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michaeloconnor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
debandleo's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book a lot, but now I need to go back to Life Class and at least skim or reread the book before going on to Noonday. I have great respect for this writer.
shirleytupperfreeman's review against another edition
Apparently this is a sequel to Life Class by Pat Barker. I haven't read any of her work before but she's a Booker Prize winner and seems to be highly regarded. Toby's Room was listed as one of the best books in 2012 by The Economist magazine so I thought I'd check it out. The reader is left with no doubt about the costs and consequences of war (WWI in this case) on both those fighting and those left behind. Most of the main characters are artists - one of whom gets involved in helping real-life Henry Tonks - an artist who made detailed drawings of facial wounds to aid in reconstruction surgery. There is a web site where one can see some of the drawings done by Mr. Tonks. It's a good story and I learned a bit more about WWI but I'm not sure I'd list it as a best book of 2012.
krobart's review against another edition
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2018/03/09/day-1186-tobys-room/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2018/03/09/day-1186-tobys-room/
bluestarfish's review against another edition
3.0
Set in the time before the First World War and during it Toby's Rooms deals with artist and civilians mostly and their experiences. I found the descriptions of womens lives in this era really interesting as well the sense of just how pervasive being in a war is to those not at the front.
unnatived's review against another edition
3.0
The war displaces lives , alters people and changes things drastically. Is it the loss of a soldier that is more painful or is it the return of a soldier permanently disabled or disfigured that is more unbearable? This novel will surely put this question right in centre stage.
Pat Barker,famous for her Booker prize winning Regeneration trilogy is back with a war time novel. It's dark, grotesque but still tender for the reader. The sadness in the novel is not too forceful and the narrative keeps you engaged.
The story revolves around Elinor , who receives news of her brother to be "Missing Believed Killed".Determined to find out the truth behind her brothers death, she takes the help of Paul Tarrant, her on and off lover. Things get more complicated because of Elinor's ex boyfriend Kit Neville who is back from the war disfigured having served under her brother Toby, a medical officer.
The story set in 1917 has interesting characters in a well woven story. The character of Kit Neville stands out. The suspense in the novel keeps you hooked till the end. Definitely worth a read.
suebarsby's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't read Pat Barker for years and knew I liked her but had forgotten how utterly addictive her writing is. While I guessed the ending of the story, this barely mattered as I watched how the characters, battered and broken, limped through to the end of the book. Wonderful stuff.
molsballou's review against another edition
1.0
I am flabbergasted by the positive reviews of this book. I will say that Pat Barker is obviously knowledgeable and adept at communicating the horrors of WWI. That part was very good. But that section aside it is a really not good book.
I’d have to reveal a giant spoiler to explain why, so stop reading if you’re sensitive to minor spoilers, but, like... read the first chapter and ask yourself how the plot point that unfolds in those first 12 pages has anything to do with the description you read on the back of the book. If you read to the end to find out how... you might be disappointed. Other stuff happens in the middle, sure. Some of it is compelling, even.
What doesn’t happen in the middle is effective character development.
I’d have to reveal a giant spoiler to explain why, so stop reading if you’re sensitive to minor spoilers, but, like... read the first chapter and ask yourself how the plot point that unfolds in those first 12 pages has anything to do with the description you read on the back of the book. If you read to the end to find out how... you might be disappointed. Other stuff happens in the middle, sure. Some of it is compelling, even.
What doesn’t happen in the middle is effective character development.