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Regeneration by: Pat Barker

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Rating: - A novel with many, many themes

I am enjoying studying this for my AS Level, although I can see why it's not to everyone's taste! There is so much going on in this novel, just under the surface. I read Pat Barker's latest novel, and it is quite different from Regeneration - not as good, but she's obviously someone who car write about many different things. One thing I found very helpful was the readers guide by Karin Westman, which has bits of interviews with Pat Barker, and really helps to break the book down into manageable pieces. If you're struggling with it, you should check that out, it should help!

Rating: - Just read the poems!

Sassoon and Owen live through their poetry: but there is no sense of their prescence in this trite, clumsily written novel which provides no new insights into World War One. The dialogue in particular was spectacularly unconvincing, it bought to mind images of army officers slumping around in jeans and trainers. There is a great contemporary take on 1914-18 waiting to be written - this is not it.

Rating: - Gets better & better with each page!

I had to read this book for my AS Level English exam, and although I didn't get much out of it at first, it really is so much more interesting as you read on. For me this book was an exciting and interesting insight into something I know very little about, the First World War. Barker's fantastic method of mixing fact and fiction makes the novel so much more interesting, believable and shocking. This book is not only about the physical effects of war, it concentrates on the mental and emotional problems that people have faced, not only the soldiers, but the wives and girlfriends at home too. A truly enjoyable book. I will certainly be reading the other two books in the trilogy over the summer.

Rating: - For a compulsory A level text, this was not bad reading!

Tedious after the 4th reading! however, I found that some of the insights given into the mental illness of WWI soldiers interesting - not recommended for a light read, but plenty of interesting narrative techniques used. I don't think I would have read this out of choice, but I am glad that I have now!

Rating: - A classic

I read the third volume of the trilogy first and immiediately went out and bought this one. It succeeds in making the reader unashamedly grateful for all these people who had so much to offer the world risking their lives for the sake of peace and freedom. An original mix of fact and fiction written by an author who has a remarkably mature view of the situation which allows you to understand the horror without peppering the book with gut-wrenching violence. I am sorry to those who had to analyse it and I can appreciate that analysation (as it so often does) might ruin what is a wonderful story.

Review Pages: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next »