Dear Erich Maria Remarque,
Oh, where to start? Although All Quiet on the Western Front is less than three hundred pages, it took me nearly two weeks to finish – but not because it was a monotonous, trite or wearisome read. It was perfect, and that is why I didn't want to finish it.
This novel, set in 1914, follows a group German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, who are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the 'glorious war'. With the fire and patriotism of youth they sign up. What follows is the moving story of a young 'unknown soldier' experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.
The symbolic opening of the book immediately haunted me. Of course, before reading this, I knew it was an anti-war novel, so I was prepared for a powerful read. But, to have been hit with such emotive symbolism at the beginning, I was entirely dissolved into the book. The novel opens with 'a stroke of luck' as Paul describes – the food for the soldiers is, for once, plentiful! The food had been prepared for 150 men and is now in abundance – because half of those soldiers had been killed before they could eat it. The stirring irony weaved into the first chapter alone makes your book a strong contender for having one of the best openings ever. As Cicely Palser Havely states, from the very beginning, 'abstracts such as regulations, ideologies and traditional values are measured against practicalities, experience and the urge to survive.'
The emotive irony was beautifully complemented by the imagery created. You used the simplest words to make the richest images. For example:
"I fall into a belly that has been ripped open, and on the body is a new, clean, French officer's cap."
The dehumanisation of this officer alone proves how these soldiers are fed with such morbid incantations; it was drilled into these poor souls that one should kill, kill and kill. It is once you stop to realise what it is that you're killing that breaks them. As well as the dehumanisation, the description of the French officer's cap is a heart-wrenching example of how young men had their lives prematurely ended on the battlefield. I haven't come across such poignant imagery in a while. I read this book at night, so perhaps the tranquillity that the night encompasses enhanced the experience. But whether I read this in the dead of night or during the day, your writing would've still been entirely mesmerising.
I adored the comradeship between Paul and his schoolmates that also became soldiers. But most of all, the almost love-like companionship that Paul and Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinsky shared. During moments such as in Chapter Five (when Kat helps Paul to kill a goose to eat) I forgot all about the two sides in this war. There was such a dream-like aura that emanated from that scene, and the battlefront seemed so far. Throughout the book, neglecting to refer to the 'other side' reinforced that these soldiers are just ordinary men who care for their comrades.
Your attempt to unify these soldiers' experiences by alternating between first-person singular and first-person plural exuded such a sorrowful undertone, especially during the scenes of comradeship. Although I'm no good with character names, their experiences are undoubtedly memorable, especially Kemmerich, who no longer needed his soft airman's boots after he died, and made Müller happy to keep them. And after Kemmerich's death, Paul's comrades were killed, one by one. The most tragic one of all was Kat's death – I can’t even describe the feeling.
Soon after his comrades' death, Paul, unfortunately, reaches the same fate by the end of the book. After learning about his death, I was horrified, and I was compelled to read the Afterword, written by Brian Murdoch (the translator) – my love for this book only grew.
"Bäumer and his fellow soldiers discuss the nature of the war and war itself but they do not come to any real conclusions – nor could they. They are too young, they lack the background. But their naivety, their very inability to articulate an answer is the point of the book. Bäumer dies. The reader is left to draw the conclusion."
Usually when I write these letters to authors, I waffle on about the characters or the plot, but rarely do I discuss the symbolism used (if there is any). However, it would've been a crime not to talk about your talent at producing such sombre symbolism. Your writing urged me to change the typical topics considered in my letters, which is proof in itself that this book was incredibly impactful. After writing this letter to you, I'm confident that I have not added anything new to the discussions surrounding this book; I can only say that, like many readers, I was enthralled throughout.
Yours Sincerely,
Akatsuki Vivi (>‿◠)✌
Rating: 5/5 ★
Date Started: 24/11/20
Date Finished: 03/12/20