Customer Reviews

Arch of Triumph

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This is not intended for those of you who have never heard of Erich Maria Remarque. For the unfortunate ones who haven't come across any of his books, or were forced to read "All Quiet On The Western Front" as a homework assignment, you have been deprived of one of the greatest authors of the 20th century. After attaining any acknowlegement for any written work, writters tend to shift toward the more abstract and try to write something more profound then any of us 'Pleasure Readers' ever intended on reading. Remraque stays true to his roots, whether it is "Three Commrades", or this, "Arch Of Triumph", he keeps the balance between constructive conversation, 'page turning' story telling, and poetic descriptions that will forever be imprinted in our minds. Arch of Triumph is set in Paris during the late 1930's. Europe was on the road to recovering from the first Warld War and lurking was the air of the 2nd. Germans opossed to the new political views that ruled Germany fled anywhere refuge could be found. Ravic once an accomplished surgeon in Germany found himself in Paris, with no visa or passport. As an illegal refugee he had no rights to practice his profession in France and was forced to work underground performing surgeries illegaly. Paris, synonomous with elegance, good food, brothels, love,(at least in fiction) is described so beautifully in the eyes of Ravic that by the middle of the book I can swear I've been to Paris. Love, friendship, danger, philosophy they all have their places in this book. Without giving away too much I will cut it here and urge anyone who appreciates any of the above topics to read this book and find bliss in humanity and its simplicity put into words.

It is true. Remarque's detailed and romantic style of describing Paris makes the book, even today a powerful guide to visit and enjoy Paris. It is a wonderful book to be recommended to someone who planes to visit Paris or surprise with a Calvados drink someone that had red the book. Also, dialogues Ravic-Joan and Morosow-Ravic are so powerful that doubtlessly make this book exceptionally enjoying and the story immortal.

One of the best books I've ever read and a true Remarque. Showing how love can suddenly bring a person back to life, provide a function for living. Telling about finding a way to rid oneself of the burden of past, without having to forget it. Bigtime recommendtion.

An old favorite of mine.

A friend asked me to recommend a Remarque novel. We discussed 'All Quiet...'. My reply follows: 'Sure, in fact one of my favorites of Remarque's books is a thinly veiled portrait of Marlene Dietrich; or rather the intertwining of her life with his in Paris at the eve the period up to war in Europe, the year before the WW2 broke out.---
The English title is 'Arch of Triumph'. Like with all Remarque's books, the title is full of irony, and undercurrents of double meanings. Naturally, the book is not officially about Marlene, but she is hard to miss. Rather the book is personal,and has a good amount of autobiographical flavor. Yet, it is a captivating and suspenseful novel.

Like the two protagonists in the novel, Remarque and Dietrich were themselves at a desparate point in their lives in 1939.

Side comment: I am afraid that a lot is lost in the translation of Remarque's books. He only wrote in German, even when he lived in the US.

In any case, Remarque is a master of a suspenseful openings, in his novels. This one does not disapoint! Lots of his books are about refugee life of sorts. Another of Remarque's novels I often return to is 'Night in Lisbon', and it is again about escape from a Europe at high noon, just as Europe is going up in flames before WW2.' Review by Palle Jorgensen, September 2004.

The struggles of a brilliant surgeon who is also an illegal refugee in pre-WWII Paris are the subject of this fine work of fiction. As Dr.Ravic scrapes together some meaning and purpose for his shadow existence, the reader begins to understand why his determined faith in the human spirit gives him the will to persist as European civilization seems about to collapse around him. A story of great love, impossible revenge, and greater justice, this book may be a guide to those whose personal struggles against forces in today's destructive culture seem overwhelming.

'Arch of Triumph' is a book which becomes your friend, and you want to read it again, and each time you are discovering something else. It makes you think about what is really important in life, and at the same time it is a story about war, love, trust, friendship, humanity ...

Another work where Remarque uses the war and the refugee situation to explore a number of big issues. This time, Ravic, the OB-GYN doctor who fled Nazi Germany to pre-invasion Paris (he's not Jewish), is working on the side and living at the Hotel International (complete with the usual array of characters, from the Russian doorman to the big-hearted hotel owner). Some of the same issues appear here as in Flotsam, Heaven Has No Favorites, Night in Lisbon, etc. The dying woman, the refugee scene, the world-weary WWI vet, the no-strings-attached relationship. Not quite as good as A Time to Love and a Time to Die, but Remarque writes with a wit and wisdom born in the trenches and hardened in the tragedies of the early 20th c. Wonderful book, though, sadly few read more than AQWF. The film version with Anthony Hopkins isn't bad either.

