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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Ghost Road, the final book in the ‘Regeneration’ trilogy, is the perfect culmination of Barker’s exploration of the impacts of war on civilians and soldiers. Whereas Regeneration focused mainly on the lasting effects of war on returning and wounded soldiers, and The Eye in the Door explored the government’s attitude to traitors and spies, the Ghost Road ties together loose ends and stories from Barker’s characters, showing the final days of WWI and the toll that the slow dragging on of the war has taken.
Billy Prior is, once again, the main focus of the book. Whilst I was slightly disappointed with Prior’s character development and journey in the second book, The Eye in the Door, Barker continues to explore the impact of the war on this individual, with great effect. His sex-crazed attitude, relationship with Sarah and eventual desire to return to war are all well formed, creating a chilling character whose entire life has been shaped by the horrors he has faced. Prior is a difficult character to like in many ways, yet Barker does a great job of making the reader continue to root for him, understanding that his experiences of war have led to his current attitudes.
Rivers, ill with influenza, begins to remember his past. His memories take us back to his expedition to Melanesia whilst researching a tribe of head-hunters. Whilst this perspective provided fresh insight into the character, rather than continuing the focus on his treatment of patients, this was the most underwhelming part of the book. It served to discuss our attitudes to war, especially the white man’s disgust of head-hunting, despite the mass casualties of the war raging around him. However, I was expecting this lengthy storyline to go somewhere more: there was no great reveal or deepening of Rivers’ character and I was left wanting more as I turned the final page.
A poignant and well-written finale to the series, I was impressed with The Ghost Road, which left me with the overwhelming sense of loss caused by this horrifying war.
Billy Prior is, once again, the main focus of the book. Whilst I was slightly disappointed with Prior’s character development and journey in the second book, The Eye in the Door, Barker continues to explore the impact of the war on this individual, with great effect. His sex-crazed attitude, relationship with Sarah and eventual desire to return to war are all well formed, creating a chilling character whose entire life has been shaped by the horrors he has faced. Prior is a difficult character to like in many ways, yet Barker does a great job of making the reader continue to root for him, understanding that his experiences of war have led to his current attitudes.
Rivers, ill with influenza, begins to remember his past. His memories take us back to his expedition to Melanesia whilst researching a tribe of head-hunters. Whilst this perspective provided fresh insight into the character, rather than continuing the focus on his treatment of patients, this was the most underwhelming part of the book. It served to discuss our attitudes to war, especially the white man’s disgust of head-hunting, despite the mass casualties of the war raging around him. However, I was expecting this lengthy storyline to go somewhere more: there was no great reveal or deepening of Rivers’ character and I was left wanting more as I turned the final page.
A poignant and well-written finale to the series, I was impressed with The Ghost Road, which left me with the overwhelming sense of loss caused by this horrifying war.
12/27/21:
The last few beats of this story remain among the greatest of all time, and so excruciating. God.
4/16/20:
Upgrading to five stars. Oof, my dudes. Oof. "It isn't worth it" indeed. So much of this is still so uncomfortably resonant, which is both a joy and a tragedy. Also I can't believe there was ever a time I didn't love Billy Prior with my entire soul.
9/11/09:
I had my mother's patented Impending Sense of Doom the whole time I read this, and what do you know, I was right. Billy Prior continued to be an interesting character with complex motivations, and I enjoyed his diary.
I wasn't sure what the purpose of all Rivers' flashbacks to Lewis Carrol's presence in his childhood was, but they were well done, so for the most part I was able to overlook my confusion.
I think the reason I liked the second two books better than the first one was that Sassoon was a fairly dull character, and the trilogy picked up steam after he ceased to be the focal point.
The last few beats of this story remain among the greatest of all time, and so excruciating. God.
4/16/20:
Upgrading to five stars. Oof, my dudes. Oof. "It isn't worth it" indeed. So much of this is still so uncomfortably resonant, which is both a joy and a tragedy. Also I can't believe there was ever a time I didn't love Billy Prior with my entire soul.
9/11/09:
I had my mother's patented Impending Sense of Doom the whole time I read this, and what do you know, I was right. Billy Prior continued to be an interesting character with complex motivations, and I enjoyed his diary.
I wasn't sure what the purpose of all Rivers' flashbacks to Lewis Carrol's presence in his childhood was, but they were well done, so for the most part I was able to overlook my confusion.
I think the reason I liked the second two books better than the first one was that Sassoon was a fairly dull character, and the trilogy picked up steam after he ceased to be the focal point.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fascinating conclusion to [a:Pat Barker|4000|Pat Barker|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1539120639p2/4000.jpg]'s [b:The Regeneration Trilogy|5877|The Regeneration Trilogy (Regeneration, #1-3)|Pat Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443440647l/5877._SY75_.jpg|1157830]. Highly relevant to our contemporary world, where the ghosts buried under colonialism are beginning to re-emerge and be heard. For example, a recent call to restore the Maori name for New Zealand, Aotearoa, or the discovery of mass graves at the sites of Residential Schools in Canada. This volume was very different from the two that preceeded it, even though many of the characters are the same. [b:The Ghost Road|151926|The Ghost Road (Regeneration, #3)|Pat Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441850690l/151926._SY75_.jpg|3082366] also refers to the interminable acts that must be borne by humans in war, when life must be lived even when it has become intolerable. And yet, in spite of the gloomy ending, there is a sense of the human spirit throughout the book. The sun pouring down in patches on soldiers bathing in an abandoned barn in France, and through the windows in a hospital in England.
The book also explores the ways in which sex can be used to manage the things that cannot be easily talked about. The main character is bisexual, and a number of explicit descriptions are given. These are not particularly sexy. They are there as a kind of explicit(!) recognition that trauma calls into being a whole network of behaviours that are real but kept hidden. All three books deal with trauma, but in three distinctly different ways. Of the three, I found [b:The Ghost Road|151926|The Ghost Road (Regeneration, #3)|Pat Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441850690l/151926._SY75_.jpg|3082366] more emotionally difficult to read, but ultimately I believe it is the one that will linger the longest.
The book also explores the ways in which sex can be used to manage the things that cannot be easily talked about. The main character is bisexual, and a number of explicit descriptions are given. These are not particularly sexy. They are there as a kind of explicit(!) recognition that trauma calls into being a whole network of behaviours that are real but kept hidden. All three books deal with trauma, but in three distinctly different ways. Of the three, I found [b:The Ghost Road|151926|The Ghost Road (Regeneration, #3)|Pat Barker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1441850690l/151926._SY75_.jpg|3082366] more emotionally difficult to read, but ultimately I believe it is the one that will linger the longest.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes