Erich Maria Remarque, "Spark of Life": reviews and summary

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

With the novel by Erich Maria Remarque "The Spark of Life" readers first met in January 1952. This edition was not released in Germany, which was the birthplace of the writer, but in America. That is why the first edition of Remarque's book "The Spark of Life" was published in English.

The plot of this novel, like all the writer's works, is based on real events. The author dedicated it to the memory of his younger sister, who died at the hands of the Nazis.

Facts from the biography of the writer

In 1931, Remarque had to leave Germany. The reason for this was the persecution by the ruling National Socialist Party, which came to power in those years. By this government, Remarque was deprived of German citizenship, which he later failed to restore. In addition, in 1933, the writer's books were completely banned in Germany.

The Nazis, who did not have the opportunity to destroy the writer himself, decided to deal with his sister Elfrida, who was a simple dressmaker and had nothing to do with literature or politics. By denunciationone of the clients, a woman was arrested for anti-Hitler and anti-war statements. At trial, she was charged with attempting to undermine Germany's defenses. The woman's guilt was recognized, and in the autumn of 1943 she was executed. The writer learned about the death of his sister only after the war ended. In 1978, one of the streets of her hometown, Osnabrück, was named after Elfrida.

History of writing a novel

All the actions of Remarque's book "The Spark of Life" take place in a concentration camp located near the city of Mellern, which in fact does not exist. He was a fictional author. No such camp actually existed. When describing it in the book "The Spark of Life" by Erich Maria Remarque, Buchenwald was taken as the basis, about which there was quite a lot of information in those years. Mellern in this work is Osnabrück. It was him, his hometown, that the author took as a basis when writing the work.

While working on the novel, Remarque used a large number of official reports and eyewitness accounts. That is why such a realistic work came out from under the pen of a writer who himself was not in a concentration camp.

The theme of Erich Maria Remarque's book "The Spark of Life" for the first time concerned those events in the description of which the author did not have the opportunity to use his personal experience. Work on the work began in July 1946. It was then that Remarque found out about the execution of his sister.

The author devoted five years to writing the book. And even then, when it was not completely ready, he realized that he had touched on a topic that was a kind of taboo in Germany. Somewhat later, Remarque pointed this out in his unfinished novel titled Shadows in Paradise.

After reviewing the manuscript of the book "Spark of Life", the Swiss publishing house decided to terminate the contract with the writer. That is why the first printing of the book was published in America.

Reviews of Remarque's "Spark of Life" written by German literary critics were extremely negative. The reaction of people who were victims of Nazism turned out to be positive. That is why the author issued several prefaces. Each of them served as an explanation of the concept of the novel and the study of its theme.

As for the USSR, here the novel "The Spark of Life" was not published. The reason for this was Soviet censorship. She did not allow the work to appear in the country for ideological reasons. The fact is that in the book the reader could clearly trace the equal sign that the author put between communism and fascism. The book was first published in Russian in 1992, after the collapse of the USSR.

Relevance of the work

Judging by the reviews of Remarque's "Spark of Life", this book cannot be called a horror novel or a thriller. This is a sad, but at the same time wise work about life and death, as well as about good and evil. The book also tells about how quickly and easily neat and respectable employees, modest students, officials, businessmen, bakers and butchers can turn into professional killers. From the novel, the reader will also learn how such a craft is perfectly combined with an exemplary family life, good manners and a love of music.

One of the main plot lines of the book is a description of the personal life of SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Bruno Neubauer, the camp commandant. The author describes his material worries, family troubles, as well as those feelings and thoughts that arise in him in connection with the understanding of impending retribution. Those pictures of the novel that tell the reader about camp reality have something in common with interesting and sometimes comical stories related to the civilian life of a man who rules over prisoners. This allows us to see German fascism from a slightly different perspective, to learn about the personal experiences of people who considered themselves to be "supermen".

