The Black Obelisk

Rating:
Summary: Germany Before Hitler
Review: ...Remarque fills several hundred pages with the mostly unconnected activities and ruminations of a large number of residents of a small German city after the defeat of the Kaiser's armies in World War I. But the narrative progression of the novel is to be found not so much in an analysis of what these people do as in how they do it: haphazardly, with the good humor that is born of shared helplessness, and with a mounting sense of alarm that far greater misfortunes are not only thinkable but likely. While the reader may often wonder where the author is headed in this book, the characters themselves and the pathetic state they are in very quickly become compelling preoccupations. Remarque has something very important to say in these pages...He tries to look at the past with objectivity, at the present with an hygienic laugh, and at the future with courage. There are some unsettling aspects to the author's occasional treatment of people as types and stereotypes: military men are always ruthless and blind; the clergy love their wine and monopoly on belief; women are manipulative or confused, or else simply break into tears when they can't understand something. Many readers may be put off by Remarque's standard references to perceived homosocial behavior as belonging to a proposed realm of "pansies" or "fairies," for which his principal characters seem compelled to express disaffection with puzzling regularity. "The Black Obelisk" is a novel written by someone who lived through the time and place with which it deals, and carries with it both the authenticity of personal experience and the limitations of vision to which any generation is subject. But its pages hold the attention, until in the end the hidden vocation of the black obelisk itself is revealed: the novel's title was not ill-chosen. Anyone wishing to delve more deeply into some of the reasons for Hitler's rise to power like an evil rocket flaming into the night sky of German defeat, would do well to examine this book. It does not have the rodeo kick of some of Remarque's more chronologic and plot-oriented novels, but its evocation of an age is clear.

Rating:
Summary: Germany Before Hitler
Review: ...Remarque fills several hundred pages with the mostly unconnected activities and ruminations of a large number of residents of a small German city after the defeat of the Kaiser's armies in World War I. But the narrative progression of the novel is to be found not so much in an analysis of what these people do as in how they do it: haphazardly, with the good humor that is born of shared helplessness, and with a mounting sense of alarm that far greater misfortunes are not only thinkable but likely. While the reader may often wonder where the author is headed in this book, the characters themselves and the pathetic state they are in very quickly become compelling preoccupations. Remarque has something very important to say in these pages...He tries to look at the past with objectivity, at the present with an hygienic laugh, and at the future with courage. There are some unsettling aspects to the author's occasional treatment of people as types and stereotypes: military men are always ruthless and blind; the clergy love their wine and monopoly on belief; women are manipulative or confused, or else simply break into tears when they can't understand something. Many readers may be put off by Remarque's standard references to perceived homosocial behavior as belonging to a proposed realm of "pansies" or "fairies," for which his principal characters seem compelled to express disaffection with puzzling regularity. "The Black Obelisk" is a novel written by someone who lived through the time and place with which it deals, and carries with it both the authenticity of personal experience and the limitations of vision to which any generation is subject. But its pages hold the attention, until in the end the hidden vocation of the black obelisk itself is revealed: the novel's title was not ill-chosen. Anyone wishing to delve more deeply into some of the reasons for Hitler's rise to power like an evil rocket flaming into the night sky of German defeat, would do well to examine this book. It does not have the rodeo kick of some of Remarque's more chronologic and plot-oriented novels, but its evocation of an age is clear.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps Remarque's best?
Review: If All Quiet on the Western Front is about those who died, The Black Obelisk is about those who survived. Ludwig has returned home to Germany after the war. He is a stonemason. The company's big order is for a monument to honour the small towns war dead: the black obelisk. The mode of the book is a gentle melancholy. Ludwig survived the trenches, most of his friends died, part of him died with them. Wise beyond his years, he sees how the German's fail to rise up from defeat. Instead they fall to petty bickering, thus setting the stage for the rise of nazism. Instead of being a tribute to those who fell, the black obelisk becomes an ominous pointer to what lies ahead.

