Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #122404 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-03
• Binding: Hardcover
• 592 pages

Synopsis
A trilogy of novels set during World War I which mingle real and fictional characters. "The Ghost Road" won the 1995 Booker Prize.

Customer Reviews

casualties of war
When it comes to literature on war and what it does to man, few novels outdo Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy. They may take place during WW I, but they have a relevance far beyond the Great War. My personal favorite is 'Regeneration', the first volume of the three, but all of them are world class literature. If I were in favour of the concept (which I'm not), this should be compulsory literature to each and everyone.

You have to read it!
I first read Regeneration when i was lent it at school to read for my A-Levels, it was the first war literature i had ever read and i wasn't expecting to enjoy it! However when i finally started reading it i couldn't put it down and as soon as i finished it i got 'The eye in the door' and 'the ghost road' from the library.

The whole trilogy is incredibly impressive, and if anything they just get better,the trilogy is extremely realistic and Barker's flawless interweaving of both past and fiction is a credit to her unsurpassable writing style.

I am now studying English at uni and chose WW1 as a module to study, partly so i could re-read Regeneration. The second reading is just as good as the first, if not more poignant and this will always be one of my favourite books.

This trilogy ignited an interest that i may never have discovered and for that it will always remain a favourite read. Barker is a master at confronting the taboos of war and forcing the reader to face the reality of the damage that this war caused emotionally and physically.

If you're interested in WW1 literature or have to study it for A-levels make sure you read this book because it is one of the best examples of WW1 literature in existence!

stunning, moving but graphic!
I had to read the first book in the trilogy - "Regeneration" for my A Levels and when i saw the book and read the blurb i immediately thought "how boring is this going to be?" Yet when i eventually forced myself to start reading it, i was gripped by the end of the first chapter and within a week i'd bought and read the rest of the trilogy too! Contrary to other reviewers, my favourite book was The Eye in The Door, which contains a lot more politics and is also moving and very graphic with sexual imagery and other topics. Actually, the other two books were pretty moving and graphic too so be wary if you're a bit prudish! The first book in the trilogy concentrates on the poet Seigrfried Sassoon, his friendship with another poet Wilfrid Owen and a fictional officer called Billy Prior, who are all convalescing in hospital after suffereing shellshock, with the aid of the doctor, Rivers. The second concentrates more on Billy Prior, with some references back to Sassoon and Owen and the third is mostly about Prior and their doctor in the hospital, the real Dr W H Rivers. All three books contain connotations about homosexuality(something that was then illegal) and also the usual wartime book themes about the brutality and pointlessness of war. Don't dismiss them (as i almost did) as historical tat, they are all three, fantastic novels that bring out emotions and make you fully realise the futility of war and the complexity of psyhcology. Pure, Grade A Excellence!