Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
An evocative book because it’s the First World War seen through German eyes. All Quiet on the Western Front is the story of a German private soldier on the front line and it’s a very moving account of the deprivation and the hardship he goes through, showing us that innocent people were thrown into uniform and told to serve whether they liked it or not. It sold 2.5 million copies in 25 languages in its first 18 months in print in 1928 and was banned and burned by the Nazis.
You don’t like the label “thriller” for your books. How would you describe the genre we are discussing? Classic adventure?
Well, I’ve never written a thriller. Oh, no, I have. One. One thriller. I mean Not a Penny More Not a Penny Less is a caper, Kane and Abel is a saga. I change all the time. I’m lucky.
So, All Quiet on the Western Front?
Well, it’s remarkably well-written. It’s evocative because it’s the First World War seen through German eyes. We always see it through British eyes, though the National Theatre have taken the imaginative step of seeing through a horse’s eyes. War Horse [based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo] really is the most remarkable play. All Quiet on the Western Front is the story of a German private soldier on the front line and it’s a very moving account of the deprivation and the hardship he goes through, showing us that innocent people were thrown into uniform and told to serve whether they liked it or not.
Is this, the idea of seeing things from the other person’s point of view, something you have taken with you into politics?
Yes, I think it teaches you to see the other person’s side. Remarque went on to write A Time to Love and A Time to Die about a German soldier falling in love with a French girl and he does it with great empathy. I think with any discussion in politics and, indeed, in life, you have to remember that most things are 50/50. Nobody is 100 per cent right. I mean 60/40 is a fairly major difference. Nobody is really right or wrong and you must think that way, get into the skin of the other person. Yes, it’s very important.
Does this lesson of Remarque’s influence your own writing?
Of course I get asked that a lot: Who are your major influences? I mean, I read a lot and who can say which books influence you and which don’t. But I certainly hope Remarque has influenced me!
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Jeffrey Archer is a novelist, playwright, actor and former Conservative politician. His 25 books are published in 63 countries and more than 32 languages, with international sales exceeding 250 million copies. He was made a life peer by the Queen in 1992 and served two years in prison for perjury in 2001.
