Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a great novel. There's nothing revolutionary about its approach but the way Remarque writes and composes a narrative is objectively beautiful. The characters leap off the page, in particular Lenz, the charming rogue we've all met sometime and desperately wanted to be friends with. You can feel the camaraderie between the three comrades the banter between them and the mischievous activities they get up to, show this rare preservation of humanity in an otherwise dark era. The love story is touching but again like in Road to Lisbon, The Black Obelisk, and Flotsam we find a sick female character as the main feminine presence. It is a strange recurrent trope Remarque has chosen. Perhaps it is to make the male protagonist and his loyalty to his love look even more decent in contrast to all the terrible things going on around him; some small flame of hope and humanity. Maybe these poorly women are supposed to echo the sickness of Nazism spreading across Germany and then Europe. Or maybe that's a bridge too far. This is truly the only flaw in Remarque's otherwise exceptional writing and it's one you won't notice unless you read a lot of his books. It also doesn't stop the female characters being strong and powerful figures in each story. One other thing I noticed which I found rather amusing was how much drinking they do. Once you start paying attention you realise they all must have livers the size of a small engine to get through the amount of alcohol they do. Then again it seems it may have been one of the few ways to cope with the times they faced. At the heart of it all though, this is a gripping read and you will enjoy it.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Ein unglaubliches Meisterwerk. Remarque erzählt eine herzzerreissende Geschichte vom Leben dreier Kammeraden, allerdings mit Robert Lohkamp als Ich-Erzähler im Zentrum.
Remarque lässt trotz der scharfen Skizzierung der düsteren Stimmung der Zwischenkriegszeit in Deutschland (Berlin) einige unglaublich unterhaltsame Episoden und Ausdrücke (sei dies durch eine der Figuren oder durch den Erzähler) durchkommen, die das Lesen dieses Romans zu einem wunderbaren Erlebnis machen. Ich musste mehrmals laut loslachen, musste mir aber auch manchmal zusammennehmen, um nicht los zu heulen.
Wem "Im Westen Nichts Neues" gefallen hat, wird dieser Roman zweifellos auch gefallen. Nicht aber, weil es "dasselbe" ist, sondern weil es einerseits als eine Art Fortsetzung von ersterem gesehen werden kann, und andererseits auch in sich ein extrem berührendes Werk ist. Schade, dass dieses Werk im Schatten der Grösse von "Im Westen Nichts Neues" stehen muss.
Remarque lässt trotz der scharfen Skizzierung der düsteren Stimmung der Zwischenkriegszeit in Deutschland (Berlin) einige unglaublich unterhaltsame Episoden und Ausdrücke (sei dies durch eine der Figuren oder durch den Erzähler) durchkommen, die das Lesen dieses Romans zu einem wunderbaren Erlebnis machen. Ich musste mehrmals laut loslachen, musste mir aber auch manchmal zusammennehmen, um nicht los zu heulen.
Wem "Im Westen Nichts Neues" gefallen hat, wird dieser Roman zweifellos auch gefallen. Nicht aber, weil es "dasselbe" ist, sondern weil es einerseits als eine Art Fortsetzung von ersterem gesehen werden kann, und andererseits auch in sich ein extrem berührendes Werk ist. Schade, dass dieses Werk im Schatten der Grösse von "Im Westen Nichts Neues" stehen muss.
I read this in the original German, way back in German 3 in high school.
I hate this book so much. My mother have the worst book taste in the entire universe. All thay do is drinking and complaining and remembering. And than all over again. Not mentioning this pointless philosophical quote this characters burst with while being drunk or even without any logical reason.
I get it, you've been to war and it was brutal and pointless, but dude, get you shit together, while you complaining about youyouth being taken, there are fuking nacis in your sity and in your county about to conquer the world. Stop complaining and blaming everyone but yourself.
I get it, you've been to war and it was brutal and pointless, but dude, get you shit together, while you complaining about youyouth being taken, there are fuking nacis in your sity and in your county about to conquer the world. Stop complaining and blaming everyone but yourself.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
5 stars
it built up sort of slowly but this book ended up being a thunderous avalanche, depicting love and friendship through the harsh, hard and unforgiving reality. there are so many lines, descriptions and points in this novel that are simply heartbreaking. but it was also sweet and warm, and absolutely joyous at times.
it built up sort of slowly but this book ended up being a thunderous avalanche, depicting love and friendship through the harsh, hard and unforgiving reality. there are so many lines, descriptions and points in this novel that are simply heartbreaking. but it was also sweet and warm, and absolutely joyous at times.