Reviews

The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker

enclose9698's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

baker75's review against another edition

5.0

This is the fourth time I've read the Regeneration trilogy. It is, simply, one of the finest contemporary novels I've ever read.

leannep's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

A long read. A different perspective on WWI. Liked that the main fictional character had my family surname, not so sure that I really liked Billy's values and attitudes so much. The way real events and people were included made thing more 'real'. Meeting Sassoon and Wilfred Owen as characters was a clever technique. 

Also liked the oblique approach. Focusing on a psychiatrist,  and men in a hospital dealing with shell shock and other manifestations of PTSD was fascinating. Rivers was very modern in his thinking and approaches to treating his patients, which gave lots of 'food for thought' in relation to what we now know about brain development and treatment for trauma. Also learnt lots about what the world was like back them.  

Ending the novels with the wind down and end of war Also made the ending more poignant,  considering that we knew the end when we started reading.

rallisaurus's review against another edition

5.0

The first part of the trilogy was my favorite, but I loved them all.

jessby's review against another edition

2.0

Interesting perspective of WWI and the inevitable psychological impacts that were felt by the soldiers. Clever and delicate, but I wasn't enthralled.

patty_creatively_bookish's review against another edition

3.0

The Regeneration Trilogy ;

story 3/5
characters 3/5
writing 4/5
audio/paper Audio.
reread? I might.
Recommend it? Not to everyone, just the ones who are interested in war and rebuilding stories.


Verhaal: 3/5
Karakters: 3/5
Schrijfstijl: 4/5
Papier/audio? Audio.
Herlezen: Misschien.
Aanrader? Niet aan iedereen, wel aan degene die van (na)oorlogsverhalen houden.

camilleforey1403's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

acaprice20's review against another edition

4.0

It's been a while since I've read Regeneration but the main appeal of it was a realistic view of the consequences of war. Pat Barker's writing in this specific book tells a story through the eyes and voices of several characters, weaving fact and fiction and using the voices of two well known poets at the time to portray the brutality of war. This was rare at the time because the popular belief was the valor, bravery and honor of war rather than the damage it caused not only to the body but to the soul. This book makes a very clear statement about Barker's opinion and view of war without becoming propaganda. It's almost an argument with each character being used as a fact or point in the discussion.

Pat Barker is a remarkable storyteller. Her writing actually seems to put you in the place of the characters and helps you understand their perspectives. Unlike many authors, each voice of her character is distinct and unique from the others, not simply copies of each other. She has another book called "Border Crossing" I enjoyed as well.

pink_lemonade88's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cringrose's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.75