Im Westen nichts Neues
by Erich Maria Remarque · first published 1928
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This is the testament of Paul Bäumer, who enlists with his classmates in the German army of World War I. These young men become enthusiastic soldiers, but their world of duty, culture, and progress breaks into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. Through years of vivid horror, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the hatred that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another... if only he can come out of the war alive.
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…A subterranean journal“ is pretty eternal for me. So is „On the road“. Or take „Middlesex“. Why, they tell the story about a different life. If you want to spend the rest of your life miserable then „Im Westen nichts Neues“ (All quiet on the western front). Love those Ask HN lists, btw!!
on “Ask HN: Which book would you pick to re-read for the rest of your life?” ↗…* Die Vorstadtkrokodile * Faust I * Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum * Antigone * Die Verwandlung * Bahnwärter Thiel * Der Sandmann * Die Räuber * Hamlet * Der Besuch der alten Dame * Im Westen nichts Neues * Unterm Rad * Woyzeck Im probably missing 5 books or something like that. Many of these books have had a profound impact on my views on the world, more than I would have guessed at the time.
on “Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class” ↗I am well aware of that, and have read Im Westen Nichts Neues a number of times. This doesn't affect my point: Huge numbers volunteered for slaughtering and being slaughtered, many with gusto and in great haste.
on “The forgotten ruthlessness of Canada’s Great War soldiers (2018)” ↗…loyalty to the guy, in the end all demand his death, inviting the international press. In between the slow transition is described being framed by the protagonists as the most ethical thing ever. * Im Westen nichts Neues "No news from the West (front)" describes the trauma of soldiers in the first world war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Quiet_on_the_Western_Front * Woyzeck Soldier Woyzeck gets exploited by both…
on “Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class” ↗…with electronics. He also has recently finished reading about WW1 and WW2, touching upon the Russian Revolution and the Great Depression along the way. And these were not little kid readings. He read "Im Westen nichts neues" - the German original of "All Quiet on the Western Front" - as well as "The Diary of Anne Frank" and several other works from various angles. I am already getting books for him out of the local university…
on “Ask HN: How do I give my son a head start?” ↗