Erich Maria Remarque was a German novelist best known for All Quiet on the Western Front (1929), a landmark anti-war novel based on his experiences in World War I. The book became an international bestseller, defining a new genre of veterans鈥� literature and inspiring multiple film adaptations. Its strong anti-war themes led to condemnation by the Nazi regime, which banned and burned his works. Born Erich Paul Remark in 1898, he adopted the surname Remarque to honor his French ancestry. He served on the Western Front during World War I, where he was wounded, and later pursued various jobs, including teaching, editing, and technical writing. After the massive success of All Quiet on the Western Front, he wrote several other novels addressing war and exile, such as The Road Back, Three Comrades, and Arch of Triumph. His outspoken opposition to the Nazi regime forced him into exile in Switzerland and later the United States, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1947. Remarque鈥檚 personal life included high-profile relationships with actresses Marlene Dietrich and Paulette Goddard, the latter of whom he married in 1958. In 1943, his youngest sister, Elfriede, was executed by the Nazis for anti-regime remarks, an event that deeply affected him. He spent his later years in Switzerland, where he continued writing. His final completed novel, The Night in Lisbon (1962), was another bestseller. He died in 1970 at the age of 72, leaving behind a literary legacy that continues to shape discussions on war and its consequences.
EMR dedicates this to his sister who was beheaded in a concentration camp, in part to reach her famous brother who had condemned the Nazis while in exile in Switzerland. Yet the author's presence isn't felt. It's never vindictive or violently passionate. The narrative voice never dehumanizes, never does unto others as others have done unto his sister -- it keeps its cool and holds the gaze of the slowly dying sado-ubermencsh until his eyes turn to sightless jelly.
A goddamn great novel, generally. Rising drama for the win. Nearly as vivid, moving, significant, and unputdownable as A Time to Love and a Time to Die, which I read directly before this one, which EMR wrote directly after this one. Both are set in Germany during WWII, both structured absolutely linearly, and to extraordinary effect both use the Allied bombings of civilian populations in smaller towns to propel them forward.
"A Time to Love and A Time to Die" is more of a love story, a close-third POV limited to a single German soldier on leave -- like EMR knew he had something good with the Allied bombings but wanted to zoom-in on its effect on a single story/character after this one's roving POV, accessing the thoughts of dozens of prisoners, kapos, guards, SS, and townsfolk, although it primarily focuses on a prisoner known only as 509 for three quarters of the novel and the SS concentration camp commander, a former postal clerk. The camp isn't a death camp although it has a crematorium to dispose of bodies that waste away or are beaten to death. Some of the prisoners have been there more than a decade -- political prisoners, Communists, the editor of a newspaper who denounced the Nazis, a doctor who knew an SS officer had syphilis, etc. In the camp, the Communists and more democratic leaning prisoners have formed an underground coalition that meets and makes plans, gathers weapons, resists when it cans.
At first it took 75 to 100 pages for the characters to cohere and the story to start when 509 and another character refuse to submit to the camp doctor's experiments -- they're beaten viciously but survive -- and since they're not executed they give the other prisoners hope. A major positive for this is its setting in time: late-winter/early spring 1945. As the weather warms and they hear artillery fire in the distance they know that they have weeks, maybe even days until liberation, so they do whatever they can to stall their deaths, to live just a few more days, to delay going up through the crematorium chimney. As the British and Americans approach, the novel takes off and I read it compulsively, wanting to return to it whenever I put it down. Who would survive after so many years in the camp? Man, I hope 509 makes it! Would the SS ship everyone off to a death camp or just murder all the prisoners, set the barracks on fire and machine gun them before abandoning the camp and running from the Allies? Or maybe the Allies would inadvertently bomb the camp?
I won't divulge what happens but generally the ending makes it a great novel, especially for the depiction of the camp commander Neubauer who toward the end distances himself from real sadistic Nazis and tries to whitewash his reputation by planting some primroses around the barracks and increasing the food ration as he daydreams about surrendering as a military officer, ceremonially handing over his sword and informing his British and American conquerors that he had only been following orders and performing his duties, which as soldiers they will of course understand . . .
