Heaven Has No Favorites

by Erich Maria Remarque

On This Page

Description

From one of the twentieth century's master novelists, the author of the classic All Quiet on the Western Front, comes Heaven Has No Favorites, a bittersweet story of unconventional love that sweeps across Europe.   Lillian is charming, beautiful . . . and slowly dying of consumption. But she doesn't wish to end her days in a hospital in the Alps. She wants to see Paris again, then Venice--to live frivolously for as long as possible. She might die on the road, she might not, but before she show more goes, she wants a chance at life.   Clerfayt, a race-car driver, tempts fate every time he's behind the wheel. A man with no illusions about chance, he is powerfully drawn to a woman who can look death in the eye and laugh. Together, he and Lillian make an unusual pair, living only for the moment, without regard for the future. It's a perfect arrangement--until one of them begins to fall in love.   "The world has a great writer in Erich Maria Remarque. He is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank, a man who can bend language to his will. Whether he writes of men or of inanimate nature, his touch is sensitive, firm, and sure."--The New York Times Book Review show less

Tags

Recommendations

Member Recommendations

Member Reviews

6 reviews
This isn’t my usual type of novel, but it made a pleasant change. In some ways it’s a positive tale, in others it’s depressing.

A star quality of this book is the imagery and sensual detail. I could almost feel the cold, see the snow.
A Sad story.A racing driver has an affair with a woman dying of tuberculosis. She knows she hasn't long to live, and he drives very fast cars for a living. They both can see no reason to keep anything back, and Remarque's keen eye makes this simple plot a penetrating examination of romantic love. The translation is solid prose.
½
I don't think I can get myself together to write anything meaningful about this novel. I've delayed reading it for long, I've read it precisely in the right moment to completely dissolve any composure I could master. I don't know how I can clean all this mess now.

It's just that with some books. They live.
Una bella historia sobre el valor de la vida, un corredor de formula uno y su pareja y un desenlace no esperado. Se recordará por mucho tiempo.

Members

Recently Added By

Lists

Author Information

Picture of author.
103+ Works 29,278 Members
Erich Maria Remarque was born Erich Paul Remark on June 22, 1898 in Germany. He was drafted into the German Army at the age of 18. He was assigned to the Western Front and later moved to the 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment. He was wounded by shrapnel in the left leg, right arm and neck, and was moved to an army hospital in Germany where he spent show more the rest of the war. After the war, he continued his teacher training and became a primary school teacher. He also began pursuing his writing career. He started writing essays and poems and his first novel, The Dream Room. When he published All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque changed his middle name in memory of his mother and reverted to the earlier spelling of the family name. The original family name, Remarque, had been changed to Remark by his grandfather in the 19th century. All Quiet on the Western Front was written in 1927, but Remarque was unable to find a publisher. The novel was published in 1929 and described the experiences of German soldiers during World War 1. His other works include: Station at the Horizon, The Road Back, Three Comrades, Flotsam, and Shadows in Paradise. Erich Remarque died in 1958 of heart collapse brought on byan aneurysm. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Some Editions

Winston, Clara (Translator)
Winston, Richard (Translator)

Awards and Honors

Series

Belongs to Publisher Series

Work Relationships

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Heaven Has No Favorites
Original title
Geborgtes Leben
Alternate titles*
Bobby Deerfield
Original publication date
1959 (Zeitschriftenserie) (Zeitschriftenserie); 1961 (Buch) (Buch)
People/Characters
Lillian; Clerfayt; Boris Volkov; Hollman; Rickert; "The Crocodile" (show all 10); "The Dalai Lama"; Hubert Göring; de Peystre; Gerard
Related movies
Bobby Deerfield (1977 | IMDb)
Dedication
To Paulette Goddard Remarque.
First words
Clerfayt pulled in at a service station where the snow had been cleared away, and blew the horn.
Quotations
What is a long life, anyhow? A long past.
They lived as if death did not exist. But they did it like shopkeepers, not like heroes.
Disambiguation notice*
Nederlandse uitg. oorspr. o.d.t.: De hemel kent geen gunstelingen, herdr. o.d.t.: Bobby Deerfield
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Romance
DDC/MDS
833.912Literature & rhetoricGerman & related literaturesGerman fiction1900-1900-19901900-1945
LCC
PZ3 .R2818 .HLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction in English
BISAC

Statistics

Members
459
Popularity
66,281
Reviews
4
Rating
(4.00)
Languages
19 — Bengali, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
49
ASINs
24