FEBRUARY 2023. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

 ERICH MARIA REMARQUE.  AUTHOR.

FIRST PUBLISHED AS A NOVEL IN 1929.

I borrowed a BBC radio version online through Libby.  There were several versions available of this surprisingly small novel.  I likened the audiobook to a radio play with listening time 1 hour 49 minutes.  English actors didn’t disguise their local dialects, and I adjusted to the background noise which was the clutter of camplife and explosions of war.

This heartbreaking re-enactment of young lads sent to the front in one of the bloodiest wars in recent history is something of a diary written by one young soldier.  He records his companions and includes good food, home leave, and final silence.  This book was banned by several European countries for some time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

In 2023 a German film production was one of ten nominees competing for a best Film Oscar which encouraged me to get the book and read it straight through.  I am glad I did read it and not live through the reality.