Of course, there are numerous reviews of Remarque's "Spark of Life", which speak of the gloominess of the topic raised in the novel. However, according to critics, at all times, art sometimes has to be a kind of bitter pill, and not a sweet candy. This is good for the spiritual he alth of a person. After all, ancient people talked about the cleansing power of tragedy. In addition, considering even a summary of the chapters of Remarque's "Spark of Life", we can conclude that this book, despite the difficult pictures that appear before the reader, is life-affirming. And this can be understood from the very title of the novel.

Remarque wisely leads his reader through the purgatory he described. At the same time, its final destination is a new understanding of life. The author does not try to squeeze a tear out of us, and besides, he does not cry himself. Of course, it is not easy for him to maintain neutrality and impartiality, but he skillfully directsthe reader's feelings and thoughts in the right direction, using dark humor and bitter irony.

Storyline

Let's get acquainted with the summary of Remarque's "Spark of Life". The novel takes the reader to Germany, in 1945. For ten years now, a former editor of one of the liberal newspapers has been in one of the fascist camps. The author does not name him. He is only a prisoner, whose number is 509. This man is in the zone of the camp where the Nazis transfer prisoners who can no longer work. However, No. 509 retained the desire for will and thirst for life. Neither years of torture, nor bullying, nor hunger, nor fear of death could break this man. Five hundred and ninth continues to live. Nor does he lose faith in liberation. He has comrades. These "veterans" stick together and help each other. The opposite of them are the so-called Muslims. They include prisoners who have completely resigned themselves to their fate.

One of the quotes from "The Spark of Life" Remarque conveys feelings well No. 509:

509 perceived Weber's head as a dark spot in front of the window. It seemed to him very large against the background of the sky. The head was death, and the sky outside the window was unexpectedly life. Life, it does not matter at all where and what kind - in lice, beatings, blood - nevertheless, life, even for the shortest moment.”

The development of the plot takes place at a time when the war is coming to an end, and the defeat of the Nazi army is very close. Prisoners guess this by hearing the sounds of bombers, whichfrom time to time they make raids on the town of Mellern, where the camp is located. The prisoners want it, but at the same time they are even afraid to believe in their release.

Once the camp administration was asked to give some prisoners who were going to be used for medical experiments. Among these people was also No. 509. However, he boldly refused to become a participant in the experiments, only narrowly avoiding death. After that, other prisoners saw in him a person who could organize resistance to the camp administration. This movement began to gradually develop and grow stronger. The prisoners obtained food and weapons for themselves. Those who actively participated in the resistance and could move around the camp hid people from reprisals.

Prisoners found the meaning of life. They had to endure at the cost of any effort to get out of the concentration camp.

The war was drawing to a close. The city was heavily bombarded. The administration of the camp was increasingly losing its power. The civilian population of the town fled or died as a result of the bombing. Conditions in the camp became increasingly unbearable. The Nazis sometimes did not give out food at all. Political prisoners began to be subjected to brutal reprisals.

Shortly before the moment when the camp was completely liberated, the Nazis disbanded the bulk of the guards. However, there were especially zealous SS men who decided to set fire to the barracks in order to destroy the prisoners in them. The man with number 509, taking up arms, tried to resist this. During the battle, he managed to mortally wound Weber, who was the mostthe cruelest of the Nazis. During the fight, the courageous prisoner died.

The camp was liberated by the Americans. The surviving prisoners were released. Remarque's work "The Spark of Life" ends with a description of the peaceful future of the former prisoners. The writer prepared a happy life for all of them. For example, Lebenthal was able to negotiate the opening of a tobacco shop. That is, he began to do what he loves most of all. Berger, who had previously been a doctor, began to operate again, although he was afraid that he had already forgotten this trade. But he continued to live in order to realize himself for everyone. One of the youngest prisoners, Bucher, met a girl in the camp. They were released together, making plans for a life together. Levinsky continued his communist activities. Only No. 509 was found in the new life. He died during the destruction of the main evil of the camp - the Nazi Weber.

