Paul, of 18 years, Paul, a german soldier during the first world war is the protagonist in this first person perspective of the war from the eyes of a young boy.
All Quite on the Western Front is a brilliant novel set in the gruesome scenes of the first world war. Paul and his classmates are sent as part of the German army to the eastern front. The book describes the war from the eyes of this young warrior as he comes to grips with the bloodshed and loss that the war throws at humankind.
What strikes me most, as a reader, is the simplicity of the language used by Erich Maria Remarquez. He describes with much ease and simplicity the emotions and thoughts that go throught the mind of Paul. He takes us on a journey of how Paul struggles to get to terms with life in the army and later struggles to get to terms with life away from it!
It is also a book about human emotion and how Paul moves on after he loses some of his friends to the cruelities of the war.
It’s a brilliant book, but its not for the faint hearted.