4.75 stars rounded down for the occasional murky machinations of the prisoners' schemes (bartering, bribes, etc), some difficulty keeping the characters straight (similar names of a few prisoners may be intentional since after a while all the prisoners look like walking skeletons with huge eyes and nostrils too large), and a translation that seemed less artful, patient, and/or milky than the other EMR's I've read. The language in this seemed weaker to me, comparatively spare, quick/rushed (probably loyal to the text due to the POV), and occasional sentences in dialogue that end with the odd "what?" This "what?" threw me off every time it appeared -- I suppose it could be rendered in common American English as "huh?" Also a few errors in the text ("I" instead of "It" for example).
But enough quibbling over minor demerits! Again, this is a great novel, a masterpiece of conventional rising drama, vivid, gripping, horrifying, never cartoonish, with moments of top-notch abstraction without getting in the way of the story's steady, natural progression.
I'll definitely be an EMR completist by the end of the year.
509 nodded. 鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to die now. Earlier it was easier. Now it鈥檚 hard. So near the end.鈥�
鈥淩uth,鈥� he said after a while. 鈥淚 think when one starts as low as we do there must be a lot of happiness ahead.鈥�
This is a story of survival of a group of prisoners in Nazi concentration camp near the end of war. So you can guess the mood of this book. It鈥檚 bleak and also quite plot heavy. You don鈥檛 go to Remarque for literary modernism or complex prose, you don't even go to him for intricately crafted psychological study of the characters. You read him if you want a story of love and friendship even if everything around is shit. For his signature quiet melancholy (it鈥檚 always present) and for the feeling of hope (sometimes if you鈥檙e lucky). I first read this novel more than 10 years ago and I still remembered the scene between Breuer and Luebbe. This is one of my teenage self favourite books, so I'm partial. What can I say, this book gets me in the feels every time.
It ends with dedication to the memory of his sister Elfreide, who was beheaded by Nazis.
I am becoming a huge Remarque fan. Spark of Life is thoughtful and powerful writing. The story illustrates the enormity of the tragedy we know as the holocaust and if you want to be moved by a book, that will happen when you read this one for sure. A sad tale and a wake up call in one amazingly well written novel. The story is even sadder with the knowledge that the author's sister Elfreide, to whom the book is dedicated, was beheaded by the nazis.
艩寞kart ra拧au apie paskutin臋 savo kolekcijoje perskaityt膮 Remarque knyg膮 鈥濭yvyb臈s kibirk拧tis鈥�. Ir nors istorija apie neegzistavus寞 lager寞 鈥� fikcija, tekstu nebuvo sunku patik臈ti. Visos tikros skaitytos karo istorijos prie拧 tai 鈥� neleid啪ia pamir拧ti, jog b奴tent tokia ne寞sivaizduojamai 啪iauri kasdienyb臈 pasitikdavo tikrus 啪mones, deja, ne tik knygos veik臈jus. To tikrumo knygai neabejotinai suteik臈 autoriaus patirtis, turb奴t daugelis 啪ino, jog Erich Maria Remarque buvo pa拧auktas tarnauti Pirmajame pasauliniame kare, ma啪iau 啪inotinas faktas 鈥� jo seseriai Elfriede Scholz buvo paskirta mirties bausm臈 u啪 pasisakymus prie拧 naci懦 veikl膮. Skaudi gyvenimo patirtis neabejotinai atsiskleid臈 autoriaus darbuose, matyt tod臈l, knygos persona啪ai pasirodo artimi, palie膷iantys, jaudinantys.
Nors knyga, be abejon臈s 鈥� slegianti, pats tekstas i拧lieka remarki拧kas. Sakydama remarki拧kas stilius - turiu omenyje neapsunk臋s, puslapiai ver膷iasi lengvai, tekstas nepersunktas nereikalingomis detal臈mis, o dialogai 鈥� visada svarb奴s, atrodo girdi, k膮 knygos veik臈jai nori pasakyti vienas kitam tarp eilu膷i懦.
Ta膷iau, kai kas man pasirod臈 ne visai b奴dinga Remarque 鈥� 拧is pasakojimas i拧 dalies baigiasi viltingai. Po tik臈tino li奴desio pabaigoje (o skaitantys Remarque tikrai 啪ino, kaip baigiasi jo knygos), 拧寞kart autorius paliko ir 拧viesos ruo啪膮. O taikliausiai ir trumpiausiai apie knyg膮 galima pasakyti i拧 jos pa膷ios i拧kirptais 啪od啪iais: 鈥濵us 啪emino, bet mes nesame pa啪eminti. Pa啪eminti tie, kurie taip elg臈si."
