Title: All Quiet on the Western FrontAuthor: Erich Maria Remarque
ISBN: 978-0-449-21394-0
Recommended Grade Level of Reader: 9th and Up
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Media Type: Book
Copyright: 1995 (original publication: 1928)
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot Summary: All Quiet on the Western Front is a classic fictional novel set during the time of World War I. Paul Baumer, the twenty year old male protagonist, joins the German Army to assist in combat. While first showing excitement for the journey and opportunity to fight for his country, Paul becomes disheartened by tasks he must perform and by the nature of war itself. He begins to find the fighting and killing meaningless and questions the rationale in battling men who would otherwise be his peers.
Evaluation: (B) All Quiet on the Western Front makes for a good read based on the believability of Paul's inner thoughts and emotions. Passages such as, "why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony - forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?" highlight an inner conflict that has surely been experienced by real men and women in combat. Perhaps the truth and relevance in Remarque's war story is why this novel is popular among required school reading lists 81 years after its publication.
Evaluation: (B) All Quiet on the Western Front makes for a good read based on the believability of Paul's inner thoughts and emotions. Passages such as, "why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony - forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?" highlight an inner conflict that has surely been experienced by real men and women in combat. Perhaps the truth and relevance in Remarque's war story is why this novel is popular among required school reading lists 81 years after its publication.
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