The fate of other people

Reviews of Remarque's book "The Spark of Life" indicate that the reader's soul simply cannot but be touched by the descriptions of those horrific conditions that were created in the concentration camp for the prisoners held there. The author tells us about people of different nationalities and destinies, who in this difficult moment behave differently. Some of them, unable to endure bullying and torture, become like Nazis themselves.

Others, despite humiliation and atrocities, were able to maintain their best qualities and not drop human dignity in those conditions when there is a struggle for their own existence through betrayal of comrades anddenunciations against them.

Campmaster

Judging by the reviews of Remarque's "Spark of Life", another storyline of the work is also of interest to readers. In parallel with all the horrors of the concentration camp, the writer tells us about the personal life of his commandant, Bruno Neubauer. This SS Obersturmbannführer is occupied with thoughts of family problems. But at the same time, he daily scrupulously and carefully performs his ruthless work. Bruno Neubauer gets real pleasure when he watches how his soldiers mock defenseless people. And all this does not prevent this person from being a loving father and husband. All his aspirations are aimed at the prosperity and well-being of his family. At the same time, he does not pay attention to the price at which these benefits are given to him.

Bruno is far from stupid. He is well aware that the Nazi empire is on the verge of collapse. But in this case, all his worries relate only to his own well-being. Neubauer does not regret what he did. The main thing for him is the desire to avoid punishment for his inhuman acts.

The author does not oppose the two sides of Neubauer in the novel "The Spark of Life", as they smoothly pass one into the other. That is why it is almost impossible to establish a certain border where one face ends and another begins.

Characteristics of the main character

Getting acquainted with the summary of Remarque's "Spark of Life", already at the very beginning we learn that the town where the concentration camp was located was subjected tobombardment.

This event in the plot is a symbolic beginning of those changes that subsequently occurred not only in the lives of all prisoners in general, but also in each of them individually. They also touched Koller - No. 509. Judging by the reviews of Remarque's "Spark of Life", the author revealed the character of his main character rather slowly. In the same way, the change of this person is gradually taking place. In the novel, he goes from a skeleton with a number and no name to one of the brightest leaders, maintaining hope for the future and a spirit of resistance.

509, a former journalist, remained true to himself even in the dungeons of the Nazi camp. This political prisoner is a man with a clear mind and a strong will. All his main character traits only doze in the most difficult periods of his life, but when it becomes possible, they regain strength. Thanks to the occasion and his qualities, from a large number of heroes of Remarque's "Spark of Life", it is he who becomes a symbol of victory over the Nazis and the freedom of prisoners. His first courageous act was the refusal to sign the papers, on the basis of which he was to become a "patient" of the doctor Wiese. After all, everyone knew that none of the prisoners returned from the clinic of this sadist. Koller, along with Bucher (another prisoner and one of the main characters), was escorted to his death by his comrades. When the first of them returned, he became the resurrected Lazarus for everyone else.

Koller, despite his terrible situation, remained true to himself to the end. He did not join the party, but duringIn a conversation with his main opponent, Werner told him that he was just as capable of putting him in jail as his party was of coming to power. Koller is convinced that any tyranny is evil. This statement is the writer's most striking statement against communism, which he compared with fascism.

Judging by the reviews of the "Spark of Life" by Erich Remarque, readers' admiration for the main character is gradually growing throughout the plot of the novel. This man, despite his position as a prisoner, remains stronger than the Nazis to the very end. This idea is especially clearly seen in the finale of the work.

Bucher characteristic

From Remarque's description of "The Spark of Life" it becomes clear that No. 509 is not the only hero of the work who deserves attention and admiration. In a way, Koller's successor is Bucher. This prisoner managed not only to survive, getting out of the camp, but also, together with Ruth, to become a representative of the generation that survived the war.