Schade, dass ich nicht mehr Sterne zur Verf眉gung habe.
Wie einst sein "Im Westen nichts Neues" l盲sst mich auch "Der Funke Leben" betroffen, ger眉hrt, besch盲mt und gleichzeitig begl眉ckt zur眉ck. Begl眉ckt ihm Sinne, dass Remarque 1952 dieses komplexe wie schwere Thema mit seinem Roman 枚ffentlich zur Sprache bringt, w盲hrend ein Gro脽teil der deutschen Bev枚lkerung versuchte, diese historische Wahrheit zu umgehen, statt es konstruktiv f眉r sich selbst und nachfolgende Generationen aufzuarbeiten. Und auch begl眉ckt, weil Remarque als Schriftsteller nicht entt盲uscht. Er beherrscht dieses Handwerk wie kaum ein anderer. Mich beeindruckt, mit welch einfachen S盲tzen und Worten er derart Gro脽es ausspricht, dass es ein jeder verstehen kann und muss. Denn darin liegt f眉r mich die wahre Brillanz eines intellektuellen Literaten.
Diesen Roman betreffend, gibt es unz盲hlige Passagen, die ich unterstrich und kommentierte, weil sie mich so sehr besch盲ftigten und doch kann ich sie hier nicht allesamt aufz盲hlen. 脺berdies f眉rchte ich, dass mir noch die Worte fehlen, um der Gro脽artigkeit dieses Buches gerecht zu werden.
Trotz des unvorstellbaren Grauens, das kontinuierlich durch die Handlung zieht, wurde ich nie m眉de, weiterzulesen. Im Gegenteil, dieser Roman hat mich gepackt wie schon lange kein anderer. Jeder Person verleiht Remarque mit einfachen Mitteln eine unglaubliche Tiefe und Substanz, selbst der Hauptfigur, dem KZ-H盲ftling 509. Trotz der blo脽en Nummer ist er von dem Moment an, in dem er zum ersten Mal dem Leser vorgestellt wird, ein Mensch aus Fleisch und Blut, zum Ber眉hren nahe. Ein Mensch von ungeheurer Gr枚脽e und mentaler St盲rke, obwohl sein Leben nur noch am seidenen Faden h盲ngt und sein K枚rper nur noch einem Skelett gleicht. Remarque wagt zudem den Perspektivwechsel und stellt uns den Alltag des Lager-Kommandanten und seinen Gehilfen gegen眉ber. Er wird au脽erdem nie m眉de, auf die Gefahren des Kommunismus zu verweisen, was in einem interessanten Dialog zwischen 509 und dem kommunistischen Werner gipfelt:
"'Ich kenne das Lied. Sag mir lieber, was mit denen gesch盲he, die gegen euch sind, wenn ihr gewinnen w眉rdet und die Macht h盲ttet? Oder denen, die nicht f眉r euch sind?' Werner schwieg einen Moment. 'Da gibt es viele verschiedene Wege', sagte er dann. 'Ich kenne welche. Du auch. T枚ten, Foltern, Konzentrationslager - meinst du die auch?' 'Unter anderem. Je nachdem, was notwendig ist.'"
Dieses Buch ist von unbeschreiblicher Tiefe, weil es nicht nur handwerklich meisterhaft ist, sondern so viele unterschiedliche Themen anspricht und philosophische Fragen aufwirft, so zum Beispiel die Frage nach dem Sinn von Rache und Vergeltung, dem Umgang von wiedergewonnener Freiheit und dem Danach, aber auch der Flucht aus der eigenen Verantwortung.
Remarque hat mich mit diesem seiner Romane erneut geistig wie emotional gefesselt. Regelrecht mitgenommen haben mich insbesondere die Szene des grauenhaften "Schildkr枚tenrennens" vor dem Tor des Lagers sowie der Augenblick, als die H盲ftlinge, nun durch amerikanische Soldaten befreit, zum ersten Mal jeder in einem eigenen Bett mit einer Decke und einem Kissen schlafen durften.
