Discussion questions -All Quiet On The Western Front: Why do you think the author timed Paul’s death in

Why do you think the author timed Paul’s death in October 1918, just before the long-rumored armistice? (Germany signed The Treaty of Versailles on November 11, 1918.) When All Quiet on the Western Front debuted in the United States it drew tremendous reviews from critics. Even so, one critic tempered admiration of the book’s realism with this comment: “It is not a great book; it has not the depth, the spiritual insight, the magnitude of interests which make up a great book” (The New York Times Book Review, June 2, 1929). Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? What ingredients are essential to the making of a great book?