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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
• a very poignant prose that still doesn't deny itself the less refined meanderings of its protagonist's perspective. it reads like a journal, for better and for worse
• there are many characters here whose names are semi-memorable and whose role in the plot is difficult to discern, but that's the point. Kropp, Kat, Kemmerich, Tjaden - they're all just like Paul. Faceless kids given guns and sent to war. Some are killed, some aren't. Which are which? Who can remember. It's meaningless
• I felt very deep sorrow, a great connection to the grasping of Paul's mind and soul to anything that could distract him from the horrors of war, but not in the average Hollywood cathartic payoff sort of way. Remarque prioritizes speaking to reality, not to some polished narrative
• so many fantastic, cutting lines and entire paragraphs in this book
• the sequence where Paul grapples with his killing of the French printer while attempting to get back to his trench was the most affecting for me personally
• what a powerfully powerless ending
• my only complaint with the book is the repetitiveness of some of Paul's ruminations - it's a dumb complaint as the book is clearly meant to be this way, but I did find myself skimming segments of Paul's repeated ponderings to get to the next substantial paragraph
• this book entered the public domain this year, so that's cool
• there are many characters here whose names are semi-memorable and whose role in the plot is difficult to discern, but that's the point. Kropp, Kat, Kemmerich, Tjaden - they're all just like Paul. Faceless kids given guns and sent to war. Some are killed, some aren't. Which are which? Who can remember. It's meaningless
• I felt very deep sorrow, a great connection to the grasping of Paul's mind and soul to anything that could distract him from the horrors of war, but not in the average Hollywood cathartic payoff sort of way. Remarque prioritizes speaking to reality, not to some polished narrative
• so many fantastic, cutting lines and entire paragraphs in this book
• the sequence where Paul grapples with his killing of the French printer while attempting to get back to his trench was the most affecting for me personally
• what a powerfully powerless ending
• my only complaint with the book is the repetitiveness of some of Paul's ruminations - it's a dumb complaint as the book is clearly meant to be this way, but I did find myself skimming segments of Paul's repeated ponderings to get to the next substantial paragraph
• this book entered the public domain this year, so that's cool
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
incredibly poignant prose.
“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 though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.”
“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 though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.”
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just the sad realities of what the war was like and I genuinely just can’t even imagine that fear and intensity that all of these boys had to face at such a young age. Wasn’t fun to read but it was still amazing.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An incredibly emotional, jarring view of the realities of war. To be thrown into this incredible conflict at the beginning of one's life, and immediately aging beyond recognition due to the trauma, and the self-awareness of it all, really struck me. I couldn't put the book down.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No