Despite Remarque's flawless sarcasm and sense of humor, his books are never an easy read. Only when reading Remarque one gets an irresistible urge to google "How to stop being afraid of death?"

This book tells a story about a young guy who survived WW1. He spent his youth at war and thus did not get to ask himself all the questions young people ask themselves.

There are two sides to this story. The first one tells about Ludwig's everyday life, describes the people he meets in the most hilarious ways, but the point is that this side of the story is aimed at making the reader feel how pointless those daily routines are, how insignificant it all is compared to the second side of the story. Now this part tells one of the oddest love stories I have read about. Ludwig falls for an insane woman, literally insane - she spends her days at a madhouse. At first she really does seem crazy, but as you read, you see more reason in her words and actions than in those of other Werdenbrück town inhabitants.

The Black Obelisk is a fount of quotes and a well of irony, but then it also introduces the reader to the consequences of war by describing people who have gone mad because of it, people who no longer fit into reality. Remarque managed to get us into the atmosphere of post-WW1 Germany, he let the reader understand the birth of Nazism there, showed us that there could be no other way for these people back then. It really did seem to be the right philosophy to choose after you've fought for a country whose economy just collapsed and left all veterans with nothing but hatred towards all nations supposedly guilty of their despair.

I have not read many Remarque's works, but I'd definitely suggest reading this one to everyone. It will be a slow read, a thought-provoking one, sometimes funny, sometimes depressing, but it'll plunge you in the early 1920s German mood for sure.