Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front

by Harold Bloom

All Quiet on the Western Front served as Remarque's attempt to confront and ultimately rid himself of the graphic and haunting memories of his time serving in World War I. This title features a selection of essays, in addition to a bibliography, a chronology of Remarque's life, and an introduction.

Genres: Classics, War, Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War I, Death, Realistic Fiction

224 pages, Library Binding

First published January 11, 2001

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Quiet on the Western Front is the story of a young German man, named Paul Baumer, who inspired by the patriotic speeches that his teacher, Kantorek, gave, joined the army. He and his friends entered the army training camp with visions of the honor and glory of war. After ten weeks of training with the vindictive Corporal Himmelstoss these dreams were replaced with a sense of grim foreboding.
Upon arriving at the front they find themselves becoming more pragmatic and rational about things, even the deaths of their friends. When Paul's friend, Kemmerich, dies all Paul's friends want are his boots. This is not because they became insensitive it is only because they realized that the boots were nice and Kemmerich could not use them any more.
As the war continues Paul is injured several times and each time comes back to less friends than he left. Soon he begins to realize that war is a kind of living death to a soldier because after the war is done there is nothing for the soldier. After nearly four years of fighting for a cause that he no longer believes in, all of Paul's friends are dead, and the war is almost over. Then on a day the army report simply states "All quiet on the western front" Paul is killed.
I think that this is a very well written book because of the difference in the characters at the beginning and at the end of the book. In addition to this the way Erich Maria Remarque describes the war it makes it feel as if I was on the front with them. Finally the ending, in my opinion is befitting of the rest of the novel because there was nothing left for Paul at home and his friends were all dead.

[Rosie Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to finish only because i have been busy, thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be watching the film and studying it in english NEA and im so excited.

[Eugene du Plessis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw the movie years ago.Very heavy reading about WW1 that most of us have probably forgotten or know ver little about.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it when I was a child.
This book is one of the books that shaped me.
It should be one of the classic mandatory books to read.

[Steve McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In less than 200 pages Remarque lays out the futility of war and the psyche of a WWI soldier. There may be 23 years between them but the style of writing, the relentless existential monologue reminds me of 'The Old Man and the Sea'. Both have a rolling prose that spurs you on. You WANT to read more. Words tumble over themselves as fast as your eyes can read them. 'The Old Man and the Sea' is concerned with getting home with that big catch so people will admire you, All Quiet on the Western Front' is about getting home and not being asked by people who could never know 'how was the war?'.

[J Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read The Night in Lisbon some time ago and loved story and writing. Had been trying to get this from the library for a while now. I had to skip some of the descriptions but the story is beautifully told of the waste of war and the effect on the minds and bodies of those who fight in them.

[Caathh Mair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, raw, graphic and a story of a sacrifice given " for our tomorrow you gave today"

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Depressing, but informative. Wouldn't very read again.

[Monthly Book Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without exception, the Group were extremely positive about the book. “Absolutely marvellous”. “Great pace – I couldn’t put it down”. “Have read nothing approaching this, other than possibly Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ ”. “Beautifully constructed, so that his anti-war messages are put over without interrupting the narrative flow and without preaching”. “Engaging variety of humour”. “Totally compelling”.

Looking at in more detail, one reader was struck by the way Remarque could venture into quite poetic uses of language – for example on the subject of earth - without any sense of inappropriateness, despite the generally grim subject matter.

Another was struck by the ability of his characters to joke in the direst of situations, such as the description of roasting pork in a ruined house despite the fact that the smoke from the fire was attracting increasingly heavy artillery fire. The very first episode – about double rations for the troops – was laced with irony as the cause was that half the company had been killed.

His writing was particularly powerful - short and too the point. He could bring a scene to life or create a character with just a couple of brush-strokes, just a telling detail or two. Remarque’s descriptive ability could be measured by seeing how much more gripping his work was than the now widely-published recollections of former World War One soldiers describing similar events.

It was intriguing that 1929 saw the publication of this classic in Germany and in the same year two other World War One classics: “Goodbye to All That” by Robert Graves and “A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway….


This is an extract from a review at http://monthlybookgroup.wordpress.com/. Our reviews are also to be found at http://monthlybookgroup.blogspot.com/

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few looks at a war depicting it with all its horrors and unappetising, sordid details - perhaps an original in that sense. Not bugles but barely school graduate (or not even graduate) boys leaving in tears just held back while they can just about not cling to their mothers as the train is ready to leave; not glories but the real details of a war as it happens to normal soldiers. This is the reality when the war is as pointless as that begun by Germany in wwI, and the horror then spread to involve various other nations and their soldiers, what with the years of trenches and living in mud in all sorts of weather in northern Europe.

The author is respected and celebrated as one of the best for very good reason, even if he had done nothing but this one brilliant piece telling it like it was.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book, I couldn't put it out of my hand for the most part. I learned a lot about the first world war and what it was like in the trenches. Remarque really switches points of view in the book really smoothly and manages to keep the story interesting. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't interested in the first world war to begin with. The book is pretty blunt about what happened and anyone uninterested in war time experiences probably wouldn't enjoy the book. Talking to my mom in this case.

[John Irby · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a hauntingly interesting story of the horror and misery of war told by a young soldier who in the course of four miserable years of fighting from the trenches of The Western Front comes to realize that the war is useless, unjust, and cruel. He and his fellow soldiers want nothing more than to go home to their families, but they are caught in the web of war and cannot escape it until they die.

[Jasmine]

So far in All Quiet on the western front there have been alot of struggles in the "front". It's so sad how theres so much violence and many soldiers, new commerrs, and even horses have been killed. Their bodies were messed up. It was so hard to hear on the cd its like why did they have to suffer like that. Paul talks in detail, and he talks about the problems in the war.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

War is a sad and terrible thing.

“How senseless is everything that can ever be written, done, or thought, when such things are possible. It must be all lies and of no account when the culture of a thousand years could not prevent this stream of blood being poured out, these torture-chambers in their hundreds of thousands. A hospital alone shows what war is.”

[ANONYMOUS · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty sweet book, really good story i recommend to everyone, very depressing ending.

[Mark Janowiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

No comment needed

[Lyn LeJeune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penultimate book on the horrors of war...WWI

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic World War One story that is centered around the german army. It is a sad story but extremally interesting

[Phill Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harrowing storey of the carnage of WW1, from a German soldiers side

[Mark Morang · Rating 5 out of 5]

224 pages This is a very good book, there's a lot of description and it is very interesting to me because i love war/history books!

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was boring and there was so much describing about stuff. It was hard to keep my attention to the book but I had to finish it for class.

[judy weaver · Rating 4 out of 5]

german soldier take on world war 1
front lines.

[Nelunecta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK, actually k read this book after 2 days.