All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.75 You Save: $4.24 (61%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of All Quiet on the Western Front
Book Review: A Rare Light to Escape from the War
Summary: 5 Stars
In some way, All Quiet on the Western Front lacks the spark and depth that establishes War and Peace as the ultimate combat novel. Yet when one scrutinizes the common features of warfare, it is not so difficult to realize that war reflects so much darkness in humanity that there is nothing extraordinary about it. In this sweeping tale set in WWI, the author promulgates nothing bombastic as the narrator hastily jots down the face of death he perceives in motion. The story is able to transcend nationality and politics; Paul Baumer, a German soldier (who could very well been an English one, a French one, a Russian one) fresh out of highschool, sees himself in his enemies and vice versa. He enlists with a vague conviction to serve and be glorified, and as his classmates and he wake up to the dusty reality of war, the freshness of youth quickly evaporates. No more bubbles of ideal, bubbles of anything as Paul finds all that his formal life was based on shattered and dissolved in the trenches. The brutality of war does not destroy Paul and his classmates essentially although the undertone of the story becomes cloudier, but that is the mere shadow of Paul's development as an individual--eroding away in the acidity of confusion. Even though he declares that one loses Selfhood in a war, Paul does emerge with a less acute sense of nationhood. Indeed, he is alone, on the Western Front, puzzled by the purpose of sacrifices made by millions of youth--on both sides. Remarque does not employ melodious voices and profound concepts to demean warfare on a grander, spiritual scale; instead, the down-to-earth sentences, glide loutishly like a young man of twenty into readers' understanding. Gawky Muller, flirtatious Leer, clear-headed Albert, and weathered Kat stand out as faceless as possible, what a mural they paint with their muddy cheeks and bold laughs, one feels at once the connection to these lads, it's their commonality that evokes and kindles. The transition these men make from students, peasants, postmen to "butchers" is so gradual and tender that so many harsh scenes turn to overwhelming tear-jerkers. Tolstoy touched sympathy with his grand focal point--high above what common men saw behind the bloody veil; well, Remarque led us through that bloody veil, sparing no details. And their pain and anguish are transmitted so simplistically that they produce such thundering effect on the heart; after all, scars never need any decorations, the rawness of cruelty and human weakness lay bare in the trenches that overlook a western front that may never quiet. War is always a difficult subject to fictionalize because it fastens extensive strings on humanity in countless ways. Remarque plucks only one string and watches it vibrate, the node is naive and plain, but it echoes in everyone's heart because the flame of life burns in all of us. And this flame keeps Paul groping in the deep trenches for an exit, but he himself has long vanished in the narrow tunnel towards light. All his beliefs fuse into reality, his facade into bestiality, and his morals into the emptiness of ignorance. This is a very emotional work that keeps one pondering long afterwards, long after the echoes of aeroplanes, bayonets, rifles, hand grenades die away. We readers understand how crucial a role this warfare will forever play in these soldiers' future. The specter of warfare will always be there to haunt humanity; the beasts released during the war may never tire and the men remain forever tattered by the period without morality and understanding. Such is the vicarious pain.
Book Review: Even Better Than Johnny
Summary: 5 Stars
On the cover of my All Quiet on the Western Front is printed "the greatest war novel of all time." In a time when it seems like every book bears on its cover either "New York Times Bestseller," "Best-Selling Author" or "Book of the Year Award Finalist," this one lives up to its billing. All Quiet is a masterpiece, a page turning one-nighter, the literary Saving Private Ryan. The story follows the war experiences of Paul Baumer, young German enlisted, and those of his friends, all of whom Remarque does a remarkable job acquainting the reader with on a personal, almost intimate level. The book becomes increasingly sobering as one by one Paul's friends get snuffed out, or, even worse, die slow and painful deaths. The reader will laugh as Paul and Co. do battle with the ever-present rat(s) of a novel of this sort; be quietly satisfied as they settle the score with the awful Himmeltoss; cheer for them as they find semblence of a normal life for a night with the French women; cry as a pair of boots, something as simple as quality combat boots, become a symbol of all that is lost in war; and cringe, despair of and weep throughout at the true costs of war.
It seems to be as close as one can get to battle without actually being in the trenches. Remarque obviously lived it all, describing in detail the horrors of trench warfare, the inhumanity of throwing fresh, new recruits literally into the fire, the utter terror of the bombing raids, the awful wails of dying men, the maddening shrieks of dying animals. Through the course of the novel, one notices a gradual change in Paul the rookie and Paul the veteran. The turning point -- perhaps one small facet of what Remarque was alluding to in his paragraph-long introduction when he notes, "It (the book) will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war." -- happens as Paul encounters a French soldier, killing him with, as I remember it, a knife. For a time Paul is deeply shocked by the horror of what he has done, seeing this man not as the enemy, but as a fellow human being, a husband, and vowing to write to his wife one day.
