By Matt Knox
In this book, we follow Paul Baumer, a 19 year-old German man who joins the German army shortly after the start of World War I. Paul joins with his classmates Kemmerich , Kropp, Muller and many others, after they were encouraged to do so by their teacher. Once he reaches the front lines, Paul meets Kat, an older man that becomes his mentor and best friend throughout the book. Kat has an astonishing ability to find food and supplies where no one would expect them. Meanwhile, we learn that Paul is a sensitive, intelligent person.
The book begins with Paul and his fellow soldiers just returned from the front. They have been relived, and can now enjoy rest and good food. Kemmerich has been injured though, and the prognosis is not good. His leg must be amputated. The age of the men shows when Muller visits his friend in the hospital and brazenly asks if he can have Kemmerich’s boots. These are mostly young men. At these early stages, they all still feel invincible. The war is at a stalemate. Erich Remarque spends much time describing life in the trenches; what World War I is most known for.
The rats are enormous and innumerable. At times, Paul and his companions leave food out as a trap, and kill the rats as they appear. The bombardments are ferocious. The British and French troops engage the German army in week-long bombarments. No man’s land is exactly that. Machine-gunners mow down any who try to run across. Sniper’s shoot those that lift their heads too high. As the war drags on, food becomes scarce. A man is given barely enough to make it through the day.
At one point Paul and Kropp get injured by shrapnel in the leg. Both of them are sent to a hospital away from the front. There, Paul slowly recovers without any major problems. Unfortunately, Kropp has his leg amputated and falls into a depression. By this point we have seen a change in Paul as well. He is no longer the lively young man that we first met. His thoughts have grown considerably darker. He loses his love of life. He wonders what is left for him in the world. At one point he thinks “If we go back we will be weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope. We will not be able to find our way any more.”
This is by far one of my favorite books. Maria Remarque never seizes to astound me with his in-depth look into the realities of war. People say that war is Hell. This book makes me believe it. His descriptions of the montage of feelings Paul experiences throughout his time in the war are excellent. This book was written in 1929, and yet I don’t think its message will ever go out of date. I firs had to read this book in high school for an English class. I didn’t appreciate it much at the time, but now I do. Those of you in the same situation, please give it a second chance.