All Quiet on the Western Front in Read by Theme

Dec 11, 2013 Kingfan30 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, bbc-big-read, telegraph-novels, banned, books-of-the-century

This book is written from the viewpoint of a soldier on the front lines. It doesn't hold back on the descriptions of what it is like and does not make for easy reading. I can quite imagine that life on the front line was exactly like this, the mud, the bad food, the way you have to distance yourself from some of the events that are going on. I also found it disturbing that although they were out fighting for their country in the worst possible conditions they did not seem to get told any news of ...more

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Sep 11, 2010 Kat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: udate, classics, wwi

All Quiet on the Western Front is a classic that I've always wanted to read. I've read a lot of World War II books, but very few from World War I, and this one had the added interest of being written from the German perspective. Right from the very beginning, I could see why it is a classic and features prominently on all those 'top books' lists, including 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.

In the beginning, it appears to be just another war narrative - young men plucked straight from school and All Quiet on the Western Front is a classic that I've always wanted to read. I've read a lot of World War II books, but very few from World War I, and this one had the added interest of being written from the German perspective. Right from the very beginning, I could see why it is a classic and features prominently on all those 'top books' lists, including 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.

In the beginning, it appears to be just another war narrative - young men plucked straight from school and sent to fight a war that seems like a great adventure - travel and comradeship, something that they never dreamed of as children. But as the story progresses, through trench warfare, front-line hospitals and home visits that further distance themselves from 'normal' lives, All Quiet On the Western Front becomes gradually more haunting and thought-provoking.

Paul is an average German boy when he enlists to fight in the Great War - having grown up in an average family, he finds himself with his schoolmates, fighting a war that he doesn't particularly believe in. And although there are funny stories and light-hearted moments, as I listened I became more and more sympathetic as he witnesses some of the greatest horrors World War One had to offer - from long painful deaths to gas attacks and the effect on the German people as a whole.

As the realisation of the effects of war distances him from his family and the generations of people who have never fought in bloody, hand-to-hand combat in trenches, he becomes more and more introspective, and begins to question everything about the war - the futility, the terrible waste of young lives and deals with the death of friends, comrades and strangers.

Although I hate to dictate what people should read, I can honestly say that I think this is a book that everyone should read - it's haunting, disturbing and ultimately reinforces the brutality of war without using over-the-top violence, it is simply the story of one young man who realises just how wasteful and futile war is.

The Audio Version

I really enjoyed the audio version - the narration is very well done (although the English accent is slightly at odds with what I expected), and although I'm not overly fond of classics on audio, this version really adds an extra angle to the story that I very much appreciated.

Read more of my reviews at The Aussie zombie ...more

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Nov 20, 2010 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: school

"This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war."

I think the preface/disclaimer says it all. I love this novel, plain and simple. ...more

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