All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

All Quiet on the Western Front provides a great insightinto the human cost of World War I as it portrays a generation of men whose formative years are spent in the trenches. Remarque weaves narrative together with reflections on the effects of war in this fictional book based on his time fighting on the German side in WWI. It provides a strong contrast to the simplified picture of nationalism and heroism that sometimes characterise portrayals of this period. It’s darkly humourous and very gripping but not a light read.