Ludwig Bodmer, a young veteran of the First World War, works in 1923 for a stonemason's firm in a small German town, where he sells grave markers and obelisks while inflation destroys the value of money. He plays organ at an asylum, falls for a patient named Isabelle, who has multiple personalities, and spends his nights with friends at a local bar. Remarque shows the economic chaos, the nationalist groups, and the struggle of former soldiers to find a place. The novel is partly drawn from his own time as a young man.
Readers who liked All Quiet on the Western Front will find a later, more ironic look at what came after the war.
Deep and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1998
- Publisher
- Kiepenheuer & Witsch
- ISBN
- 9783462027259
- Language
- DE
