Product Description

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123108 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 592 pages

Customer Reviews

Inspiring and thought provoking
Pat Barker has a way of bringing her characters to life that I have rarely encountered before. This is a wonderful trilogy that highlights the true impact of WW1 and the conditions experienced there on the psyche. It creates a very strong vision of what it must have been like for ordinary men to find themselves taken away from their homes and placed in a world of mud and death and incessant noise. It also explores the relationship between men, both sexual and non-sexual and provides a fascinating insight into the development of psychology that took place during WW1. I have read Birdsong, but still find myself reaching for the Regeneration trilogy time and time again. The Eye in the Door is the weakest of the three novels, but this is more than compensated for by the wonderful Ghost Road. These novels are made more poignant by the fact that many of the characters existed in real life, and the views of war portrayed by Pat Barker can be substantiated and expanded by reading their poetry, and that of other war poets

'Unputdownable'
I too read the book over a year ago and I still think about it a lot. I've just visited Flanders - both Belgium and France and my interest in the First World War stemmed from reading this trilogy.I think a large part of my enjoyment was because many of the characters actually existed. The film 'Regeneration' is good too. Anybody interested in WW1 and has enjoyed 'Birdsong' and also the work of the poets Sassoon and Owen will thoroughly enjoy this book.

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!