Lange Rede kurzer Sinn: Es ist ein Meisterwerk und Remarque m枚ge mir meine Sprachlosigkeit verzeihen!
鈥濾isada reikia galvoti tik apie artimiausi膮 pavoj懦. Gresiant寞 tuo metu. 沤ingsnis po 啪ingsnio. Kitaip i拧prot臈si."
Kaip ir daugelis, su Remarko k奴ryba susipa啪inau vidurin臈je mokykloje. Tad sentiment懦 nei拧vengiau, o be to, tai buvo ir mano t臈vo m臈giamas autorius. Tod臈l Remarko knygos mano namuose u啪ima garbing膮 viet膮.
Taip jau atsitiko, kad b奴tent 鈥濭yvyb臈s kibirk拧tis" tapo m奴s懦 knyg懦 klubo baland啪io m臈nesio knyga. Paprastas, neperkrautas ra拧ymo stilius tikrovi拧kai parodo lagerio kasdienyb臋: skeletai, kiau拧as vietoj galvos, bedant臈s burnos, skarmalai. 膶ia n臈ra heroj懦 ir patoso, aklo patriotizmo. O kruopel臈 vilties 寞啪iebia gyvyb臈s kibirk拧t寞.
艩寞 k奴rin寞 vertinu d臈l pacifizmo, humanizmo id臈j懦. Pirm膮 kart膮 knyga i拧leista 1952 m., tad j膮 galima laikyti protestu prie拧 kar膮. Tuo labiau, kad autorius nesl臈p臈 savo antinacistini懦 pa啪i奴r懦, i拧 jo buvo atimta Vokietijos pilietyb臈, o knygos vie拧ai deginamos. Ra拧oma, jog 鈥濭yvyb臈s kibirk拧t寞" E. M. Remarque始as skyr臈 savo seseriai E. Scholz, 1943 啪iauriai nu啪udytai gestapinink懦.
Vienintelis minusas, kuris man labai trukd臈 skaityti 鈥� tai vard懦 ir pavard啪i懦 mai拧alyn臈. Prad啪ioje j懦 buvo tiek daug ir a拧 niekaip negal臈jau sekti siu啪eto ir painiojausi tarp veik臈j懦. Ma膷iau, kad 拧i knyga lyginama su 鈥滵ievu mi拧ku", bet, man asmeni拧kai, Balio Sruogos memuarai patiko daug labiau.
This was the first novel about the Holocaust, by any author, published after WWII. Remarque was widely criticized for having written a novel about events he had never personally experienced. But I doubt that there are many literary treatments of this human tragedy that are as poignant or relevant. Definitely a novel to include in a study of the era.
Erich Maria Remarque'nin sihirli bir g眉ce sahip oldu臒una inan谋yorum. 脟ook uzun aral谋klarla, her elime al谋艧谋mda ayr谋 keyif al谋yorum yazd谋klar谋n谋 okumaktan. 陌nan谋lmaz umutsuz, 莽aresiz, korkun莽 ve katlan谋lamaz durumlar谋n i莽indeki umudu, g眉ndelik kayg谋lar谋n insanili臒ini ve en 枚nemlisi, kabul etmeyi istemesek ve derinlereeee,,, taaaaa derinlere g枚mmeye 莽al谋艧sak da i莽imizde k谋m谋l k谋m谋l parlayan Hayat K谋v谋lc谋m谋'n谋 枚yle g眉zel hat谋rlat谋yor ki..
Roman bir Nazi toplama kamp谋n谋n,art谋k 莽al谋艧acak hali olmayan, g眉莽ten d眉艧m眉艧, iskeletten farks谋z tutsaklar i莽in ayr谋lm谋艧 b枚l眉m眉 olan k眉莽眉k kampta ge莽iyor. K谋sacas谋 k眉莽眉k kamp sakinleri, burada 枚l眉mlerini bekliyorlar ve tahmin edece臒iniz 眉zere 枚l眉m pek 莽ok farkl谋 k谋l谋kta 莽谋k谋yor kar艧谋lar谋na. Roman谋n ana kahraman谋 509 da umudunu, inanc谋n谋 ve hatta nefretini bile kaybetmi艧 k谋demli bir tutsak. K谋sacas谋, bu kampa hapsedilmi艧 ya艧ayan 枚l眉lerden biri.
