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    The Black Obelisk
    The Black Obelisk
    The Black Obelisk
    Audiobook14 hours

    The Black Obelisk

    Written by Erich Maria Remarque

    Narrated by T. Ryder Smith

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A hardened young veteran from the First World War, Ludwig now works for a monument company, selling stone markers to the survivors of deceased loved ones. Though ambivalent about his job, he suspects there's more to life than earning a living off other people's misfortunes. A self-professed poet, Ludwig soon senses a growing change in his fatherland, a brutality brought upon it by inflation. When he falls in love with the beautiful but troubled Isabelle, Ludwig hopes he has found a soul who will offer him salvation-who will free him from his obsession to find meaning in a war-torn world. But there comes a time in every man's life when he must choose to live-despite the prevailing thread of history horrifically repeating itself.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateDec 7, 2018
    ISBN9781980015413
    The Black Obelisk
    Author

    Erich Maria Remarque

    Erich Maria Remarque was born Erich Paul Remark on June 22, 1898. A writer from an early age, he was conscripted into the German army and fought with the 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment on the Western Front during World War I until he was injured by shell shrapnel and transported to an army hospital to recover. from his injuries. Following the war, Remarque published his first novels under his given name - The Dream Room (Die Traumbude) and Station at the Horizon (Station am Horizont) - before embarking on his most famous work, All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues). In publishing this last work, he changed his name, adding the middle name "Maria" to honor his mother and changing the spelling of his last name to reflect his French heritage and to distinguish himself from his earlier works. All Quiet on the Western Front became an international sensation and was translated into dozens of languages, catapulting Remarque into literary fame. The book essentially invented a new genre of writing, where veterans would write about their experiences in war, and Remarque - and after publishing his next book, The Road Back (Der Weg zurück), about the recovery from the war in Germany, used the immense proceeds from his books to buy a villa in Ronco, Switzerland. Remarque's life in Germany became imperiled with he rise of the Nazis and soon, his works were deemed "unpatriotic" and banned throughout Germany. After fleeing the country with his wife, his citizenship was revoked and the Nazi propaganda ministry began spreading lies about Remarque, including the falsehood that he had never served in World War I. Remarque eventually became a United States citizen. Remarque continued to write for the rest of his life, publishing such notable works as Spark of Life, Heaven Has No Favorites and The Night in Lisbon, but none would approach the success of All Quiet on the Western Front. Remarque died of heart failure at the age of 72 in Locarno, Switzerland on September 25, 1970.

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    Reviews for The Black Obelisk

    4/5

    136 ratings8 reviews

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    • 5/5
      One of the few books where the book gains even more if it is an audiobook read by an amazing narrator!
    • 3/5
      OK novel of Germans just before the war. Shows the conflict betwen Communists vs. Fascists.
    • 3/5
      A novel set in the period of the great inflation, in Germany. "The Black Obelisk" covers the adventures of a man who sells tombstones for a living. When the inflation hits, the object is to sell contracts for the monuments but to delay their delivery as much as possible, so that the stock can be replaced with post inflationary prices. It is a case where irony and hypocracy are highly valued assets. The Nazis are not much mentioned, but is an exlanation of why some turned to a fascist explanation for their woes. It is certainly surreal, and sometimes amusing to the English speaking reader.
    • 3/5
      I've read this more than 50 years ago; now I hardly remember anything except that I liked it.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books from this author. Easy to read and yet very philosophical.
    • 4/5
      Remarque is most often known for All Quiet on the Western Front, and only that. It is excellent, of course, but it's also a bit of a shame, because the rest of his stuff is still pretty good. Case in point: The Black Obelisk, a kind of sequel taking place in Germany after WWI, as the population fights merely to survive and go about their business. Everything is unsettled. A thoughtful novel, but also one that flows well.
    • 4/5
      There is lots of wisdom in this novel, as in all books I have read of Remarque. Less of a strong story this time, more of a still leben of Germany between two wars, but nevertheless a novel difficult to put down, mostly due to very strong and interesting characters. More than any history book, the novel explains how Germany could go from starting one world war to starting another. Still, the most heartbreaking story here is the love affair between our protagonist Ludwig and Isabelle, a shizophrenic character inside Geneviéve's Terhoven's head.
    • 4/5
      Ironic situation - the guys were running a business: providing stones for graves, an everything else needed at funerals, in the time of the '23-'24 crisis in Germany. And were very busy... A tale of love & survival.Somehow depressing.