All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque was published in 1929. The narrator of the story, Paul Bäumer, is a soldier for the German Army in WWI and it follows what life was like for the Germans during WWI. I enjoyed reading this book because I found it interesting and the way it was written kept me engaged. I had never read a war book where it’s written in the perspective of a solider, so it was a new experience for me. I found parts of it a bit disturbing or sad, but I liked that they narrator told the story how it really was, instead of making it sound great, like some other books do.
In the excerpts from Herbert, Chevailler, Barthas, and West from the WWI Readings, I found it harder to follow and understand compared to All Quiet on the Western Front. I found part 1 a more challenging read than part 2. Possibly their writing styles and the fact that it jumped back and forth between different times, but I couldn’t really wrap my head around it. Part 2 however, was easier for me to follow, which helped me understand much better. Especially the excerpts from Barthas. I liked the way he wrote his perspective.
Overall, I preferred the book, All Quiet on the Western Front, to the WWI readings because it was an interesting story that I could understand.