"Three Comrades" by Erich Maria Remarque

A student answers a literature exam question:

Erich, Maria, and Remarque are legendary co-authors who made a tremendous contribution to the world literature. Their novel "Three Comrades" is an autobiographical work that tells us about how this brilliant creative triumvirate came to be. Historians claim that both Erich and Remarque were simultaneously deeply in love with Maria. Thus, in addition to their collaborative writing, the authors were involved in a love triangle. Perhaps it is precisely because of their personal entanglement that the works of Remarque, Erich, and Maria are filled with profound insights into human nature and life wisdom.

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Author's note: This is a joke because it is making fun of a student of literature who clearly knows nothing about Erich Maria Remarque, a famous German writer of anti-war novels. His most famous novel is "All Quiet on the Western Front." The "Three Comrades" is probably his second most significant work, focusing on the life and relationship of three male friends between the First and Second World Wars. There's a 1938 American movie adaptation of the same title, the script for which was written by F.Scott Fitzgerald. I understand it is a part of the TCM movie collection now.