Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

6 reviews

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Ok this was better than I thought it would be. I read this after I heard about the movie and I don't regret it. Paul is a younger German soldier on the front lines of WW1 who struggles to understand the horrors of war and the trenches. The story is centered around Paul and his 7 classmates. This book, while very serious and somber, reads like a diary. Everything feels past tense but also like it happened a few hours ago not a few years ago. There's almost no dialogue and huge chunks of exposition or philosophical thoughts. This combined with the long chapters made it a difficult read. It's very slow and there isn't a ton of action. It's definitely geared towards history nerds and as someone who likes history but prefers english this was a hard read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Terminal illness, Cursing, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, Violence, War, Murder, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Child death, Vomit, and Abandonment

jumpingjacksofy's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Beautifully written.  The rhythm of Erich Maria Remarque’s poetic prose is a treat to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, War, and Gore

Moderate: Medical content, Blood, Medical trauma, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Suicide

diddlydoo333's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, War, Gore, Blood, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Physical abuse, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Excrement, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Confinement, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Gore, Genocide, Alcohol, Blood, and Mental illness

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Sexism, Sexual content, Cancer, Ableism, and Child death

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book expresses a human aspect to war; giving faces, names, occupations, and families to the young German soldiers of WWI. Their deaths are all impactful, none more than Kat, but the need to keep fighting both the war itself and the internal struggles Paul feels brush the trauma of those deaths out of view without trivializing it. The switch at the end from a first person, personalized account, to a third person omniscient narrator finishes that action by showing the outcome of all of those traumas washing over him like a wave as the rumors of the wars near end reach him. This novel begs the questions of what happens when war is over, when all you've known in your adult life is war; what happens when everyone you hold dear, who knows you as you are and not how you were is gone; and what does it mean to feel alive? War is not something that can value life of any sort, in any way, and this book captures that essence of loss perfectly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Grief, Vomit, Excrement, Suicide, Violence, and War

geraldinerowe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense fast-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

I doubt there are many of us these days who are under any illusion as to the nature of fighting in the trenches in the First World War, but being taken along on the journey of a group of young men, barely out of school, watching the damage done to them not just physically, but also emotionally, is devastating. The fact that this story is told from the viewpoint of a German soldier is irrelevant. It is simply the facts of trench warfare. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, War, Violence, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cancer, Animal death, and Excrement

carolinasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

My brain was in a total fog whilst reading this and I’m writing this review over a year after having read it but I remember it being incredible 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, and War