And then it fades, as Paul becomes one of the many "destroyed" ones. That Paul has become isolated, cut off from the rest of humanity, haunted by his wartime experiences, is no better demonstrated than when Paul says (upon returning home on a short leave):
"I prefer to be alone, so that no one troubles me...Formerly I lived in just the same way myself, but now I feel no contact here.
They talk too much for me. They have worries, aims, desires, that I cannot comprehend. I often sit with one of them in the little beer garden and try to explain to him that this is really the only thing, just to sit quietly like this. They understand, of course, they agree, they may even feel it so too, but only wiht words, only with words, yes, that is it - they feel it, but always with only half of themselves.
When I see them here, in their rooms, in their offices, about their occupations, I feel an irresistable attraction in it, I would like to be here too and forget the war; but also it repels me, it is so narrow, how can that fill a man's life, he ought to smash it to bits; how can they do it, while out at the front the splinters are whining over the shell-holes, the wounded are carried back on waterproof sheets and comrades crouch in the trenches. They are different men here, men I cannot properly understand, whom I envy and despise."
Some of the best and most emotionally stirring writing I've ever come across. Five stars.
Book Review: War Stinks
Summary: 5 Stars
Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) served in World War I, where he received wounds five times in battle. The searing images of trench warfare left indelible scars on Remarque, who then attempted to exorcize his demons through the writing of literature. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is Remarque's most memorable book, although he wrote nine others dealing with the miseries of war. "All Quiet on the Western Front" is the story of Paul Baumer, a young German soldier serving in the trenches in France. Baumer's story is not a pleasant one; he volunteered for the war when his instructor in school, Kantorek, urged the class to join up for the glory of Germany. After a rigorous period of military training (where Paul and his buddies meet the hated drill instructor Himmelstoss, a recurring character throughout the book), Baumer and his friends go to the front as infantrymen. Filled with glorious ideas about war by authority figures back home, Baumer quickly discovers that the blood-drenched trenches of the Western Front are a quagmire of misery and violent death. As soon as the first shells explode in the mud Paul and his friends realize everyone back home is a liar, that war is not the glorious transformation of boys into men but rather the systematic destruction of all that is decent and healthy. As Paul's friends slip away one by one through death, desertion, and injury, Paul begins to wonder about his own life and whether he will survive not only the war but also a world without war.
Remarque's book exposes all of the insanities of war. The incongruities of violent battle versus long periods of boredom repeatedly appear throughout the book. On one day, Paul and his friends sit around discussing mundane topics; the next day they are bashing French skulls during an offensive. It is these extremes that caused so many problems with the psychological disposition of the men. In one chapter of the book, Paul and several new recruits, hunkered down in a dugout, withstand hour upon hour of continuous shellfire until one of the green recruits snaps and tries to make a run for freedom. Where else but in a war could one walk through a sea of corpses while enjoying the sunshine and the gentle cadences of the birds in the trees? That such an unnatural activity as mass murder takes place surrounded by the natural beauty of the world is a theme found in many World War I authors and poets. Remarque's book is noteworthy because he does a better job of showing this strange duality than other writers.
Also of interest is that this book views the war from the German side. From what I read recently, the Germans had a tough time throughout the war with rations, troop rotations away from the front, and supplies. This is apparent in Remarque's treatment of the German war effort, especially toward the end of the book when Germany begins to retreat in the face of overwhelming American military power. Paul's remarks about the evil presence of tanks are an interesting insight into the effect those iron behemoths had on the ill-equipped and exhausted Germans.
The cover of this edition trumpets this as "the greatest war novel of all time." And so it is, but not in the way some people might think. This is the greatest war novel ever because Remarque's book is anti-war. Those that read "All Quiet on the Western Front" will see warfare stripped of its flag waving, parades, and John Wayne glory. War is death, with the glory going to the few who survive. Remarque makes a brilliant contribution to world literature with this riveting novel.
Book Review: War in its Rawest Form
Summary: 5 Stars
Hyped as the greatest war novel of all time, "All Quiet on the Western Front" had certainly piqued my interest. I must say I wasn't disappointed. Remarque delivers a biting, scathing criticism of a meaningless and cruel war and its dehumanizing effects on the "Lost Generation."