''Ama sonunda nefret duygusu da s枚nm眉艧t眉. Bir ekmek k谋r谋nt谋s谋 i莽in sava艧谋m vermek her 艧eyden daha 枚nemliydi. Tehlikeye girmi艧 bir varl谋臒谋n, an谋lardan ve nefretten de 谋zd谋rap kadar zarar g枚rebilece臒ini, zamanla 枚臒renmi艧ti. 509 kabu臒una 莽ekilip bir saatten 枚teki saate ya艧an谋lan bir 枚m眉rden ba艧ka hi莽bir 艧eyle ilgilenmemeyi 枚臒renmi艧ti.
Bu kentin 509 numara i莽in ilgi 莽ekici hi莽bir yan谋 kalmam谋艧t谋 ve hi莽 de臒i艧meyen manzaras谋, art谋k hi莽 de臒i艧meyecek kendi al谋nyaz谋s谋n谋n da kasvetli bir simgesi olmu艧tu.''
Uzun zamand谋r say谋s谋z ve tarifsiz eziyetlere maruz kalan kamp sakinleri i莽in kamptan kurtulmay谋 hayal etmek, en b眉y眉k eziyetlerden birisi halini alm谋艧. Bu konuda konu艧may谋 ve d眉艧眉nmeyi bile yasak etmi艧ler kendilerine. Ta ki, y谋llard谋r kamp telleri ard谋ndan izledikleri kentin bombaland谋臒谋n谋 g枚rene dek...
''Kent yan谋yordu. Toplama kamp谋 kadar de臒i艧mez ve y谋k谋lamaz san谋lan bu kent yanmaktayd谋.''
Kentin bombalanmas谋 kitab谋n hemen ba艧lar谋nda ger莽ekle艧iyor ve sava艧谋n gidi艧at谋 de臒i艧irken kamp sakinlerinin i莽lerindeki Hayat K谋v谋lc谋m谋'n谋n uyan谋艧谋na e艧lik ediyoruz. Korkun莽 grotesk sahneler e艧li臒inde bile, insan谋n i莽indeki s枚nmeyen ate艧e 艧ahit olmak ferahlat谋c谋 oldu benim i莽in. 脺stelik depremin ard谋ndan ve se莽im g眉ndeminde Hayat K谋v谋lc谋m谋'n谋 okumak, ''tam zaman谋nda'' hissini uyand谋rd谋. Her okurun vard谋 b枚yle anlar谋...
En korkutucu olaylar谋n bile engel olamad谋臒谋, tenimizde, etimizde, kemiklerimizde ve her bir h眉cremizde gizli k眉莽眉k ya艧am zerreciklerini hat谋rlatt谋 Erich Maria Remarque bana.
''脰zg眉rl眉臒眉n ilk belirli selam谋 gelmi艧ti. Onlar 艧u yery眉z眉n眉n pis yarat谋klar谋 de臒illerdi bundan b枚yle. Onlar谋 unutmad谋klar谋n谋 g枚stermek i莽in, tehlikeyi g枚ze al谋p u莽ak g枚nderiyorlard谋. T眉k眉r眉len, nefret edilen ve solucanlardan daha az de臒er verilen pis yarat谋klar de臒ildiler, bundan b枚yle; birer insand谋lar art谋k. Tan谋mad谋klar谋 insanlar i莽in de insand谋lar.''
Peki ne ki insan olmak? Bir insan olarak ya艧amak ne?
Uzun zaman hi莽 konu艧madan oturdular. Kamp da, bombalarla y谋k谋lm谋艧 kent de art谋k g枚r眉n眉rlerde yoktu. Yaln谋zca 莽ay谋r ve 莽ay谋r谋n 眉zerindeki yumu艧ac谋k g枚ky眉z眉 vard谋. R眉zgar谋n 谋l谋k dokunu艧lar谋n谋 y眉zlerinde hissediyor ve ge莽mi艧in b眉t眉n o kara kara felaketlerinin bu r眉zgar谋n yumu艧ak elleriyle uzakla艧t谋r谋ld谋臒谋n谋 san谋yorlard谋.
