All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

It’s always interesting to see what other people have to say concerning a book one has read personally. Sometimes it is so disappointing because a story may have meant the world, but the reviewer or the critical writer rips it apart heartlessly. Or, as one may hope, the reviewer enjoyed each bit of the tale as much as was possible. Of course the reality and purpose of a critique is to demonstrate whether the author was successful in his/her goal to create a widely-read piece, a moving piece, or a well written piece to be added to one’s collector items. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, is lucky enough to be on my list of agreement with most critics. This almost ninety-year-old, historical fiction novel has been said to embody impressionist ideals about World War I. Great characterization on three different levels also helps the reader come to a better understanding about the Great War as an event and the ideals people were feeling as a direct result. This tale was so great that it was snatched up by Hollywood’s affluent of the time and produced. I cannot argue the likelihood that Hollywood picked it up because it was well-written. .

When Remarque’s book entered the literary scene in 1929, it was a big success which completely overrode the previous novel he had written some years earlier. I have not personally read his other pieces, but without a doubt All Quiet deserves every bit of attention it received and still does. This well-written novel was not cumbersome in appearance or in the actual reading, and that is a slight shock considering the topics it covered. One of the reasons this book had so much power first in Germany and (luckily) many other countries was that it plainly but truthfully ...

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...rtistic expression,” (42).

His understanding and usage of this method is phenomenal. Obviously others of the day thought so too because the story was rather quickly made into a movie.

This was the time period when Hollywood jumped on classic books and fantastic new ones entering the literary scene in order to ensure public attendance. Remarque’s novel was so great that it, in all truth, did not need to be lucky.

Works Cited

Firda, Richard Arthur. All Quiet on the Western Front: Literary Analysis and Cultural Context. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993.

Taylor, Harley U., Jr. Erich Maria Remarque: A Literary and Film Biography. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1989.

Taylor, Marvin J. “The Life and Writings of Erich Maria Remarque”. 27 April 2008 .