"This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war."
All Quiet on the Western Front is an 1929 anti-war novel, set during
World War I, by German author and war veteran, Erich Maria Remarque. It's considered to be one of the greatest and most important works in the genre.
The book was a best-seller when it was first released. In 1930, an American film adaptation was made, which won the Best Picture
Oscar.
The story is narrated by a young soldier, Paul Bäumer. It describes the horrors of trench warfare in a brutally realistic fashion. Further themes are comradeship and the soldiers' detachment from civil life.
Contains examples of:
- Banned In China: The book was later banned in Nazi Germany for being anti-war.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Corporal Himmelstoß, who trained Paul and his friends.
- Downer Ending
- Go Out With A Smile: When Paul dies at the end, his face expression is described as "calm, as though almost glad the end had come."
- If You Die I Call Your Stuff: A pair of good boots are passed around among the soldiers.
- Kill Em All: Almost every important character dies.
- Only A Flesh Wound: Averted; a character dies from a leg injury, an other is hit by a shrapnel on his hip, and quickly bleeds to death.
- Not Even Bothering With The Accent: In the film, the German characters are played by American actors, who speak with American accents.
- Justified, since the novel, and subsequent film, are more about the horrors of war in a general sense, than about WWI. Therefore, speaking German or German-accented English isn't that important.
- Seinfeld Is Unfunny: The themes can look dated, because many other war novels and films repeated them.
- Shell Shocked Veteran: All characters became such people.
- Some Anvils Need To Be Dropped
- Stranger In A Familiar Land: Paul feels like this, when he visits home.
- Tear Jerker: The ending.
- Or maybe THE ENTIRE DAMN THING!?! Seriously, the main characters friends either die, lose their mind, or something! He lost everything!
- Especially the part where he comes back home and sees his books, his writings, everything he was. . . and realizes it doesn't move him at all, because he isn't that person anymore, and never will be.
- Title Drop: On the last page.
- War Is Hell
- The original title is "Nothing New From the Western Front." Now think about what happened, the setting and why there's nothing new.
- Wide Eyed Idealist: One Mauve Shirt character.