Bucher, her 艧ey belki de b枚ylece yeniden ba艧layacak, diye d眉艧眉nd眉. K枚t眉 an谋lar ve nefretle de臒il de, b枚yle ba艧layacak. En basit bi莽imde yeniden ya艧ayabilmek duygusuyla. Yaln谋zca ya艧ayabilmek duygusu yetecek.
Ne unutmal谋 ne de korkun莽 an谋lar谋n kabusuyla yok olmal谋yd谋. Vedala艧谋rken Berer b枚yle s枚ylemi艧ti.''
B枚yle bol al谋nt谋l谋, darmada臒谋n bir yorum b谋rak谋yorum sizlere.Grotesk toplama kamp谋, bomba ve enkaz sahneleri size k枚t眉 gelmeyecekse ''tam zaman谋nda'' okuman谋z谋 枚neriyorum. Yoruma s谋臒d谋ramad谋m ama kitapta sadece kamptaki tutsaklar谋n de臒il, kamp komutan谋n谋n g眉nlerine ve d眉艧眉ncelerine de 艧ahit oluyoruz. 陌nan谋r m谋s谋n谋z, ben bu b枚l眉mlerden apayr谋 bir keyif ald谋m. D眉艧眉nmeye de臒er ne 莽ok 艧ey var, kamp komutan谋n谋n tav艧an sevgisinde dedim kendime. Sonra Hitler'i d眉艧眉nd眉m, sonra yine bizim kamp谋n komutan谋n谋... O da atlar谋 seviyor zira...
R眉zgar谋n tatl谋 dokunu艧u, hep bizimle olsun. Sevgiler :)
Gan sunku vertinti 拧i膮 knyg膮. Visai ne tod臈l, kad ji (ko gero, jei neatsiras lietuvi懦 kalba i拧leist懦 nauj懦) buvo paskutin臈 i拧 neskaityt懦 E.M. Remarko knyg懦, ir jau buvau susidar臋s tvirt膮 nuomon臋 apie 拧io vokie膷i懦 klasiko k奴ryb膮. Ne, nuomon臈 nepakito, bet jau膷iuosi nejaukiai, nes po roman懦 鈥濼rys draugai鈥�, 鈥濲uodasis obeliskas鈥�, o ir kit懦, negaliu paskutin寞 perskaityt膮 roman膮 vertinti taip puikiai, kaip anuos. I拧kart noriu pasakyti, kad tai, be abejo, romanas savo laiku (i拧leistas 1952 m.) suk臈l臋s 拧ok膮, nes vokie膷i懦 ra拧ytojas TAIP apra拧臈 vokie膷i懦 fa拧izmo sukeltas kan膷ias 寞vairiausi懦 taut懦 啪mon臈ms. Dabar, kai i拧leista daugyb臈 寞vairi懦 knyg懦 拧ia tema (tokios geros kaip V.E. Frankl 鈥炁絤ogus ie拧ko prasm臈s鈥�, B. Sruogos 鈥濪iev懦 mi拧kas鈥�, F. Klodelio 鈥濨rodekas鈥� 鈥� skirtingais pj奴viais pateikian膷ios 啪mogi拧kum膮 ir nu啪mog臈jim膮 ekstremaliose s膮lygose), 拧is Remarko k奴rinys jau gali b奴ti vertinamas kiek kitaip nei tada, kai buvo i拧leistas (temos naujumo prasme). Bet stiprus, kaip ir visi Remarko romanai. Pirmiausia noriu pabr臈啪ti, kad k奴rinys labai realistinis (tiesiog romanas apie 啪iauri膮 tikrov臋). Steb臈tina, kaip Remarkas, daugel寞 savo roman懦 para拧臋s apie tai, k膮 patyr臈, mat臈, i拧kent臈jo, 鈥� sugeb臈jo taip autenti拧kai, detaliai, psichologi拧kai pagr寞stai pavaizduoti 拧iame romane (nors pats nebuvo patek臋s 寞 konclager寞). Stulbinantis tikrovi拧kumas! Ne寞prastai daug dialog懦, per juos atskleid啪iamas veik臈j懦 charakteri懦 individualumas, spalvingumas, j懦 tapsmas tais, kokie jie palieka konclager寞. Nors trupin臈lis 啪mogaus, kas be寞vykt懦 gyvenime, vis d臈lto i拧lieka 鈥� pabaiga optimistin臈.
