Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front

As I continue my WWI phase, I decided to take on the classic book, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. I've known of the classic 1930 film for some time, often regarded as one of the greatest war films of all time. Last year Netflix released a remake of this film which won quite a lot of accolades (nominated for 9 Oscars). The first time I saw the film, I was impressed by the scenery but not really pulled in to the story. The 2nd time I watched it in Kansas City with my dad I was a little more drawn into the story. The general premise is a group of young teenagers' experiences during the horrors of the war. I'd argue no film or story quite documents the sheer brutality of the WWI trench warfare then this story does. 

The author of the story Erich Maria Remarque was actually a WWI veteran who just barely survived the final years of the war. He provides a very real perspective of the soldier's mental capacity during bombardments and enemy engagements. Surprisingly the writing is quite easy to read, plain and to the point, with some great poetic moments as well. While the story is not a biography, it surely details events that unfolded for the author himself. He tells the story of a group of young men, just barely 18 years old. They enter the war with resounding pride however are later transformed by internal conflict and psychological trauma. During the 1940s the book was banned by the Nazi Party, as a tale of cowardice, however years later is has been celebrated as a masterwork of historical war. 

The Premise

The story is really quite simple, merely bringing detail and events to a soldier's mental journey from the beginning to the end of WWI. The main character is Paul Baumer, a passionate and popular German boy who decides to volunteer for imperial army with his friends at the onset of war. At the time they consider the act an honorable and courageous thing to do for a country they are very proud of. They believe they will have a quick victory thanks to their superior weapons and machinery. Paul befriends an older soldier nicknamed Kat, who teaches him the tricks of warfare. 

Paul and his group of classmates become good soldiers, better then most of the peasants and laborers, however they are quickly discouraged by the horrendous conditions of trench warfare. They find their youthful passion has suddenly transformed to mature misery as if they have aged 20 years in the last 2 years. At the western front they suffer from all manners of sickness and disease, sleep depravation, starvation, and very low morale. Paul witnesses fellow soldiers go thru horrific sudden deaths, shots to the head or exploded by shrapnel. He also witnesses soldiers die slowly succumbing to their wounds. He maintains his sanity however by following orders and taking cover when he can. 

At one point Paul leave the frontlines to visit his family in his German town. He finds himself a changed man, very disinterested in the mundane affairs of civilization. He is saddened to see his mother sick and dying. He is frustrated to converse with his father who has unending questions about the war. He is even bored at the town beerfest, where he asks a friend why do they have to talk and have these social events. Why can't they just enjoy their own quiet existence. It's clear at this point that Paul is shell shocked by the daily intensity of war and finds it hard to adapt to the civility. He is glad to leave his town and return to the warfront. 

During one of his engagements he is forced to take cover in a crater and kill a French soldier in hand-to-hand combat. Trapped inside the crater, Paul watches the soldier die a painful death and begins to feel remorse for him. He begs the dead man for forgiveness and promises to one day send money to his family. Paul is quite shaken by this event, but later finds solace with his friends who understand it is the nasty part of war. They do briefly share some good moments protecting a French village, stealing a goose, and chasing after the local girls. 

However by the end of the war as the German army begins to retreat, many of Paul's friends have died. The final straw is when he sees his friend Kat hit by shrapnel and carries him to the medic tent. He has a conversation with Kat about what they will do after the war. To Paul's surprise Kat dies just as he arrives to the tent. From this point on Paul accepts that his fate will be the same. He understands that his generation will forever be deemed as losers and failures, and it's not a life worth living. At the end of the war Paul reaches his end on the final day before the armistice. The book does not describe how he died, but only that he died peacefully. The book closes with it's title, that all was now quiet on the western front.      

The Review

I often find that most classic books are often difficult to read and comprehend due to their aged vocabulary. However this book was rather easy and very much to the point. It did not overwhelm the reader with too much unnecessary detail or backstory, yet rather concise events. We were taken inside the thoughts and reactions of the protagonist as he endured the harshest of environments. It is very apparent that the author himself was once a soldier, as he provides a vivid account and description of the battlefield. It is however also very poetically written with deeper themes touching upon the horrors of war. Remarque describes how the solider in those days considered war as adventurous and patriotic when in reality it was only a waste of life. And even if you survived the horrors of the war, civilian life could never be the same. 

This is regarded as one of the greatest war books of all time, and to be fair is actually an anti-war book. That's because of it's no nonsense approach, where there is no fluff or heroism yet rather sheer trauma. This is undoubtedly the majority perspective of those who fought in WWI, and Remarque gives one of the best written accounts of it. Hemingway once said it is best to write about what you know, and that was clearly the case for Remarque. He made a fortune of this book that was later produced into two very successful films in 1930 and 2022. He also wrote various other books pertaining to the Great War. I am surprised I have not read this book sooner and am glad to have bought it and read thru it. It's one of the rare books I would consider reading thru again.