Contrary to previous war novels romanticizing the ideals of patriotism and heroism, Remarque delivers a poignant story of a German soldier's survival on the front lines of World War I. In the pragmatic life of warfare, there are no grandiose ideals of nationalism, nor any dreams of heroism. There is only one pervading thought - survival at all costs. The ultimate goal of the soldiers is to live another day. And whatever that may entail, not matter how horrific, they will do it
The soldiers are pawns - one homogenous, interchangeable group - to their leaders. All individuality and humanism is stripped from their meager lives. The heir of a fine set of boots from a dying soldier are more important than the human life lost. Yet, the soldiers know that they are pawns but are powerless to change anything. They are mere animals, who use their instinct for survival to live another day.
The soldiers are alienated from society and are separated from the society of their homeland. As the brotherhood of soldiers contemplate their roles in a postwar society, they cannot grasp at anything. Not only is their innocence lost, but their future is bleak and meaningless as well. Even if they are able to survive the front lines and return homes, they are living corpses, shells of human beings who have been irrevocably damaged by the war. Indeed, they are the "Lost Generation," whether they are able to return home or are rotting in the ground.
The abject futility and meaningless of war pervades throughout the novel. As the war progresses, the talk of armistice intrigues and tortures the soldiers simultaneously, as they know that any day may bring their death, no matter how close to peace they are. They know they are fighting a losing war but must continue to do so, despite its futility. Indeed, the Russian prisoners and their French combatant enemies are viewed on the same moral level as the soldiers. They are no different than them except for the language, as many of them are peasants and farmers and only maim and kill because they are ordered to and have been subjected to mindless propaganda. On a basic level, the soldiers are all the same, no matter which side they fight on.
Remarque uses a terse, direct style to convey the horrors of the frontline and strip away any flowery sense of existence. Yet, the words he uses are powerful and reveal a cold, heartless war that is bereft of ideals. Through the first-person narration of Paul, Remarque delivers the content that seems to be much more personal than if a third person narrator was utilized. Indeed, it is easy to imagine the horrific sights of "No Man's Land" and the mangled corpses and putrefying bodies.
Overall, this novel certainly deserved to be hailed as a great war (anti-war) novel. It is easy to see why this book was burned during the Third Reich, as the "Fuhrer" could not have been too happy with Remarque's views on patriotism and war. However, this novel holds certain universal truths that cannot be ignored. Superb.
Book Review: All Quiet On the Western Front Review for English Class
Summary: 5 Stars
All Quiet on the Western Front, by German writer Eriq Maria Remarque, explores the horrors of World War I through the eyes of a German solider named Paul. Remarque transforms this tale of a young recruit who is thrown head first into a raging war into a lesson about life. Remarque attempts to teach the reader to understand the horror of war, the value of friendship and the absurdity of traditional values.Remarque includes discussions among Paul's group, and Paul's own thoughts while he observes Russian prisoners of war to show that no ordinary people benefit from a war. No matter what side a man is on, he is killing other men just like himself, people with whom he might even be friends at another time. But Remarque doesn't just tell us war is horrible: he vividly supports his point by assaulting all of the reader's senses. Remarque uses the sight of newly dead soldiers, unearthly screaming of the wounded horses, the smell of three layers of bodies to hammer home the atrocity of war. The crying of the horses is especially terrible. Horses are innocent bystanders, their bodies shining beautifully before being cut down by shellfire. To Paul, their dying cries represent all of nature accusing Man, the great destroyer.
Another message that Remarque attempts to convey to the reader is the value of enduring friendship. The theme of comradeship occurs often and gives the novel both lighthearted and sad moments. Away from battle, the soldiers formed deep bonds, showing not only the importance, but also the strength of the camaraderie between the men. Friendship emerges as an even more important theme at the front. Throughout the book, the reader sees men helping wounded comrades at great personal risk, often with tragic results. The reader can understand how hearing the voices of friends when one is lost or even just hearing their breathing during the night can keep a soldier going. The reader grieves with Paul and almost puts down the book when his dearest friend dies. Friendship was often the last thing keeping a soldier from giving up, and, when it was lost, life seemed to lose its meaning.
Remarque also preaches a rejection of traditional values. In his introductory note, Remarque said that his novel was "not an accusation". Rather, it is a rejection of traditional militaristic values of Western civilization. This denunciation is impressed on the reader through the young soldiers. Represented by Paul and his friends, these soldiers see military attitudes as stupid and accuse their elders of betraying them. Often the spit and polish mind-sets of their superiors put the front-liners in danger. The betrayal by elders can be seen in many instances, including during the Kaiser's visit to the front. This scene hints at some of Remarque's personal grievances with his country's government.
Like All Quiet On The Western Front, most of Remarque's other books were written with the intent of censuring war. This book does an especially good job of this, relying on the wonderful prose of the author to brand its ideas into the reader's mind. It also impresses upon the reader the author's belief in the merit of friendship and the triviality of traditional values. In the end, this book serves its purpose well: it makes the reader wonder why we still tolerate and advocate the atrocity that is war.