Arch of Triumph

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.'


When all you have is love...   March 14, 1999
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

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.


Answers the question: What do we live our lives for?   June 14, 1998
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

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.


One of the best books I've ever read   June 13, 1998
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

'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 ...