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jimothus 's review for:
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
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