The Black Obelisk: A Novel

I think this is one of the finest comedic novels ever written; I had read it years ago and thought it wonderul and now, as part of my study of Germany between the world wars, I reread it. It seems even better now. I intend to go on and reread his other novels of the period, including Three Comrades and Arch of Triumph.

Wonderful book, one of my favorites of all time

Have to read it . It is funny and smart book. Author is great writer.Wonderful book and very funny.

I would have given this 5 stars except that after reading the book in German, I realized this translation has been edited quite a lot. It appears that some of the more "racy" parts have been omitted, unfortunate since they include some of the most humorous and interesting passages. Since the translation is from the 1950s, I suppose this should not come as a great surprise as that kind of editing would have been commonplace in a novel intended to reach a wide audience. The book is, as many others here have noted, a wonderful piece of black comedy.

The BEST roman of Remarque. Everybody should read it, especially at age 15-20.

Every book by this writer is terrific. All are different. This one is funny and insightful. He's an amazing writer.

Great author. Immortal novel.

After few world war II novels he wrote, Remarque went back to hyper-inflation Weimar Republic in his home town Osnabruck.(although he used different name ,but we know that it's thin disguise). Protagonist of the book is Ludwig Bodmer ; 25 year old war veteran who works in his comrade Georg Kroll's tombstone company. While reading the book, it's not hard to know that Bodmer is no other than Remarque himself and book itself is successful and fabulously rich author's nostalgic auto- biography. Although aspiring to be poet, Ludwig's life is full of every day drab reality which is only worsens time passes mostly by nightmarish and surreal hyper inflation and political unreset derived from it. the only real or unreal part of his life is sunday mass in a local mental asylum where Ludwig works as an organ player for the sake of not only a bottle of wine but also aberration from his trivial existence. There is a clear demarcation line here between Ludwig's everyday life and his time with inmmate Genevieve Terhoben a.k.a Isabell. Some readers will find the dialogue between two are utterly meaningless and a bit down part of the book however, I find their series of dialogue and Remarque's intentional description of Ludwig's behavior after brief meeing with Isabelle truly makes him more than a writer of "Trivial Literature" ,since there is fairly skillful usage of contrast .Moreover, the part truly evokes the nostalgia and melancholy of lost time. In speaking of Remarque's use of contrast is not limited in Ludwig's life , but also between various charaters. Georg and Heinrich Kroll,Bambus and Hungermann,Isabel and Genevive, Wernicke and Bodendick. One of the strongest point of this work is its humor and lively but bizzare characters as well as his skill to let characters develop themselves. That really works in this work. the other good point is that the this work encompasses the gamut of "ordinary" German live in a small city during the tumultous time so vividly.There are a couple episode that duly shows how terrible the notorous Weimar inflation was. Irony also works quite well. Shamful urinating of ex-non com Knopf on Black Obelisk symbolizes the true reason of demise of once stable Wilhelmian society .Also,the last deal Ludwig makes on Black Obelisk contains Remarque's sarcasm on modern Germany. The epilogue also shows how Remarque was throughly disillusioned by post-wwII Germany. The book has no prominent plot ,but as I said earlier it does not need any plot, because it was nothing other than the author's auto-biography. It's a very fine work and I strongly believe that it is Remarque's best work. It is unjustly underrated work ,so are all other Remarque's work. Read it. you won't regret .

very good

I had read this novel in German some years ago whilst in a German hospital during a disastrous holiday. I was not sure that I had understood all of it so, when I found it in English I bought it more out of curiosity than anything else. But what a novel! Better by far (in the style of writing if not the subject matter) than "All Quiet on the Western Front". There is humour, pathos and an accurate description of some of the evils of the early Brownshirts of the Nazi Party. There are so many levels to enjoy and the characters stand out vividly representing, in most cases, aspects of people that everyone will have met in life. It is a novel of the between-war years and the absurd inflation that Germany went through that made a Dollar worth billions of Marks. Above that, it is a novel about how a nation that had gone through a disastrous war started to turn its eyes backwards and to pine for "the good old days" even when they patently weren't. They turned, of course, to Hitler and the same militarism that had brought about their downfall in 1918. Though set in the 1920s, and written in the 1950s, it has much to warn us of, still. Humorous yet intellectual, silly yet true, easy to read but thought provoking. A real classic.

It is unbelievable that this novel is often out of print and is only available in this expensive version at the moment. It is perhaps the author's best work and has both a pithy humour and lightness of touch that make it so rich in tone.It is episodic in plot and flows along and whether you enjoy it will depend on how much you enjoy a book that does not have a conventional pay-off, or epic finish; it is more elusive and gentle. George Kroll, the protagonist, is made appealing to the reader due to the stoic, wily way that he snakes his way through life in late 1930's Germany and the hyperinflation that reduces everyone to desperation. His world of the workplace, an undertaker's, the local people, including a woman whom everyone watches brazenly perform a strange act through the curtains at night, and a woman he loves, Isabel, are compelling. Bittersweet, offbeat and intelligent, this story should be made into a film, but the rights (as I hear it) are too expensive right now. If you love historical context to be vivid, enjoy

Everyone literate have at least heard of "No news on the Western Front" and probably read it. This is so much better. So many one liners about life, love, friendship and more. Gives great insight into the desperation of the hyperinflation and unrest and beginning of the Nazi movement and delves into love, mental illness and nationalism. If you liked No news on the Western Front, you'll like (love) this one. A great author and a great book for any man who's ever been in love but also troubled by what goes on in society. There's no grizzly war stuff in it, like No News, so it has more appeal to the ladies, I guess. I remember in high school how a lot of the girls were like: "Oh, another war book - great". This is a human drama in a historical contexts and it feels like you're there and hanging out with the characters.

classic