Pateiksiu tik vien膮 citat膮, esmin臋, nes kitos kai kuriuos skaitytojus gal臈t懦 sukr臈sti. 鈥濵us 啪emino, bet mes nesame pa啪eminti. Pa啪eminti tie, kurie taip elg臈si."
Jeigu kraupi realyb臈 knygose j奴s懦 ne拧okiruoja, perskaitykite 拧寞 roman膮. Visos Remarko k奴rybos kontekste jis vertas ne ma啪iau 7 bal懦.
I understand why All Quiet on the Western Front is Remarque鈥檚 鈥渂ig鈥� novel but personally I consider this one his best. I devoured it in a kind of breathless stupor. I鈥檓 not surprised people do and always have shied away from it (it鈥檚 set in a concentration camp during the last few weeks before the end of WW2, and it鈥檚 not sparing on the day-to-day casual horror) but it鈥檚 also a deeply humanising, clear-eyed, stunning exercise in character studies, and the titular spark of life, the rediscovery of that ounce of humanity and selfhood, is a strong and life-affirming theme.
It's a totally gutting book, absolutely. I kind of want everyone and their uncle to read it.
The publication history is wild. I hadn鈥檛 known his sister was murdered by the Nazis (for Wehrkraftzersetzung, lovely) or that he spent his whole life trying to get her sentence revoked. As for the publishers and critics of the time, I wish I was surprised at people ranting 鈥渄o we really still need to talk about concentration camps鈥� a mere seven fucking years after the end of the war, or claiming the book is inauthentic because Remarque wasn鈥檛 an inmate himself (even though every single detail is based on eyewitness accounts or hard evidence). Obviously human capacity for self-delusion when it comes to the Holocaust is as strong now as it was then. But I do wish books like this were more widely read so more people could at least let go of the idea that it was all some disembodied, incomprehensible, remote evil, when it鈥檚 always, always people and their choices that are capable of making the unthinkable a reality. I think that鈥檚 the strongest point the book makes.
Pripadam si ako keby som objavila Ameriku. Ved ja som vedela, ze Remarque je dobry. Na zapade nic nove bola jedna z naj knih zo skolskeho povinneho citania. Traja kamarati ma vtedy az tak nedostali, nedocitala som ich... mozno to bol ten dovod. Na tuto knizku som nasla odporucanie na jednom mamickovskom portali (ano, je to Modry konik a ano, je tam uzasna skupina o knihach).
Pribeh poslednych tydnov jedneho koncentracneho tabora pred oslobodenim. Pribeh tych, ktori prezili v taboroch najdlhsie. Pribeh tych, ktori uz vedeli "ako to chodi", pribeh o tych, ktori uz nedufali, len sa mechanicky naucili starat ako skupina o seba... pribeh o tych, ktori zrazu zacitili sancu. Sancu, ze po tych rokoch pride koniec. O tych to je. Ale je to aj o tych, ktori boli na druhej strane, pre mna velmi dobre vystihnute uvazovanie niektorych nacistov. Napisane je to putavo, bez zbytocne dlhych opisov, ale ani prilis sucho a stroho. Nie je to ani prilis zromantizovane ani prilis beznadejne. Jednoducho vyborne.
"Nj毛 krim i p毛rbindsh毛m kund毛r t毛 gjith毛 njer毛zimit dhe mend qe kuror毛zuar me sukses; rregullat njer毛zore qen毛 p毛rmbysur dhe mend qen毛 shkelur me k毛mb毛; ligji i jet毛s qe p毛shtyr毛, kamzhikuar dhe zhbiruar nga plumbat. Grabitja ishte e ligj毛suar. Vrasja t毛 siguronte merita. Terrori ishte ngritur n毛 sistem - dhe tani papritur dhe pakujtuar, n毛 k毛to 莽aste q毛 po i linin pa frym毛, kat毛rqind viktima t毛 dhun毛s po e ndjenin k毛tu, mu n毛 mes t毛 rrug毛s, se ishte mbushur kupa, se nj毛 z毛 e kishte th毛n毛 fjal毛n e vet dhe se balanca po anonte nga ana tjet毛r. Ata e ndjenin se nuk do t毛 shp毛toheshin vet毛m vende dhe popuj, por edhe vet毛 ligjet e jet毛s. Do t毛 shp毛tohej di莽ka, p毛r t毛 cil毛n kishte shum毛 emra - por nj毛ri prej k毛tyre emrave, ai m毛 i vjetri dhe m毛 i thjeshti, ishte: Njeriu..."