Rating:
Summary: Boring........
Review: Inflation and the collapse of civilization growl like unseen monsters on every page of this novel of Germany in the 1920's. They also make up the principal story line of the book, in terms of what they do to individuals and to groups: here Europe is eased into fascism like a terminal patient dozing in narcosis.Remarque fills several hundred pages with the mostly unconnected activities of a large number of residents of a small German city after World War I. But the narrative progression of the novel is to be found not so much in an analysis of what these people do as in how they do it: haphazardly, with the good humor born of shared helplessness and with a mounting sense of alarm that far greater misfortunes are not only thinkable but likely. The reader may often wonder where the author is headed in this book, but Remarque has something very important to say about a world cut loose from its moorings, a ship adrift in an ocean of sinister lunar pulls. There are some unsettling aspects to the author's occasional treatment of people as types and stereotypes: here military men are always narrow minded, the clergy are invariably arrogant, and women burst into tears in 19th century fashion when they can't understand something. Neither does the novel escape the recurrent homophobia to which Remarque's characters are no stranger. But this book holds the attention, until the hidden vocation of the black obelisk itself is revealed: the tale's title was not ill-chosen. While it may not have the rodeo kick of some of Remarque's more plot-oriented novels, its evocation of an age is as clear and unsmudged as a new pane of glass held up to the sunlight for inspection.

Rating:
Summary: Not Boring at All!
Review: Remarque is never boring! If you're that ponderous, contemplative type, you'll appreciate EMR's heroes a lot, including Ludwig Bodmer, the "star" of "The Black Obelisk".

The setting is depressing, as is usual in EMR's novels: the inter-war Germany, fresh out of a lost war and in deep economic trouble, yet failing to acknowledge its mistakes and ready to polish its honour once more. Ludwig sells tombstones, not a terribly exciting occupation in itself, yet even more tolling if you have to do it under conditions of severe inflation. But he and his buddies (most notably, Georg Kroll, the shop owner) manage to have a good time despite everything.

The book is funny in places and philosophical in other. Or the both together. The only parts I found a little tedious were Ludwig's (then a.k.a. Rolf, Rudolph, or Ralph) endless dialogues with Isabelle/Genevieve at the mental asylum. But I can see some people liking those, too.

Certainly worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: Not Boring at All!
Review: Remarque is never boring! If you're that ponderous, contemplative type, you'll appreciate EMR's heroes a lot, including Ludwig Bodmer, the "star" of "The Black Obelisk".

The setting is depressing, as is usual in EMR's novels: the inter-war Germany, fresh out of a lost war and in deep economic trouble, yet failing to acknowledge its mistakes and ready to polish its honour once more. Ludwig sells tombstones, not a terribly exciting occupation in itself, yet even more tolling if you have to do it under conditions of severe inflation. But he and his buddies (most notably, Georg Kroll, the shop owner) manage to have a good time despite everything.

The book is funny in places and philosophical in other. Or the both together. The only parts I found a little tedious were Ludwig's (then a.k.a. Rolf, Rudolph, or Ralph) endless dialogues with Isabelle/Genevieve at the mental asylum. But I can see some people liking those, too.

Certainly worth a read.

Rating:
Summary: The Black Obelisk
Review: This is one of my favorite books of all time. It definitely is a slow read, and really this is the only time I've ever thought of a book as one to be savored. Ludwig, the main character, is sensitive, genuine and astute, with an incredible sense of humor that is often surprising. I was really touched by this book. It exposes people for what they are, as it exposes life in those times. Absolutely incredible, but take it slow.

Rating:
Summary: magnificent, beautifully written
Review: This is, in my opinion, the best book written in the 20th century. Remarque is at his peak as far as style and content, his humor, and his unique and first class desription of characters and seemingly "ordinary" incidents of life. True: this book is not about great historical figures, nor does it contain great adventures, mysteries or surprises -- common lures for today's readers. But it does contain a drama nevertheless, the drama of every simple life story. This book describes ordinary life -- that life that Odysseus had in his mind on his journey home. I am only 22, but will love this book just the same when I am a 70 year old man looking back at my life. This book is about life, and if I am tired of this book, I am tired of my life.

Rating:
Summary: Remarque's Best, My Favorite Book
Review: This novel isn't for everyone but it is my favorite. Remarque does a wondrous job creating vivid characters in a small German city in the early 20s. Hyper-inflation, depression and a nation in despair after the humiliation and torment of the Great War, are well told themes. Ludwig is able to find humor through all this and although there is little plot, there is a great story-line. For me, this novel also explains how the horrible economic conditions could so rile a populace, that the small-minded minority embraces Hitler.

Remarque wrote one of the greatest war novels of all time, told great stories of on the run emigrees, and concentration camp horrors, but this book explains pre-Hitler life and thinking in Germany, and is a must read for any Remarque fan.