Skip to main content

#Review: Regeneration


Regeneration by Pat Barker

I confess that I would not have been drawn to this book of my own accord. I generally steer clear of writing about the effects of any war. This is rather bizarre since WW1 poetry is in fact some of the poetry I find most absorbing. At any rate, the main reason I have Regeneration in my possession is that I had to read it as one of my students was covering it for her A’Level.

REVIEW



I love the concept for this book and was blown away by how effortlessly Barker interspersed Sassoon’s poetry into the core events in the plot. It puts a human face on a poet I’ve long admired for his ability to put ideas across in such a concise and effective manner.  This comes across in the way Barker has dealt with descriptions of his character and his dialogues with Rivers and Graves.

It was however a difficult book to read because I was constantly aware of how harrowing the soldiers’ experiences had been. In some ways the physical injuries were easier to accept than the emotional and psychological ones.  Despite this, it was also a compelling read. I was enthralled by the development of the relationship between Owen and Sassoon and very interested in Dr Rivers and his back story.

Although the sections of interaction between Owen and Sassoon were brief, I was drawn into the imagined discussion around the editing of ‘Anthem for Doomed Youth’. Sometimes I was confused during dialogues between characters as Barker rarely states who is speaking. I was often forced to reread sections to be sure I had the order of conversation right. 


I found the most shocking part of the book to be the description of the treatment used on a mute soldier.  For me it highlighted the fact that we still dismiss and reject mental illness with similar degrees of crudity and brutality today.
As this book is part of a trilogy I will be reading the other two at some point. I do however suspect that I will need several much lighter books before I embark on the next round of the harrowing effects wrought by WWI on several nations.


Labels:

Comments

  1. Lindsay27 May 2017 at 03:21

    I read this years ago and was totally absorbed by it. Although I'd read quite a bit of poetry by Sassoon, Owen and others, I read much more because of the book. We still see psychogenic dysphonia (what some of the 'mute' soldiers experienced) today but our methods are much kinder!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rae Stoltenkamp27 May 2017 at 03:28

      Not at all surprised PS still affecting people today. Very very glad treatment methods are kinder.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It's much appreciated as is the time you take to write a comment.

Popular posts from this blog

Faetaera: A Triumvirate

  A Triumvirate Brairton’s minions slipped through a barely noticeable fissure.  The tear would close shortly.  Despite the increase in their regularity the breaches rarely stayed open very long.  To the three insidious spies, the stink of the new world was almost unbearable.  But in time the triumvirate would each become so used to it they would scarcely notice it at all.  That it poisoned them they did not know.  Brairton was not in the habit of informing his operatives of fatal consequences.  Their programming precluded any thought beyond the mission they must complete.  In this Brairton had been exact and had performed the necessary rituals himself. Each had their mission branded into their being.   They would travel together for some time but then slip off to their secret destinations one by one, never to see each other again. The threesome latched on to their individual targets and began their particular brand of individual mis...
Post a Comment
Read more

#Indie Intro

#Review: RED DESERT by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli 4 Star reading I must confess a certain attraction to the inhospitable red planet ever since I saw Total Recall . The Arnie version of course. There simply is no other. As many of you know, I’ve even squeezed a mention of Mars into my very own little eco SciFi number. So I was delighted to come across this translation of Deserto Rosso. It is written in diary format from the perspective of Anna Persson, an astronaut landed on Mars together with several colleagues. Together they are hoping to set up a primary colony. The opening is dramatic as use of the present tense and the narrator’s situation draws the reader in. The story line switches between events on Mars and flashbacks, in the past tense, in which we learn a great deal of backstory. I found these details and the relationships Anna has with other characters very engaging. I wanted to read on and in fact finished the book in only 4 sittings. Anna's compl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guest Post: Creative Recharge

Lindsay Bamfield started writing fiction about 10 years ago. She has written a number of short stories and flash fiction pieces and has been published in Greenacre Writers Anthology , Voices from the Web 2012, The Best of Café Lit 2012, Mslexia, Writers’ News and Writing Magazine.  She has won prizes in Writers’ News , Writing Magazine and Words with Jam competitions and has been shortlisted in others. She is currently re-working her first novel with advice from an editor and has a second novel on the back-burner.  How do I recharge my writing batteries? I’m not sure I’m the right person to answer this as my batteries are still somewhat depleted after illness and debilitating treatment, but my writing activity, although still less than ideal has bounced back to some extent. It was only after being ill that I understood just how much energy writing requires. Exhaustion does not engender creativity. After a frustrating dry-spell when I wanted to writ...
5 comments
Read more