AUTHENTIC
MILITARY LITERATURE
ALL QUIET ON THE
WESTERN FRONT
by Erich Maria Remarque
Book
Review
By
VIKRAM KARVE
NB: In
my review below, the generic term “soldier” encompasses all uniformed personnel
of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force)
PSYCHE OF A SOLDIER
Recent events indicate that most civilian
citizens – including the “powers-that-be” – do not understand the psyche of a
soldier.
Almost every day – we see news of soldiers
being martyred on the Line of Control (LOC) with our hostile neighbour.
But – the common man remains indifferent to
this news since it does not affect him – and some politicians go to the extent
of remarking that “soldiers are paid to die”.
We see the tragic sight of military veterans
on hunger strike for OROP (One Rank One Pension).
We dismiss the OROP imbroglio as “any other issue”
– thinking that veterans protesting and agitating is similar to industrial workers, civilian employees or students going on strike – which happens quite
frequently.
Jingoistic Politicians “celebrate” the 50th
Anniversary of the 1965 War – while Military Veterans who actually fought in
the 1965 War are ignored.
We confuse jingoism with patriotism.
I have seen that many people feel that
jingoism means patriotism – whereas – in actual fact – there is a big
difference between jingoism and patriotism.
Most civilians have a fancy image of the
Armed Forces – because they see the “pomp and show” of smartly dressed soldiers
marching during the Republic Day Parade and other ceremonial occasions – or
they observe the elegant social life of military officers in peacetime
cantonments.
But very few civilians know about the
harrowing time experienced a soldier in the field – where he is subjected to
extreme physical strain and mental stress – not only in war, border skirmishes
and counter-insurgency combat operations – but even in “peacetime” – when he is
deployed on hazardous “aid to civil power” duties for maintaining law and order or in dangerous disaster rescue and relief or on “internal security” duties in
anti-militancy/anti-terrorism and Counter-Insurgency (CI) operations.
There is a stark contrast between “peacetime
soldiering” in exquisite military cantonments and the harsh life in the field
(and at sea on warships) – and – sadly – only the former is visible to civilian
citizens.
For a civilian citizen – it is difficult to
grasp the psychology of the average combat soldier – who lives in an
environment of dread and fear – and survives each moment with death tagging him at
the elbow.
Over time – the soldier becomes reproachful
of those who enjoy safety and security – sitting in peaceful comfort – far away
from danger – be they politicians, bureaucrats, civilian citizens, or even his
own senior officers or the non-combatant “tail” of the Army.
And – this feeling of antipathy further alienates the soldier from
civil society – and increases the chasm between the military and the civil
society.
In order to bridge this gulf – it is
necessary to apprise the common man about the life of a soldier.
Sadly – we have failed to do this.
Our Mainstream Media tends to hype and
dramatize military news/issues for TRPs.
Though Hollywood has produced some realistic
War Movies – in India – most Bollywood War Films are jingoistic and overly
dramatic in nature.
Curiously – even the Armed Forces indulge
in hype and propaganda whenever their PR machinery puts out reports in the media.
Even in their recruitment advertisements – the defence services project the
“goody goody” part of “peacetime soldiering” – while downplaying the realistic
aspects of military life.
If you peruse literature – to see whether
there are any literary works which discern between hype and truth – you will
realize that most war novels tend to romanticize war – accentuating jingoistic
and romantically appealing concepts such as glory, honour, patriotism,
sacrifice, adventure, heroism etc - which are far removed from reality.
When I asked myself whether there were any
authentic military novels which realistically depict the “psyche of the soldier” – I remembered
that indeed I had at least one such book on my bookshelves.
So – I delved into my bookcase and pulled out
my ancient dog-eared copy of ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT – which is the most
authentic war novel I have ever read.
As is the case with most of my books – I
picked up this book long ago from the pavement bookstalls located on the
footpath opposite the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) near Hutatma Chowk (Flora
Fountain) in Mumbai.
Whenever I buy a book – I always write the
date and place – and I see that I have bought this book 37 years ago in 1978.
So – Dear Reader – let me tell you a bit
about this classic war novel which authentically describes the horrors of war
and portrays the psyche of a soldier in a most realistic manner.
DETAILS
OF THE BOOK
Title: All
Quiet on the Western Front
Published: 1958 (Fawcett Crest) Paperback 175
Pages
Author: Erich
Maria Remarque
ISBN: 44901634095
Edition language: English (Translated from
German)
The above details pertain to the copy of the
book I have with me.
