Baumer becomes a soldier. He and his buddies become primitive and animalistic because it is the only way to survive in that environment; thoughts of home or "the war" deprive them of the instincts they must rely on to avoid being killed. Baumer is philosophical enough to realize that he has essentially died inside, that every member of his generation has died spiritually if not physically and been robbed of a future. His trips home are perhaps the most painful days he spends; his family is living in poverty and his mother is dying of cancer. The emotions and feelings he takes back with him to the front are dangerous because they distract him. As for the fighting, the men seem to have no reason for being there. They speak of the fact that the enemy is just like them, young and scared. The French are fighting and believe that their cause is right, just as the Germans are. When he is guarding Russian prisoners, he sees them as men just like himself. There is a noticeable absence of commanders in the novel. What middling superior officers there are come across as cruel, cowardly pretenders. Himmelstoss, the "drill sergeant" type who trained these men to fight is a sickeningly cruel man who deserves the revenge the men are able to exact upon him when he finds himself sent to the front. When the Kaiser comes to review the troops, the men cannot understand why he let the war happen--after all, he supposedly did not want war, the German people did not want war, the French did not want war, yet there is war. Remarque pulls no punches in describing man's inhumanity to man. The mud, the lice, the rats, the blood and gore, the gas attacks--that is the war as described here. At one point early on, Baumer dives for cover in a graveyard of recently buried comrades; as the bombardment continues unabated, he scrambles under cover and then discovers the cover is a shattered coffin. At the front, the dead are killed over and over again. At one point, he passes a scene in which bodies have been blown apart, with parts hanging from trees all around. Forced to take shelter in a shell hole, Baumer kills a foreign soldier who falls into the hole with him; the man does not die quickly, and the experience is a revealing, emotional one as Baumer tries to help the man stay alive and then agonizes over the family this man will not come home to. For me, though, the most poignant scene in the novel comes early on when, in the wake of a heavy bombardment, the surviving men are all but driven mad by the sound of wounded horses. The cry of the horses, some of whom run and stumble around dragging their intestines on the ground, are more than the men can bear. Men fight wars; it is cruel to bring horses into the conflict, the men declare. It is a long, painful scene finally ended by the shots that end the horses' suffering.
These pages contain the reality of war; as such, some will be bothered if not sickened by some sections of the story. As a conservative "hawk" who has never experienced anything along these lines, it is very good and useful for me to read this book. Remarque's purpose in writing this book was to tell future generations how horrible war is and how it must be avoided at all costs if possible. The men who survive such an ordeal are dead inside; in Remarque's case, an entire generation of Europeans (and Americans) died and suffered; those that returned were not the same men who went away to fight. If everyone read this novel, war would not be a constant affliction on humanity.
Book Review: War. What is it good for?
Summary: 5 Stars
On the first page of this novel is a message: This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even thought they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.
A group of boys (Lead by Paul Baumer) has enlisted into the German army during the First World War. Believing that they will find glory and having the honor of serving the Fatherland (Germany in this case), the boys go to war. What they find however is no adventure, but rather a hell. Paul and his schoolboy friends are broken up on their first bombardment, as they find out that war will be far different from what their schoolmaster told them. But Paul is able to survive and get the strength to carry on from his friend "Kat" Katczinsky. Paul seems to look up at Kat as a role model. He is tough, hard-nosed and has been around for a long time. He and Paul are best of friends. We feel Paul's sorrow as he loses friend after friend in the trenches, with Kat being the last to go.
One of the book's best parts is when Paul is caught in a shell crater with a French Soldier. When the French soldier jumps in, Paul immediately stabs him. But, as the soldier lays dying, Paul is overcome with sorrow. He comforts the soldier and gives him water. He also begs for forgiveness for his killing of another brother. Sure, Paul was in a uniform different from the other man. But this doesn't mean he is different from the soldier he killed.
Another part deals when Paul goes on leave to home. He has become removed from the rest of civilization. He feels uncomfortable at his home with his mother and sister because they are so interested in the war. When Paul goes for a beer along with his father and friends, he is shown around as a tough warrior. He is also told to press on. Paul remarks at the end of this chapter "I should have never gone on leave". He realizes that the only place he feels comfortable at is the front, along with Kat and his other buddies.
