I never read this book in school, which shocked my partner who read it twice. I was desperately trying to finish my reading challenge in 2023 and needed a WWI era book so he recommended picking this one up. I’m glad I did. I wonder if I’m able to enjoy some books more because I don’t have to read them and I’m choosing to.
Cover image via Amazon
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Summary from Amazon:
This is the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German army during World War I. They become soldiers with youthful enthusiasm. But the world of duty, culture, and progress they had been taught breaks in pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches.
Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principle of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another . . . if only he can come out of the war alive.
I found the story very moving and real in a way I wasn’t quite ready for. I wasn’t sure if it was historical fiction or written by someone who had been there and the more I read, the more certain I was that Remarque had experienced this himself (he had). The first half seemed to bounch back and forth between the front line and the break the soldiers got between their turns at the front. The stark differences between the two were very well done and showed how brutal conditions were for those fighting. I thought Remarque wrote beautifully about the feelings Paul and his comrades had while fighting and I found it all very moving.
The characters were all very realstic though I’ll admit I had trouble keeping them separate. I knew the names of the folks who were fighting with Paul, but I didn’t know much about their background or personalities. Tejaden was the one who stuck out to me as he was funny and blunt, but the others seemed to blend together.
Paul was a great narrator. He spoke with the voice of all the men on the front, not being anyone special or someone who thought of themself as different from the others. His story of going home on leave, his training, and injury gave the reader a really full sense of the different experiences the soldiers would have gone through while fighting. It’s very possible any of the boys in his group could have narrated the story and it wouldn’t have been very different.
While I’ve been lucky not to experience wartime like Paul and his friends, I think the feeling of disenchantment they go through is common enough. They were encouraged to fight for their country and glory but learned quickly that there’s a lot that’s fabricated about that. I think growing up will evoke similar feelings. For me, it was that living on my own wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. I had this great sense of independance for having my own place and taking care of myself. But it came with lot of lonliness and depression. I could relate to the disappointment that something you’d built up in your mind wasn’t anything like what you’d been promised.
Erich Maria Remarque. Image via Wikipedia
I felt the book picked up significantly once Paul got leave and went back home. Seeing how different his life before the war was and realizing how distanced he felt from his family and friends shifted the tone of the book. Before, he was surviving and being a brave soldier so he could return home in glory. After being home, he realized he couldn’t return to the life he had and wasn’t the same person he used to be. His feelings about the war as a temporary situation changed because he realized it was a larger impact. I thought this made the second half a lot more emotional and nuanced.
The first half seemed almost a bit repetitive with the repeated turns at the front and how similar they were. I think that was purposeful because the war was repetative and almost predictable for many of the soldiers serving. While it wasn’t exciting reading, it was still really important.
This book spoke very honestly about modern warfare and the affects on the soldiers. We know history is told by the victors but even more importantly, it’s told by those in power which are not the foot soldiers. It’s important that this story could share the experience of the layman who had to fight the war. The back of this copy talked about how Remarque’s books were banned by Hitler when he left the country and refused to fight in another war. I don’t think Hitler would have wanted potential soldiers reading about how brutal and gritty an experience they might be in for.
Writer’s Takeaway: This is a great example of someone writing something they know well and it showing in a beautiful way. Remarque’s experience is unique and his ability to write it to share with the world is a gift. First person accounts (or near first person accounts in this case) are a great way to learn about history and to see what can happen and hopefully learn not to repeat our mistakes.
This book was very moving and very well written. Four out of Five Stars.
This bookfulfilled the 1900-1919 time period of the When Are You Reading? Challenge 2023.
Until next time, write on.
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