For details of various editions of “All Quiet
on the Western Front” – just “google” the title – or click the url link: https://www.goodreads.com/work/editions/2662852-im-westen-nichts-neues
Also – if you do a google search – you will
see that this book is freely available online on the internet.
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT – An Authentic Military Novel
There are very few authentic military novels.
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is the most
authentic war novel that I have read.
The author Erich Maria Remarque was a German
War Veteran and this novel is based on his first hand combat experiences during
World War I.
Writing with stark authenticity, Erich Maria
Remarque realistically depicts the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of a
simple soldier – the violence, brutality, fear and terror soldiers experience
at every moment – and the novel vividly brings out the effect of combat on the
psyche of a soldier.
A novel tells a story.
But – storytelling alone can never produce a
great novel – a classic.
What makes a novel a classic is whether the
novel has a message – a “moral of the story” – and how effectively the author
succeeds in conveying this message to the reader – so that the “moral of the
story” has a lasting impact on the reader.
As elaborated by EM Forster in his book
“Aspects of a Novel” – the sine qua non of a good novel is that the
story must not only move in time – but it must also impart “value” to the
reader – and this “value” is encapsulated in the “moral of the story”.
Erich Maria Remarque achieves this
brilliantly – writing in present tense to move the story in time – and using
flashbacks to effectively convey the “moral of the story”.
The novel
emphasizes that soldiers are normal human beings like everyone else.
Soldiers
have feelings like you and me.
Soldiers
have families, children, relatives, friends – and love them.
Soldiers
are sensitive individuals – not emotionless zombies.
The
narrator – a young man only 19 years of age – joins the German Army and fights
on the French Front in World War I (the “Western Front”).
The
narrator speaks to you in the first person – and gives you his “worm’s eye
view” of his war experience.
From time
to time – by way of flashbacks – the narrator takes you into his “mind’s eye” –
as he reflects on his own views, feelings and emotions on warfighting.
And right
at the end of the story – while delivering his coup de grace – Erich Maria Remarque suddenly switches to ‘third
person past tense’ – and you remain numbed by the epiphany.
As you read the story – you realize the narrator’s growing awareness of the emptiness of such
concepts as patriotism, glory and honour when faced with the reality of war.
When they start fighting on the frontline – the young newly inducted soldiers perceive the huge
dissonance between peacetime hype and wartime reality.
THE FRONT-LINE ISN’T A PARADE-GROUND
The
essence of the book can be encapsulated in the comment – “… the front-line isn’t a parade-ground…” – expressed in
ruminations of the narrator in Chapter 5 of the book.
I
too realized the significance of this military truism (“… the front-line isn’t a parade-ground…”) – more than 37 years ago – during my nascent days in the Navy – when I
joined a front-line warship after completing my training.
Here
– on the warship – the focus was on operational excellence and professionalism
– in stark contrast to the emphasis on parades, drill and “spit and polish”
during our naval training in “stone frigates”.
The
story in “All Quiet on the Western Front” begins when – immediately on
completion of their basic military training – the narrator and his friends are
sent to the front-line to fight on the battlefield.
Fighting
on the frontline – the raw soldiers realize the military truth – that – in the
‘fog of war’ – the harsh reality is that – “the
front-line isn’t a parade-ground” – and that all that parade drill and ‘spit and
polish’ they had endured during training was futile – and is of no use in brutal warfighting on the frontline.
Subjected
to the horrors of war – the narrator and his fellow soldiers realize the “absurdities of saluting and parade” –
and – in a rare expression of dark humor – one of his comrades in uniform
sarcastically comments:
“You take it from
me – we are losing the war because we can salute too well.”
As
they fight a brutal battle on the front-line – the soldiers realize the huge
difference between “peacetime soldiering” and actual warfighting.
In
peacetime – the Army is a reliable, decent job.
However
– peacetime rules and hierarchy lose their relevance in the fog of war and amidst
the chaos on the battlefield.
In
wartime – rules and hierarchy are pretty useless and silly – especially in the
merciless cruel atmosphere of ruthless ferocious conflict.
On
the battlefront – it is straight and simple – “kill – or be killed”…
As
the narrative progresses – we see the protagonist’s growing awareness of the
emptiness of such jingoistic concepts as patriotism and honour when faced with
the reality of war.
He
realizes that most civilians seem to know nothing about military life.
War may be an adventure to a jingoist sitting
comfortably at home – but it is a terrible experience for the combat soldier
who is actually confronted with the possibility of being blown to pieces at any
moment.
As he engages in brutal merciless infantry
combat – attacks and counterattacks – bombings and artillery barrages –
seeing dead and wounded comrades around him every day – he is overcome by fear
and a sense of fatalism – and he becomes obsessed with survival.
