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jbxdavis 's review for:
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
Heart-breaking, human, and timeless. Not only is this an excellent account of war on the front lines, but the story is masterfully told. Remarque oscillates between carnage so regular it becomes almost mundane for our protagonist, and the quiet moments where the effects of that carnage on his psyche begin to creep in.
It's the latter that makes this a masterpiece. The sober moments where the narrator tries to contemplate life after the war, and cannot. War has stripped him, and his entire generation, of their ability to participate in life as it is back home, so much so that the prospect of doing so is no longer even a source of hope. What makes this phenomenon all the more unbearable is his inability to explain it to those that came before him, and those that will come after.
One of the highest compliments I can give a book is that it is important, and All Quiet on the Western Front earns that accolade without question.
It's the latter that makes this a masterpiece. The sober moments where the narrator tries to contemplate life after the war, and cannot. War has stripped him, and his entire generation, of their ability to participate in life as it is back home, so much so that the prospect of doing so is no longer even a source of hope. What makes this phenomenon all the more unbearable is his inability to explain it to those that came before him, and those that will come after.
One of the highest compliments I can give a book is that it is important, and All Quiet on the Western Front earns that accolade without question.