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A review by halkid2
All Quiet on the Western Front (Retold for Children, Abridged) by Erich Maria Remarque
5.0
Poetic, Brutal, and Hopeless Account of War
A remarkable and poetic book! No wonder this World War I novel, when it appeared in the late 1920s, almost singlehandedly refashioned the way in which World War I was viewed. It's the single most powerful anti-war novel I've read -- and I have read many books about the two World Wars. In fact it's hard to do this book justice in a simple review.
Remarque lays out the utter futility of war. In language that is direct, concise, and eloquent, he unravels all its bleak layers. Through one German soldier's narration (Paul), we learn about an entire generation of young men -- lost in the inhumane reality and callousness of years in the trenches, overwhelmed by the deeply complex and mixed feelings a few days leave can cause, and relentlessly facing the randomness of sudden injury and death. These are boys really, forced into an initiation into adulthood that involves total immersion into filth, disease, hunger, fear and death -- with virtually no respite. They no longer connect with their families of origin and hold no expectations for any future.
Nothing is left to the imagination. Paul starves, hides, kills, watches inept officers, examines prisoners of war, buries comrades, visits home, and witnesses the uneven quality of medical care to the injured. It's a world where soldiers have only one another for support and comfort. "More intimate than lovers" as Remarque puts it. And yet, at the moment one of their own is about to die, the most pressing concern is who takes possession of the dying friend's still-intact boots.
Often, while reading, I found I needed a break from passages that were so raw, disturbing or poignant. This is certainly not a book for the faint-hearted. It takes stamina to complete. At the same time, I wish it were required reading for any politician or general who thinks conflict is a responsible way to problem solve.
A remarkable and poetic book! No wonder this World War I novel, when it appeared in the late 1920s, almost singlehandedly refashioned the way in which World War I was viewed. It's the single most powerful anti-war novel I've read -- and I have read many books about the two World Wars. In fact it's hard to do this book justice in a simple review.
Remarque lays out the utter futility of war. In language that is direct, concise, and eloquent, he unravels all its bleak layers. Through one German soldier's narration (Paul), we learn about an entire generation of young men -- lost in the inhumane reality and callousness of years in the trenches, overwhelmed by the deeply complex and mixed feelings a few days leave can cause, and relentlessly facing the randomness of sudden injury and death. These are boys really, forced into an initiation into adulthood that involves total immersion into filth, disease, hunger, fear and death -- with virtually no respite. They no longer connect with their families of origin and hold no expectations for any future.
Nothing is left to the imagination. Paul starves, hides, kills, watches inept officers, examines prisoners of war, buries comrades, visits home, and witnesses the uneven quality of medical care to the injured. It's a world where soldiers have only one another for support and comfort. "More intimate than lovers" as Remarque puts it. And yet, at the moment one of their own is about to die, the most pressing concern is who takes possession of the dying friend's still-intact boots.
Often, while reading, I found I needed a break from passages that were so raw, disturbing or poignant. This is certainly not a book for the faint-hearted. It takes stamina to complete. At the same time, I wish it were required reading for any politician or general who thinks conflict is a responsible way to problem solve.