I have never read "All Quiet on the Western Front" * even though it has been on my wishlist forever whereas I never heard about this one. The author writes about the same war as Erich Maria Remarque but he decided to publish his book anonymously under the name "Schlump".
An interesting read, Schlump describes the various faces of war, the different kind of jobs a solider is forced to do, from sitting in an office to fighting in the trenches. We have it all first-hand, from someone who saw it all with his own, very critical eyes. Therefore, it was a good idea he didn't tell anyone his name at the time, he certainly would have ended up in one of Hitler's concentration camps. This way, he survived.
Highly interesting read.
From the back cover:
"Schlump is seventeen, a romantic, a chancer and a dreamer. It's 1914 so naturally he volunteers for war. In France he is assigned an administrative position in a small town and has a marvellous time. But when he gets to the trenches, where death and mindless destruction are the everyday, he starts to understand something about war."
Similar Books:
Remarque, Erich Maria "Im Westen Nichts Neues" (All Quiet on the Western Front) - 1929
Renn, Ludwig "Krieg" (War) - 1928
* I have in the meantime, see here.
I've read All Quiet on the Western Front, but never heard of this one.
ReplyDeleteNeither had I, Janet, and it's a German book!
DeleteI think the main reason this is not so well know is that the author kept it a secret who he was and hid the book for a while, as well. But it has been rediscovered and is now quite popular. I couldn't say whether it is comparable to "All Quiet on the Western Front" since I still haven't read that.
Have a good day,
Marianne