The best books Remarque: readers' reviews

The best books by Remarque are included in the golden fund of world literature. His most famous works are devoted to the events of the First World War, or rather, how disastrous it turned out to be for ordinary people. The works of Remarque are simple and touching. They in due time have made the present furor, many of them have been successfully screened and nowadays deserved love of readers.

short biography

The best books by Remarque are largely autobiographical. The future famous writer was born in 1898 in a simple family in Lower Saxony. His relatives had French roots. The boy proved to be extremely capable of studying, he was the best in the class, besides, he showed undoubted musical talent: he played the piano perfectly, so that he was even predicted the career of a successful musician.

Studying at the university was interrupted due to the outbreak of war. Erich Remarque, whose best books reflected all the horror of those years, fought at the front, was wounded and demobilized. His subsequent life turned out to be very difficult, which was also subsequently reflected in the works. In Berlin, the writer tried many professions, until at last he became a journalist in one sports newspaper. This determined his literary career.

In 1919, Remarque published his story "A Woman with Young Eyes". This work went unnoticed in large part due to the fact that it literally lost in tabloid literature. However, the author still found his reader in a few years.

"On the Western Front without Change"

This novel made a real sensation among the readership and literally was a breakthrough. Contemporaries and critics immediately appreciated the simple, restrained, laconic, but surprisingly piercing and therefore believable style of the young author. The best books of Erich Maria Remarque are distinguished precisely by this feature, which makes it so recognizable. Modern readers also highly appreciate this work.

Almost all the book lovers say that the writer managed to portray the events of the front life very truthfully, in large part due to the fact that the narrative is conducted in the first person. Sometimes the narrator calls himself in the plural "we", thereby expressing the common grief that befell the common people.

However, according to comments and reviews, you can see that most of all readers value the work for the fact that the author raises eternal questions about life and death, how severe emotional upheavals completely break people and tear it from society. After all, even to those who could survive, existence seems meaningless and empty.

Criticism

The best books Remarque, however, are not always accepted by modern readers with unconditional enthusiasm. Of course, everyone recognizes the talent of the writer, many say that, despite the tragic finale, the works are imbued with optimism. However, part of the audience notes that the spirit of the narrative is rather pessimistic. This also applies to the novel in question.

To some readers the death of the main character (albeit heroic) did not suit the soul. Apparently, this view was shared by artists. Not without reason in the adaptation of the novel was the question of making the ending happy. However, there are few such claims, but they are interesting, because they reflect a different approach when assessing the writer's work.

Three Comrades

This work was published in 1936. The best books Remarque, in principle, recognizable by the spirit and style of the narrative. The novel in question was no exception. Almost all literary critics put him on the first place among all the works of the author. Readers of this work fell in love with the fact that it depicts the eternal theme of friendship. I also liked the way the writer portrayed the readiness of his heroes at any moment to come to the rescue, their self-sacrifice and mutual assistance. Readers note that the novel is saturated with events and semantic references, pointing to the author's undoubted talent in describing the multitude of human destinies in the war years. Many people emphasize that it was in this work that the writer reached the peak in depicting the "lost generation" of his time.

Opinions about the heroes

Remarque, whose best books are the subject of this review, in this novel brought out three types of characters. Otto is a life character, Gottfried is a romantic and a dreamer, Robbie is the most ordinary, unremarkable person, who, however, is so sympathetic to the writer: he is completely lost on the background of his friends.

Readers point out that the strongest side of the work is that the writer made a particularly clear thought: three comrades can not exist without each other, while one of them is alive, and others will live. Many people liked it, as the writer brought together these completely different people, who at the time of the crisis found a common language and love. Nevertheless, they can not get rid of the memories of the past that poison their lives.

Negative feedback

Erich Maria Remarque, whose best books at one time amazed the readership with their truthfulness and simplicity, followed the same spirit in the novel in question, as in previous works. Therefore, critical reviews on this work are about the same: readers do not like the pessimistic spirit of the work. Some of them indicate that the author has shown too much negative: sadness, anguish, experiences of actors make, in their opinion, a rather painful impression. Some critics even reproached the author for the fact that he often described his characters for drinking alcohol.

Another did not like the scene of a meeting between Robbie and his girlfriend Pat, in which the hero used too much alcohol, which, in fact, thwarted the meeting. Nevertheless, almost all readers recognize that the characters deserve sympathy and respect, as representatives of the "lost generation".

"Triumphal Arch"

Among the writers of the 20th century, who portrayed the horrors of the war, was Erich Maria Remarque. The best books of the writer with the coming to power of the Nazis in Germany were declared pacifist and banned, and subsequently burned. These events forced the writer to leave his native land. In 1932, Remark left the country and until 1939 he lived in Switzerland. During this period, he met with the famous actress M. Dietrich, which many critics consider the prototype of the heroine of this novel, published in 1945.

According to readers, the features of the author's hard life are distinctly discernible in him: the difficult fate of a physician forced to work in emigration, a painful love for an actress who turned out to be inappropriate under the circumstances. Literary scholars assert that the novel is written in an easy language and accurately conveys all the author's experiences.

«Life on loan»

From 1939 to 1958, the writer lived in Switzerland. At this time, he experienced a divorce, a new serious love interest and married again. Since the best books of Remarque are autobiographical, all these events could not but reflect on his new above-mentioned novel. According to many readers, the text of the work is rather complicated. They note that in the novel there is almost no plot, and the narrative itself is a chain of philosophical arguments about love, life and death, which not everyone liked.

The readers pointed out that the dialogues are too pretentious, therefore they remind moral maxims that they deprive the essay of truthfulness and vitality, so characteristic of the author's early works. Nevertheless, the touching love story, expressed in such language, made this work quite popular, though not the best work of the author.

"Return"

The best books by Remarque, whose reviews are generally very positive, are devoted not only to the lost generation, but also to man's attempts to adapt to a peaceful life after the war. It is this idea that formed the basis of the novel "Return", the hero of which returns home and is lost in society, he tries to find himself, falls in love with a girl in whom he wants to find moral support. However, it turns out to be easy behavior, because of it the hero gets to prison.

When commenting on this work, readers pay attention to one curious fact: the author has depicted many secondary characters who, despite all the horrors of the war, still managed to find a place in this life. The last feature was liked by book lovers, who noted that this auxiliary story line gives optimism to the narrative.