HEAVEN HAS NO FAVORITES

by Erich Maria Remarque ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 1961

In this moving and unusual (if sometimes reminiscent of the long past Three Com) book Remarque explores the significance of life and death, illusion and reality, through the story of a girl dying of tuberculosis and snatching at a chance to come alive again. Clerfayt, a racing car driver, has come to visit his co-driver who is now a patient at a sanitarium in the Swiss Alps. There he meets Lillian, sick and rebellious, and she finds in him, with his indifference to anything but the next race, her passport to the outside world. The picture -- of the unreal atmosphere of the sanitarium which is exchanged for the equally unreal existence of the Paris couturiers and the Italian and French resorts -- comes into sharp relief as Lillian and, to a great extent, Clerfayt change roles and goals under the impact of their relationship. The story comes full circle. If perhaps to a foregone denouement. The pace and individuality here compensate for a recurrent feeling that the characters are being used as spokesmen for Remarkque's own philosophy.

Pub Date: March 22, 1961

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt, Brace

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1961

Categories: FICTION