BY ERICH MARIA REMARQUE
A book containing much insight into Germany after World War I as well as thoughts about life and religion.
4.0 stars out of 5 stars
Most of Erich Maria Remarque’s novels were about war or the aftermath of war. The Black Obelisk was about the life of a German World War I veteran, in the early 1920’s. His name is Ludwig, a young man in the late twenties. During this period, Germany’s economy was undergoing hyperinflation, and the Nazis, led by Hitler, were gaining power. The novel was written in the first person.
Ludwig was employed in a small company which made and sold stone monuments for the dead. He had been a schoolteacher before the war. He played the organ, was an amateur poet and a member of the poet’s club. The 432- page book is about the interactions of Ludwig with his bosses, fellow employees in the company, neighbors, former comrades in the War, the vicar, the doctor and one of the patients in an insane asylum just outside the city. He was the organist during religious services in the asylum.
The effect of hyperinflation was captured in the sentence at the beginning of the book “The first quarter has been lively, we have made brilliant sales and grown poor in the process, but what can we do?”
The book is slow moving. There is not much of a plot. There are no horrific battle scenes resembling those in All Quiet on the Western Front and A Time to Love and a Time to Die. There are, however, scenes of a couple of fights, one involving two people and the other two gangs of people. Several characters are interesting. One is a neighbor named Lisa, wife of a horse butcher, who appears every morning by the window, most of the time half naked. She had an affair with one of the owners of the stone monument shop. Another is a young woman who can sing both as soprano or as male bass. In parties, she would occasionally burst out in a loud bass voice, leaving guests who did not know her wondering from whom the voice came from. A central character of the novel is a patient in the insane asylum who was deemed incurable. She was called Isabelle although her real name was Genevieve Terhoven. She claimed that she could hear the wind speak, plants scream, and she could drink something with the moon in it. She asked questions about love, life and death. Ludwig fell in love with her. However, toward the end of the book, Isabelle was cured, and Genevieve Terhoven emerged. She no longer remembered the time when she was ill and did not recognize Ludwig. The girl Isabelle had completely disappeared. Ludwig was left only with memories. A sad story.
There are conversations about life, death, and religion, especially about Christianity, which may find resonance in many readers. Below are some quotes on these subjects:
“Can life ever be explained and seized and ridden like a tamed horse or is it always a mighty sail that carries us in the storm and, when we try to seize it, sweeps us into the deep?”
“Perhaps death has a completely wrong name. We can only see it from one side. Perhaps it is perfect love between God and us.”
“Don’t underestimate the wisdom of the Church! It is the only dictatorship that has not been overthrown in two thousand years.”
The following conversation between Ludwig and Vicar Boderdiek is interesting. It will no doubt offend Christians but resonate with others:
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Ludwig: “Why really did God create this earthly vale of tears? Couldn’t He have admitted us at once to eternal life?”
Vicar Boderdiek: “You can read about that in the Bible. Man, paradise, the fall –”
Ludwig: “The fall, the eviction from paradise, original sin, and with it the curse of one hundred thousand generations. The God of the longest wrath on record.”
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And here is a provocative but thoughtful question:
“How does God decide which prayer to grant when priests of two waring nations but of the same denomination (Catholic or Protestants) prayed for victory of each one’s country?”
On a lighter side, the book offers a tip for those negotiating business deals (the quote is slightly modified):
“Warmth has a thawing effect – even on the purse. Therefore, our office is overheated, and our representatives have it dinned into them as an overriding principle never to attempt to close a sale in a cold place, but always in a warm room and, if possible, after a meal.”
In conclusion, if you are looking for a thriller, or a novel with elaborate plots, The Black Obelisk is not it. It is, on the other hand, a remarkable book containing much insight into Germany after World War I as well as thoughts about life and religion.
Link to Amazon Review:
(denoted as top positive review as well as top review from the United States)
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