The title of this book stems from the last page. In a brief statement we are informed of the death of the narrator, the fictional soldier Paul Baumer who has fallen on an ordinary day, a day when the military report has been succinctly put;All quiet on the western front Remarque was himself a soldier in War wWorld I, wounded five times, ultimately survived. The first printing of the book was in 1929 and it became an instant success, a classic of war...... In the story, Paul and his schoolmates from a small German town volunteer into the military encouraged by their teachers to defend ideals and country. Some of these youngsters had shaven for their first time when they marched to the recruitment office. We follow the story of this flock that is progressively decimated down to its last man over the course of the next two years. The account is very real and the prose is sparse, natural, light. We walk amongst dead bodies in the front lines, jumping from trench to trench, fox hole to fox hole amongst the explosions of the missiles and the hand grenades, laying the barbed wire of the front line. Very early in the book the narrator shares with us the most important things in the world to the soldiersfood and the latrines. We understand how in a field of fallen comrades and enemies, in the midst of immediate danger, the most basic comforts become the only motive besides the instinct of survival. The prose is very natural even as we learn of people's limbs being torn apart in explosions, pieces of human bodies are trampled about in these youths's daily toils. When they are on break from the line, even though they can steal hear the firing, their mind goes back to a state of peaceful, numb complacency. There is great comfort in playing a game of cards with three other friends while sitting in outdoorr latrines, holding a game board between their knees. These soldiers are so close, their communion goes much deeper han their lice-infested skin, they become one and the same. It is in this fact alone, that the novel acquires its greatness. The message is that the governments, generals, kings that send men into combat, have absolutely no idea what war is like. If it were up to the soldiers in the front, German, French, Russian, American , there would be no war at all. The leaders and the theorists that sent these youngsters to kill each other live vicariously through someone else's young blood. Front soldiers have a great respect for each other and share their disdain for authority beyond the front line, just a show, a put-on, a mask. One of the first messages we learn from Paul, is that a complete generation of Germans were literally plucked out of the craddle and the arms of their mothers, not having had the chance to attach themselves to another woman for love and offspring and then they are blown to pieces, leaving a very shallow footprint in the world. This book will be a classic for as long as there are men raising their hand over others. It is fortunate that Remarque died in 1970. He would be extremely disappointed with the state of affairs on earth in the twenty-first century. The writer spent the rest of his life writing accounts of the war to vaccinate everyone against the urge to make war, lofty goal never attained. For as long as there is word in print, someone will read this book and hear the clear voice of Erich Maria Remarque, a peace-loving soldier who'd been there, done that.
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