Nuk ka review, q毛 t毛 p毛rshkruaj毛 ashtu si莽 v毛rtet duhet, emocionet dhe ndjesit毛 q毛 t毛 p毛r莽on ky lib毛r. Vet毛m nj毛 shkrimtar i madh si, Erich Maria Remarque, mund t毛 shkruaj毛 nj毛 lib毛r t毛 till毛, pa qen毛 n毛 ndonj毛 kamp p毛rq毛ndrimi. Me detaje dhe peripeci t毛 frikshme deri n毛 dhimbje. Dhe vet毛m nj毛 p毛rkthyes po aq i madh si Robert Shvarc ,mund t毛 arrij毛 t毛 p毛rcjell毛 ato ndjesi dhe emocione pa i c毛nuar aspak. (duke ditur peripecit毛 q毛 ka kaluar p毛rkthyesi deri sa ky lib毛r pa drit毛 botimi n毛 vitin 1978)
P毛r ju q毛 se keni lexuar, b毛n fjal毛 se si ishte t毛 mbijetoje n毛 nj毛 kamp p毛rqendrimi!?
P毛r mua kam nj毛 mendim q毛 po ta kisha lexuar nga 2010 e m毛 par毛 do kishte pasur nj毛 ndikim t毛 madh te un毛 pozitiv, negativ sdi t毛 them. Por nga ai vit deri nga 2015 max s鈥櫭玸ht毛 se ka qen毛 kjo rrezikshm毛ri ky brutalitet q毛 毛sht毛 sot n毛 rruget tona.
B毛ra lidhjen e librit me koh毛n ku jetojm sot ne, me vrasjet q毛 ndodhin, dhe paraqitjen n毛 media aq t毛 shpejt毛 t毛 tyre. Sikur 毛sht毛 b毛r毛 di莽ka jo e rregullt por normale p毛r veshin, dua t毛 them jo shum毛 gjera m毛 b毛jn毛 pershtypje sot. Prekem me k毛to q毛 d毛gjoj por vuajtjet i kan毛 p毛rjetuar dhe i p毛rjetojn t毛 af毛rmit dhe familjar毛t.
It is amazing how Remark has the ability to describe hope through death. Through the book, even if you feel the deepest pain and suffer of the characters, still there is always a door or a window through which hope shines. I think this is something in common to everything written by EMR.
There is a lot that can be said about this book: its plot, its message, the emotions it evokes.
This is a novel of hope amidst the darkest, most soul-destroying conditions a human being can experience. Though Remarque details the horrors experienced by the prisoners of the concentration camp, he juxtaposes them with scenes of beauty:
"They were marching back. They were done in. They carried their dead and wounded. The ones who had been buried alive had died in the meantime. A magnificent sunset colored the sky. Its light filled the air, and so vast was its beauty that it seemed as though time stood still and for one hour there could be neither ruins nor death."
Again and again, Remarque brings up the idea that hope, beauty, and goodness inhabit the same sphere as death, torture, destruction, and unimaginable suffering. The dying prisoners see a bustling, cheery town through the barbed wire fence; birds sing and flowers spring to life just beyond their reach. For the prisoners, holding onto this idea of life becomes central to survival. Death is infectious: the survivors are the ones who keep up a psychological battle against it, holding death at bay as they nurture the hope of rescue.
I also appreciated the way Remarque writes about the "gray zone" of the human condition, the way in which human beings can carry out atrocities and live with themselves:
He was a reliable friend, loved music and poetry and considered torture an indispensable method of extracting information from prisoners, since all enemies of the Party were liars. In his life he had killed six people on command鈥攖wo of them slowly in order to obtain the names of accomplices鈥攁nd had never given it a moment鈥檚 thought. He was in love with the daughter of a provincial court councilor and wrote her charming, rather romantic letters. In his free time he liked to sing. He had a pleasant tenor voice.
All in all, I highly recommend this novel for its themes, language and characters. You can't go wrong with Remarque.