The More Things Change

Smashler finished All Quiet on the Western Front yesterday, achieving a literary goal she has had for some time. This edition of the book is less than 300 pages and I had wondered how much impact it could possible make on me. In general, I am not a big fan of war novels. War and Peace was an exception in my fiction repertoire. What was shocking about this little book of large font and wide margins, was how modern it seemed. Sure, it's set in 1917-18 and I had to keep reminding myself that the main characters were the "bad guys," but the story could have been about Vietnam or Iraq. About 2/3 through the book the soldiers begin a discussion about why they are at war and they finally conclude, "there must be some people to whom the war is useful" and "every full-grown emperor requires at least one war, otherwise he would not become famous" and "there are other people back behind there who profit by the war, that's certain." This book was published in 1928 and yet, politically, I could be telling you about a book that just came in to the library. The combat is brutal. The conditions are harsh. The soldiers suffer PTSD, called shell-shock then. War was fought very personally. I took this book personally and I understand why it is a classic.