I stumbled across this jewel of a book along with The Black Obelisk, and A Time To Love And A Time To Die in an old junk shop. I remembered that this was the same guy who wrote All Quiet On The Western Front (which I have never read -- but am vaguely familiar with). I remember alot of people had to read it (AQWF), and I figured I would one day . . . . In any case it wasn't in the batch that I picked up. The covers were interesting and I bought them and forgot about them. Well, I happened to pick this one up out of an old box Saturday and started reading. I've read the first hundred pages or so and love it. At times I feel like I'm transported to Paris and am viewing a side of the Casablanca movie I hadn't seen (with mention of the Bel Aroure -- the birds behind the glass in the walls, was that this restaurant?) And then the other restaurant with the tables lit from under the glass table tops. I can picture the shadowy, eerily lit faces, the elegance as the woman performs a throaty, raspy-voiced rendition of whatever the song might be. . . There seems to be nothing like the 30's (between the Wars) in Paris even with the feeling of despair. At other times I feel like I'm reading George Orwell's Down And Out In London And Paris (the author of 1984 - which I did have to read in school). And then again, with that ever present feeling of despair and all the drinking of Calvados,etc. I feel like I'm reading Hemingway. There are also the gritty descriptions and characterizations which remind me of a John D. MacDonald novel (especially when Ravic goes to visit the fat lady in the Kimono who performs abortions to try and retrieve the girl's money -- very Travis McGee-esque). Remarque is both gritty and poetic in descriptions and you are immediately transported to wherever the character is at in the story. And then again, the book resembles Le Carre's The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. All of this rolled into one book. And I'm only at just over one hundred pages. . . I can't wait to read the rest. There is a movie of this book though I couldn't find Remarque's name or the book mentioned on the back of the dvd. Anthony Hopkins plays Ravic and Leslie Ann Downs plays Joan. As usual, and probably more the case with this book -- the movie won't do the book justice. All in all, it is a gritty, meaty book of substance with romance (though I would have preferred a little less romance or at least toned down a bit, though I guess that's mainly what the book is about and all the rest is backdrop, but what a backdrop) -- A Great Book!

This is one of many Remarque's books, I have read. A friend of mine recommended him as a writer years ago, and I have been hooked. Oddly enough in High school in the US, only recently have I heard of his books as required reading and then only "All Quiet on the Western Front". I consider his work superior to Hemingway. To me his books are a genuine recreation of that time. (No, I don't really know, but he makes you feel like you are there).

DRINKING AND SMOKING ARE MAJOR SYMBOLS IN THIS AND IN MOST OF REMARQUE'S BOOK
One thing that struck me in this book and many others of Remarque's is how much drinking and smoking plays a part of the symbolism. They are props for the characters, in much as they were in real life at the time; drinking and the requisite cigarette to think with. To most American's, born in the last 50 years, this is the major anachronism in the book, the incredible role drinking and smoking play in people's lives. To people I know from Europe, this would not be as much of a surprise. The US non-smoking and drinking in moderation have not yet reached Europe yet. The drinking and smoking by any means, do not detract from the main story. This is a mature romance that captures your imagination none-the-less. I wonder what the props for this century will be; Maybe our cell phones and laptops?

MAIN CHARACTERS ARE ALL REFUGEES IN FRANCE
The main character is a refugee from Germany, a former well-known surgeon, forbidden to operate in France due to his questionable residency status. He moonlights by doing another surgeon's work. He is a haunted man, by both his past persecution in Germany and his unstable status in France. Hardly is this a good basis for a romantic situation that leads beyond living for the day.

RELATIONSHIP WAS NOT SO MUCH PURSUED BUT ONE OF OPPORTUNITY
He meets and helps the woman he is to fall in love with, under peculiar circumstances. He helps her with no intention to see her again. Time passes and he runs into her again. They fall into a peculiar relationship that uses "Calvados" an apple brandy as its symbol. For some reason this drink is frequently mentioned in books of the time. If it were now, I would say it was paid advertising.

ONE ODD TWIST
Only one twist and it is a major one in the story makes no sense to me, why it is included. I might be missing something, but the discovery and fate of the German officer, seems tacked on, added as an afterthought. If you read this story, let me know what you think. I don't see it is so much as part of the same thread, unless it is one of relationships concluded.

BASIC STORY
So as not to ruin the story, I will allude to the fact that the relationship develops and the hostilities of the times, intrude, both outside France and within. These events affect the relationship and the way it changes illustrates the characters of the people involved. The main character you follow with his observation of the things and people around him. You see his girl friend through his eyes and his Russian friend's eyes only. This is enough they are shrewd observers. It is apparent from this observation from day one that the events that eventually unfold were bound to happen.

As usual Remarque weaves a compelling and complete story.

To understand Europe from WWI thru pre WW11 Europe, Erich Maria Remarque describes it in a very personal, very poignant and very frightening way in Arch de Triomph and several other of his novels - of course, All Quiet on the Western Front; Three Comrades. Over the years I re-read his books for the snapshot of history and the superb characterizations.