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Regeneration by: Pat Barker

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Rating: - Dull.

This book irritated me as the writer fought hard to describe to us the horrors of world war one - and failed dismally. I was relieved and unimpressed when i finally reached the last page. Unless you are studying poetry this book will hold no interest for you whatsoever. I have already bought the two follow up books to this one and am rolling my eyes upwards in anticipation......

Rating: - Absolute must have for A-level students or world war lovers

when I first read the first few lines in this book i was thinking: do i really want to do this? but i really did not have a choice so decided to read it. it is not a book you would want to pick up and read over and over again, but that does not make it a pleasurable read. it really is i found it really informative and there is quite a lot of reference on madness and how it was viewed in the war period, something that will be quite interesting if like me you are studying english literature a-level. i think that this book is definitely a must have, and just because i started with all the bad things about the book doesn't mean that it isn't great it is. I read this book about 3 months ago and still remember in detail almost everything that happens in every chapter- and i am a very forgetful person. you will not need to read it again because it sticks the first time. hope this really helps you guys. one thing i need to add though, if you are interested you woul be better buying the whole trilogy, that way you can see how everything adds up, and it really isn't that much money to add.

Rating: - One versus the machine

I disagree with the last reviewer and find it fascinating that many of the reviews focus on WWI. This book is set against the background of WWI and its portrayals of various horiffic incidents is insightful- but these incidents serve to show us the why and the how of each of the individuals in this book. It focusses on each one, each man as a person ravaged by horror seeking a hiding place from it, but unable to leave behind the stinking, dying flesh of war. Take each man out of the machine of war, and he is no longer a hero among 20 million heroes, but a man. Attitudes towards mental health and duty form the true core of this novel (as subsequent novels in the trilogy focus on sex and then, finally on the mundanity of 'action'). No character is entirely sympathetic, even Rivers, the 'father' at the heart of the novel.

Human flaws are saddening, but also maddening, and the arrogance of breeding (versus the unthinking sacrifice of the working classes) leaves you with some distaste at the actions of Sassoon and others (a man who had not done a day's work in his life until the war came along). Men in Sassoon's position were coddled back to service, while men of lesser breeding were simply shot before they could spread discontent in the ranks.

Barker does not seek to justify anything- you are left to form your own opinions, and slowly cotton on to the fact that neither Sassoon nor Rivers are the heart of this novel, but that Billy Prior, whose life we will follow in the later novels, is the everyman- not a hero, not a coward, not lovable nor particularly handsome, but nevertheless selected by Barker as our guide through the inexplicable horrors of 1914-1919.

I read this recently as part of the '1001 books to read before you die' series, and was deeply impressed by it- having read some of Barker's earlier work I had though that I would hate it. Glad to be proved very wrong!

Rating: - Uninspired

A book that so desperately tries to be deep or meaningful, yet is both unenjoyable and critically poor. The supposedly disturbing subject matter is not shocking or offensive. This book attempts to capture the voice and spirit of a time generation, but not the author. Its failure in this respect is only exacerbated by the inevitable contrast with the real passion of the contemporary authors that are the subject matter.

This book is empty and can serve no further useful purpose in exploring the themes of a past already exceptionally documented.

Rating: - My first Barker but not my last

This is my first dip into Pat Barker's novel. I have the trilogy but I'm reading them a book at a time so I don't overload myself with the topic matter.

Fantastically written, each character comes to life throughout the novel. I found it interesting from a teacher's perspective as I have taught Sassoon, Owen and Graves so it was good to see their relationships. The characters are vivid, she has written them with such clarity and imagination. The binding character is Dr Rivers and the bok is about his interaction with the patients that are sent to him.

The book is a mix of facts and fiction and it's difficult to tell where one ends and the other starts to be honest. Her source material is wide-ranging and I'm sure the bits I thought were fact were. It discussed parts of the First Wolrd War that were different to my previous reading - such as centering around Craiglockhart. It gives the readers a chance to get to know the mental health issues surrounding the soldiers and is a book that will stay in my mind for a while.

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