I am sure most soldiers have experienced
similar emotions.
No soldier wants to die – or worse – get injured
and become disabled for life.
A soldier just wants to complete his “tour of
combat duty” – and return home in one piece – safe and sound.
Forget about full scale war – this is true even in so-called “peacetime” deployments in the field, especially on turbulent borders and in counterinsurgency operations.
I remember that whenever we were deployed – all that the crew wanted was to return safe and sound and waited eagerly for our warship to return to our base port.
SOLDIERS DON’T START WARS
A soldier does not like war – because it the soldier who suffers most in war.
Soldiers don’t start wars.
It is the politicians who start wars.
But – politicians don’t die in the war – it is
the soldiers who die in the war.
And later – when the war has been won – it is
the jingoists who celebrate war-victories – and most of these jingoists are
civilians who probably have never seen a shot fired in anger.
Earlier – in the days of monarchy – the King would
lead his Army on the battlefield.
The King would lead his soldiers from the
front – he would lead by personal example – fighting on the battlefield.
Sometimes – the King would be killed on the
battlefield.
If he lost the war – the King would be
imprisoned – and most likely – he would be executed or tortured to death by the victor.
Nowadays – in modern democracies –
politicians rule nations.
But – politicians do not lead soldiers on the
battlefield.
In fact – politicians have nothing to do with
the fighting – they remain safe and sound – securely ensconced in peaceful comfort
– far away from danger – while they exhort soldiers to sacrifice their lives for
the nation.
And – when the soldiers win the war – the politicians
emerge from their safe cocoons – to “celebrate” and take credit for the war victory.
The inherent message in “All Quiet on the
Western Front” is that whether the war is won or lost – it is the soldier who is affected by the war.
In fact – all soldiers are
affected by the war.
Some soldiers die on the battlefield.
Among those who survive – there are no
“unwounded” soldiers.
Some soldiers are injured and get physically disabled – but
all soldiers who go through a brutal war are mentally scarred for life.
The author wants to convey that war destroys
men – it can kill them – it can cripple them – it can leave them mentally
traumatized for life – and even if they survive in one piece – it leaves them changed for
life.
While the book focuses on the extreme physical and mental stress faced
by soldiers during the war – it also delves on the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon
returning home from the battlefront.
Depicting the difficulty
of soldiers to revert to civilian life after having experienced extreme combat
situations – Erich Maria Remarque says: “...men…even though they may have escaped its shells, (they) were destroyed by the
war…”
CONCLUSION
If
you have noticed – while I have delved on the theme – I have not divulged the story
of “All Quiet on the Western Front” – because I want you to enjoy the book
fully when you read it.
Of
course – in subsequent blog posts – I am going to discuss some salient excerpts
from this book – and try and relate then to present times.
I
recommend you read this classic war novel – in fact – I would say that this is
a “must read” book – especially if you are thinking of joining the Army or the Armed
Forces.
Of
course – if you are already in the Army – you must have already read this book
as a part of “essential reading” during your cadet training days – and – I am
sure this review will motivate you to read “All Quiet on the Western Front”
once again.
Do
read “All Quiet on the Western Front”.
As
I said earlier – you can easily get the book – in print – or digital version –
and it is freely available on internet too.
Written in German language – “Im Westen nichts Neues” was first published in
serial form in the German Newspaper Vossische Zeitung from November 10 to December 9, 1928.
It was published in book form the following
year (1929) and became a big success.
The 1929 English translation of this book by Arthur Wesley Wheen had the title: “All Quiet on the Western Front”.
The literal translation of “Im Westen nichts Neues” is “In the West Nothing New” with "West" being the Western
Front and the phrase referring to the content of an official communique at the end of
the novel.
“All Quiet on the Western Front” earned
Remarque international popularity and by the time of his death in 1970, perhaps
fifty million copies of the novel had been sold and it had been translated into
fifty-five languages. It is still widely regarded by many
readers and critics as the greatest war novel of the twentieth century.
I love reading military literature – especially war fiction – and I have read many war novels – but “All Quiet on the Western Front” is my all time favourite.
The writing style is unique – owing to its stark authenticity – and this book has left a lasting impression on me.
I
am glad I read this superb novel – and – I am sure that you will find reading this engrossing book a fulfilling and enriching experience.
VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve
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1. If you share this post, please give due credit to the author Vikram Karve
2. Please DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please DO NOT Cut/Copy/Paste this post
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.
Disclaimer:
All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the story are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
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