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22 October 2002
Some Treasures
for Our Readers.
Thanks to Allison Lane for sending another book review about All Quiet on the Western Front.Now we have two! Planet Deutsch would love to read your review of the book. Send it to freddieb@mail.uca.edu, and we'll post it on the website.
All Quiet on the Western Front:
A Book Review by Allison Lane.
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, was published in
1929 by Little, Brown and Company. This book is historical fiction based on
WWI in Germany. The setting is on the front line. There are four main
characters. Paul Baumer is the narrator. His three friends are Albert Kropp,
Müller, and Leer, all of whom are nineteen years of age. They all were in
the same school and were all convinced to join the army and go to war for their
country by their schoolmaster, Kantorek, who glorified war, but the boys do
not realize what they are getting themselves into.
The book starts out five miles behind the front line in WWI. Remarque
describes in great detail the conditions these boys and their “veteran”
friends, Tjaden, Westhus, Detering, and Katczinsky, have to live in while
fighting in this brutal war. The plot of the story is their struggle against
their worst enemy - the war. However, the war is not the only thing the soldiers
are worried about. They are desperately hungry throughout the duration of
the war and have to live in extremely unsanitary conditions. In fact, a lot
of the book focuses on their search for food, water, and cigarettes. The
most memorable scenes from the book are the scenes in which Paul is engaged
in battle. The characters, though, amidst the horrors of war and death, have
great comradeship. That is the only thing that was positive that came out of
this story.
Remarque exceptionally portrays one of the most fearful and dramatic events
in the world’s history. I highly recommend All Quiet on the Western Front
to everyone. It took me on an emotional ride through fear, shock, disgust,
sadness, and even a little humor. It definitely helped me to reevaluate what
was really important.
All Quiet on the Western Front: A Book Review by Laura Latch.
Erich Maria Remarque wrote All Quiet on the Western Front in 1928. Ballentine Books published it in April 1958. It is approximately 295 pages in length.
Critics from around the world have touted it as the greatest war novel ever written. All Quiet on the Western Front is a historical fiction novel written about a group of young German soldiers and their experiences during the First World War. The story is set in France and Germany. The characters are on the frontline. Paul Baumer is the narrator of the story and gives a first hand account of the experiences of war. His main goal in sharing his story seems to be to let the audience know how much war changes a person and how quickly it ages a young soul.
This was an easy to read book whose story line flows well. The main characters are well developed and the reader is left wanting to know what happens to them. I liked the fact that Paul and the other characters take the time to consider the soldiers they are fighting. They realize the opposition is filled with young men just like themselves who are only doing what their country told them was right. They stop to ponder the reasons they are fighting and give a very personal feel to the realities of war. I would recommend this book to others for just that reason. The story makes the reader feel almost as if we were there with the young men fighting so bravely for their cause.
*This is the first step toward THE One World Language.
Tritt Zwei. Step Two: Subordination in a submarine!
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