«The Black Obelisk» in German with a Parallel Translation
Original title:
Der schwarze Obelisk
Language:
German
Difficulty:
B2
Year:
1956
Number of pages:
347
The Black Obelisk is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, published in 1956. This novel is autobiographical. The action is set in interwar Germany in the 1920s. The protagonist of the novel, Ludwig Bodmer, has to change several jobs because of the difficult economic situation in the country. Ludwig gets a job in a church in a mental hospital, where he plays the organ. In the church he meets a mentally ill girl he falls in love with. This complex book conveys to the reader the author's reflections on love, religion, and the meaning of life. Also in the novel, the author gives an important place to the impending Nazi threat.
