Spark of Life (51 page)
Authors: Erich Maria Remarque
“Yes. As though we were the last men.”
“Not the last. The first.”
They arranged one of the mattresses so that they could look out through the open door. They opened a can of milk and began to eat; then they settled down beside one another in the doorway. Behind the heaps of rubble to both sides shimmered the last light of the day.
To the memory of my sister Elfreide
.
BY ERICH MARIA REMARQUE
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Road Back
Three Comrades
Flotsam
Arch of Triumph
Spark of Life
A Time to Love and a Time to Die
The Black Obelisk
Heaven Has No Favorites
The Night in Lisbon
Shadows in Paradise
E
RICH
M
ARIA
R
EMARQUE
was born in Germany in 1898, and was drafted into the German army during World War I. Throughout the hazardous years following the war he worked at many occupations—schoolteacher, smalltown drama critic, racing driver, and editor of a sports magazine. His first novel,
All Quiet on the Western Front
, vividly describing the experiences of German soldiers during World War I, was published in Germany in 1928. It was a brilliant success, selling over a million copies, and it was the first of many literary triumphs by Erich Remarque.
When the Nazis came to power, Remarque left Germany for Switzerland. He rejected all attempts to persuade him to return, and as a result he lost his German citizenship, his books were burned, and his films were banned. He went to the United States in 1938 and became a citizen in 1947. He later lived in Switzerland with his second wife, the actress Paulette Goddard. He died in Switzerland in September 1970.
