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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
reflective
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
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This is a fantastic book. I am personally most interested in the mental affects of war, rather than the historical facts/military strategies/numbers/etc., so this book was perfect for me. It was very well written and an interesting insight into not only WWI PTSD, but the stigma attached to mental illness in general. I also enjoyed reading the bits about how women's lives changed because of the war, and loved Sarah's parts in the novel. A really great "war novel."
This is a great war novel. I thought the use of real poets/soldiers as characters was innovative and made for an interesting story. I didn't love it as much as All Quiet on the Western Front but still splendid.
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
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
A quiet, deceptive look at WWI, based on real-life persons and their lives during it. Starring the famous psychiatrist William Rivers and his most famous patient, the poet Siegfried Sassoon, who is best known for his satirical antiwar poetry, the book examines their time together in a hospital, as well as a look at many other patients. It's written quiet deceptively, with a quiet, gray sheen over the entire thing. You don't fully realize how devastating the book is until you reach the end and have time to reflect about what you've learned. This is tragedy at its finest.
I have absolutely no knowledge of WWI, but I was still able to read this book, and I learned a lot too. It's part of a trilogy, the last of which won a Booker prize, and I am quite looking forward to reading the two others in the series.
I have absolutely no knowledge of WWI, but I was still able to read this book, and I learned a lot too. It's part of a trilogy, the last of which won a Booker prize, and I am quite looking forward to reading the two others in the series.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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:
Complicated
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
Picking this up I expected to simply enjoy some content about Siegfried Sassoon —a character that's fascinated me for years— and I was delighted to find that Regeneration offers so much more. Its reflections on the horrors of trench warfare, doctor-patient relationships and the changing views on masculinity at the time are insightful, sensitive and emotional.
The author doesn't always state what she wants to say plainly: instead she takes you on a journey with the characters, and with subtle allusions and clever dialogue guides you to develop the same ideas as them. But Barker is direct and raw where it counts, and I was truly shaken by some of the soldier's descriptions of life in the trenches.
On a lighter note, I enjoyed seeing Wilfred Owen here. His few interactions with Sassoon are a welcome reprieve from the despair governing the lives of the other characters, and I loved the scene where they work on "Anthem for Doomed Youth".
"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns."
The author doesn't always state what she wants to say plainly: instead she takes you on a journey with the characters, and with subtle allusions and clever dialogue guides you to develop the same ideas as them. But Barker is direct and raw where it counts, and I was truly shaken by some of the soldier's descriptions of life in the trenches.
On a lighter note, I enjoyed seeing Wilfred Owen here. His few interactions with Sassoon are a welcome reprieve from the despair governing the lives of the other characters, and I loved the scene where they work on "Anthem for Doomed Youth".
"What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
— Only the monstrous anger of the guns."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical trauma
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Vomit