A good point is brought up by a group of soldiers in the text. When one of them asks as to how wars begin, another replies "It occurs when one country offends another". One of the other soldiers then mentions "I don't feel offended". This shows that although they are supposed to be fighting for the Fatherland, they don't know why. This shows that although politicians generally start wars, it's common men like you and me who have to do the fighting. Often, we have no complaints with the other side. This could be linked with the recent World Trade Center bombing and with the events in Afghanistan. This is open for debate, but an excellent point has been made.
Paul is the protagonist. Through his experiences he learns to hate war, to hate the force of evil that makes men kill each other for no reason except that they're wearing different uniforms. Yet, the front destroys him mentally. He can no longer work as well around other people as he could have before the war. His new home is the front. Thus, we feel sympathy for him at how his life has been ruined by a meaningless war.
The book's antagonist, some might say, is war. Indeed, this would be an excellent choice. But how are wars caused? They don't just come out of nowhere. Some (Manufacturing, Generals, leaders) also benefit from wars. Thus, I think society is the antagonist in this story. The politicians and leaders create wars, but yet don't fight them by themselves, instead sending young boys to die and fight against an enemy they have no grudge with. On an ending note, one of the characters in the book suggests a good idea of how war should be fought. It should be a kind of sporting event, like a bullfight. In the arena, the ministers and generals of the two countries, dressed in bathing drawers and holding clubs, would have it out among themselves. The winning country is the one that survives.
If only our leaders were to listen.
Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front -- In war we are all the same
Summary: 5 Stars
All Quiet on the Western FrontWritten by Enrich Maria Remarque
Reviewed by Yael Bozzay
Originally banned and burned in Germany by the Nazi's in 1933 (five years after it was first published) because of it's antinationalist, pacifist, and dissident sentiment, All Quiet on the Western Front by Enrich Maria Remarque reached acclaim across the world as an intimate portrayal of life during the war from the "enemy's" point of view. It was translated to over twenty-five languages, two movies have been made, and it has sold many million copies. As a result of its popularity across the world and its subsequent distaste to the Nazi's, Enrich Maria Remarque was exiled in 1938, and his citizenship in Germany was revoked.
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel written from the point of view of a German soldier, Paul Baumer, fighting on the western front during 1917 & 1918 (the last two years of WWI). Through Paul's experiences we can see the similarities between all men in war. From detailed descriptions given by Paul of the food soldiers ate, the boots and clothes they wore, and the conditions under which they lived and fought to the corpse rats, the war field graveyards were the bodies of buried soldiers were unearthed during battle, and life under the rules of the German army, Remarque leaves no stone unturned about the conditions and subsequent effects of war upon it's soldiers.
Closely paralleling Hemingway's "Soldier's Home," an account of the effects of WWI on an American soldier, All Quiet on the Western Front displays the universal effects of the war upon those who fought heroically - disillusionment with war and facing the reality of a country who, upon the soldier's return, cannot identify with his life. Estrangement and distance grows with society as the men realize that "the world they (girls & those in society) were in was not the world that he was in" ("Soldier's Home") and "men will not understand us and ... [they will] push us aside; ... the years will pass by and in the end we shall fall into ruin"(All Quiet on the Western Front 294). The similarity between men on both sides of the war reveals the universal result of war - death (if not physical then social or emotional). When, upon entering the war, Paul Baumer says, " Our early life is cut off from the moment we came here, and that without even lifting a hand" (AQWF 19), he foreshadows the life of the young soldiers who must face war without a choice and whose life pays the ultimate price of victory for his country. But will Paul willingly sacrifice all for sake of his country?
Through the griping battle scenes and the loss of friends to returning home to a "foreign country," All Quiet on the Western Front reveals the struggles of not only soldiers but of ordinary men forced to fight a battle against other men: "...for the first time, I see you are a man like me... Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us... forgive me comrade; how could you be my enemy?" (All Quiet On the Western Front 223) Remarque's personal experience in the war and his realization of the terror that actually occurs - man killing man - reveals the necessity of counting the cost of war and maintaining peace whenever possible. This is what we face today, and the question remains - have we learned from the past, or do we continue to tread upon the same course that leads us to destruction?
It is this grim realization that caused his book to be banned and burned by the Nazi's and spread acclaim throughout the rest of the world. Spreading the truth of the real tragedy of war opened people's eyes to the reality that faced those condemned to die - a reality that faces everyone and is the same for everyone in the midst of war ... a reality that is no respecter of persons and takes all it can - a reality called death.