From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

All Quiet on the Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque

Start date: March 15, 2017

Finish date: April 14, 2017

Discussion: "Let us Chat a Moment!"

Why we're reading this: International/German
Genre: War novel
[close] International/German
Genre: War novel

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What Members Thought

Mar 20, 2009 Chrissie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audible-us, hf, classics, ww1, 2014-read, france, favorites, belgium

I am silent. What can I say? Here I have been, for the last year or two, searching for books on WW1. I have read fiction and non-fiction and biographies. This thin little book has more of an impact than any other I have read.

This is a book to be read many times.

Not only is it profound in message, but the author writes beautifully.

Can humor be incorporated into a book with such a serious message? Yes, Remarque pulls this off too.

This thin book perfectly captures

- war in the trenches
- mustard g ...more

98 likes · Like · see review

Mar 03, 2008 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: german-literature, read-2024, historical-fiction, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, fiction, hf-world-war-i

This book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.

A re-read after a few decades since I first read this remarkable book. ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Sep 26, 2019 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2019, european, 1001-books, read-the-world, read-the-world-2018-2020, war

Erich Maria Remarque was drafted into the German Imperial Army at the age of 18. In 1917 he was transferred to the Western Front where he fought in the trenches. Six weeks later he was wounded by shrapnel and medically evacuated and spent the rest of the war recovering. This novel was published in 1928 and became an international best seller and the inspiration for a movie made in 1930. The book is a brilliant, devastating, sometimes gory look at war. Everyone should read it -- especially every Erich Maria Remarque was drafted into the German Imperial Army at the age of 18. In 1917 he was transferred to the Western Front where he fought in the trenches. Six weeks later he was wounded by shrapnel and medically evacuated and spent the rest of the war recovering. This novel was published in 1928 and became an international best seller and the inspiration for a movie made in 1930. The book is a brilliant, devastating, sometimes gory look at war. Everyone should read it -- especially every world politician.

All Quiet on the Western Front exposes the devastation of WWI. It is told a German man and narrated by a German soldier. But the exact story could be told by any soldier in that war, because the experiences were universal. The book is told in the first person. In it we are able to see what he sees. Hear what he hears. Know his thoughts. It is very, very real. And throughout the novel I found myself closing the book to decompress and process. My grandpa was an American soldier in that war. He was left behind to die at one point and when he unexpectedly lived he had to find his platoon. The German soldier in this book did the same. There were scenes that were so vivid that I found myself grieving for my grandpa who came home from the war and never mentioned it again. He suffered in silence, completely alone. At one point the main character said that their actions were done “… uncomprehendingly, foolishly, obediently and innocently." That they (the opposing forces) were killing one another without any real understanding as to why it was happening. Each time there is a war, it seems like people believe it will be the last one. And it is never true. Each time there is a war, there are advancements in weaponry and knowledge that makes killing easier. Each time there is a war, soldiers suffer and die. And each time there is a war there is an epidemic of PTSD. This book illustrates exactly why all of that is true, and why we need to do better.

Read this book, and then do your part to end war. ...more

15 likes · Like · see review