Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

9 reviews

saraaaa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

One of the best pieces of war literature I've ever read. Deeply moving, reflective, leaves you with a strong sense of injustice – as any good war novel should.
I feel like the author went for an explicitly didascalic approach, unambiguously denouncing the horrors of the war through the first person account of the young protagonist's personal experiences and reflections.
The strong accent on the loss of youthful dreams and teenage convictions makes it, in a way, a hybrid between a war novel and a bildungsroman.
The style was poetic at times, especially when reporting the protagonist's considerations, then moving to a kind of matter-of-factly journalistic style when describing the soldiers' routine and daily sufferings.
Last but not least, it's the first – and so far the only – war novel I read that managed to give a realistic account of a teenage boy's perspective on women and sexual attraction without falling into misogyny.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, War, Blood, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Cancer and Mental illness

Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, and Racial slurs

philodora's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Grief, Gun violence, War, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

diddlydoo333's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, War, Gore, Blood, Torture, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Physical abuse, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Excrement, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Confinement, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Gore, Genocide, Alcohol, Blood, and Mental illness

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Sexism, Sexual content, Cancer, Ableism, and Child death

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book expresses a human aspect to war; giving faces, names, occupations, and families to the young German soldiers of WWI. Their deaths are all impactful, none more than Kat, but the need to keep fighting both the war itself and the internal struggles Paul feels brush the trauma of those deaths out of view without trivializing it. The switch at the end from a first person, personalized account, to a third person omniscient narrator finishes that action by showing the outcome of all of those traumas washing over him like a wave as the rumors of the wars near end reach him. This novel begs the questions of what happens when war is over, when all you've known in your adult life is war; what happens when everyone you hold dear, who knows you as you are and not how you were is gone; and what does it mean to feel alive? War is not something that can value life of any sort, in any way, and this book captures that essence of loss perfectly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Grief, Vomit, Excrement, Suicide, Violence, and War

jaytb's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Medical content, Violence, War, Medical trauma, Death, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

laiamai's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Animal death, Death, War, Gore, and Excrement

milliewhattt's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and War

indigosl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Gore, and Gun violence

carys_ene's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War

Moderate: Alcohol and Excrement