Judging by the reviews of the "Spark of Life" by Erich Maria Remarque, readers were very interested in following the development of relations between these young people. Ruth is a girl who miraculously escaped the gas chamber. She was saved only thanks to her appearance, but at the same time she became an object for the satisfaction of the soldiers. While the young people were in the camp, they wished that if the white house, located behind the fences, survived the bombing, everything in their lives would be fine. And every day they watched the undamaged building. Only after freeing themselves and leaving the camp did they learn that from the houseonly the façade remains. Everything else in it was bombed out. Such a metaphor of the author, according to readers, has a rather subtle meaning.

Images of other heroes

In the novel "Spark of Life" the author introduces his reader to Ahasuerus, the boy Karel, Lebenthal, Werner and other prisoners. Each of the images created by the author is interesting in its own way.

The characters of the work are also fascist overseers. The reader gets acquainted with what is happening and from their point of view. Using a similar approach to the presentation of the topic, the author tries to understand the motives of the actions of the Nazis, as well as how they justified their atrocities.

The main point of the novel

Despite the imagery of the title of the work, its meaning is clear even to those readers who are not prone to philosophical reasoning. The sparks of life are what still flickers in the souls of the concentration camp prisoners, who outwardly are more similar to corpses than to living people. The main thing that was taken away from each of these prisoners was the right to be considered human.

The author asks a question that he invites his readers to think about: “Why do some people think that they have the right to commit arbitrariness over others?” Remarque argues that representatives of the "superior race" should not rule over those who, in their opinion, have the "wrong" nationality. After all, this happens contrary to all common sense.

The ideology of fascism does not recognize that all people are equal. What can prisoners do in such a situation? How to prove that prisoners are people too? Yes, they are powerless, sick and exhausted. Temhowever, even between life and death, concentration camp prisoners find a way to show their human dignity.

But not all people are the same. Some prisoners have already managed to show their basest character traits. In order to get a piece of bread and avoid punishment, they go to the betrayal of the same unfortunate ones that they themselves are. Remained among the prisoners and those who can be called real people. They reject betrayal and believe that by following this path, they will become like their tormentors, sinking to their level. It is much easier for them to die as a result of torture than to be on a par with fanatics. After all, to allow the Nazis to kill the Man in themselves means final death. Such prisoners in the novel are immediately visible. They constantly try to help their comrades and share the last piece with them. All this can be called the spark of life.

Reviews of some readers say that in the novel they did not like its excessive naturalism and pessimism. However, the author should not be blamed for this. A man who lost his sister to the Nazis could hardly write a cheerful work. Nevertheless, Remarque did not pursue the goal of depicting the torture of prisoners in the brightest colors. He just wanted to show his reader how easily ordinary, ordinary citizens can turn into cold-blooded professional killers, as well as how ridiculous the combination of a craving for cruelty and a love of music in the same person.

But the main thing in the work is the spark. Taa spark that remains in the souls of people, and which no one can extinguish. And even if it seems quite insignificant and small, it is from it that a real flame will certainly flare up over time. And this idea can be confirmed by some quotes from the book "Spark of Life":

“It's strange how everything changes when there is hope. Then you live in anticipation. And feel fear…”

Our imagination can't count. And the numbers do not affect the feeling - it does not become stronger from them. It can only count up to one. But one is enough if you really feel it.”

"Hatred and memories are as destructive to the mortal self as pain is."

“What is left for people choking in the fiery maelstrom of war? What remains of people who have been deprived of hope, love - and, in fact, even life itself? What is left for people who have nothing left? Just something - a spark of life. Weak, but unquenchable. The spark of life that gives people the strength to smile at death's door. A spark of light - in pitch darkness …"

“Almost any resistance can be broken; it is a matter of timing and the right conditions.”

"Reckless courage is suicide."

One must always think of the immediate danger. About today. And tomorrow is about tomorrow. Everything is in order. Otherwise, you can go crazy.”

"Death is as contagious as typhus, and alone, no matter how hard you resist, it's very easy to die when everyone around you is just dying."

Life is life. Even the most miserable one.”

You only have to rely on what you keep inhand.”

The article provided information about the novel by Erich Maria Remarque "The Spark of Life", reviews of the book and the most famous quotes.