Reviews tagging 'Racism'

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

6 reviews

mme_carton's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Body horror, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

archrlynn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, and Gore

Minor: Racism

clara_mai's review against another edition

5.0

 Erich Maria Remarque erzählt auf gleichzeitig schöne und schreckliche, in jedem Fall eindringliche Weise davon, was der erste Weltkrieg mit den Soldaten machte. Er beschreibt wie der Krieg sinnlos das Leben junger Menschen zerstört, auch wenn sie ihn überleben. Wie in der Widmung des Buches steht: Dieses Buch soll weder eine Anklage noch ein Bekenntnis sein. Es soll nur den Versuch machen, über eine Generation zu berichten, die vom Kriege zerstört wurde – auch wenn sie seinen Granaten entkam. Hier noch ein paar weitere Zitate:

Wir haben alles Gefühl füreinander verloren, wir kennen uns kaum noch, wenn das Bild des andern in unseren gejagten Blick fällt.

Wir sind verlassen wie Kinder und erfahren wie alte Leute, wir sind roh und traurig und oberflächlich - ich glaube wir sind verloren.

Abends stehen sie wieder am Gitter und der Wind kommt von den Birkenwäldern zu ihnen. Die Sterne sind kalt.

Unsere Gedanken sind Lehm, sie werden geknetet vom Wechsel der Tage

Unsere Hände sind Erde, unsere Körper Lehm und unsere Augen Regentümpel. Wir wissen nicht, ob wir noch leben.

Da das Buch 1929 veröffentlicht wurde, enthält es ein paar veraltete Begriffe, das möchte ich erwähnen. Die Art, wie vom Protagonisten und den anderen Soldaten über Frauen gesprochen wird, ist nicht immer angenehm - meistens einfach sexualisiert - aber so wahrscheinlich authentisch. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Excrement, Grief, Death, Medical trauma, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and War

Minor: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Cancer

jamiejanae_6's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Vomit, War, Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Racism, Self harm, Excrement, Animal death, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Violence

koenaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, War, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Medical trauma, Animal death, and Misogyny

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexual content, and Vomit

namizaela's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

"A little soldier and a clear voice, and if anyone were to caress him he would hardly understand, this soldier with the big boots and the shut heart, who marches because he is wearing big boots, and has forgotten all else but marching."

The thing that stuck out to me about this book was how gory it is, and how matter-of-fact it is about its goriness. Retrospectively I should have expected this since it's a book about WW1, but I don't think I've ever read a book about war that seems so truthful. I've never been a soldier, but from what I know about wars, the actual violence of them can't be glossed over. This book made me feel empathy, hope, and finally sadness--but mostly horror. It's a great book that does exactly what it sets out to do, but personally I wasn't prepared for the graphic descriptions of violence and death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Racism