Reviews

Another World by Pat Barker

jess_mango's review against another edition

4.0

I read this at the same time as I was reading The Shining by Stephen King. Interestingly, these 2 books had quite a few parallels, which I wasn't expecting. In both books, a family moves into an older building and discover that their new home has some secrets. In both books, the dad likes to drink and has a mysterious potential hit & run.

I kind of love it when I read books that have unexpected connections!

Another World is the third book that I've read by Pat Barker. Earlier this year I read Silence of the Girls (which I really enjoyed) and years ago I read her novel Regeneration. Barker is clearly a talented writer.

I quite liked Another World and it was a quicker read than I was expecting. The central character in this tale is Nick. Nick's grandfather Geordie is 101 years old and on his deathbed. Geordie keeps having flashbacks to his time in the World War. Meanwhile, Nick, his wife, and their toddler son move into a mysterious old house along with Nick's pre-teen son Gareth and his wife's pre-teen daughter Miranda. While stripping the wallpaper from a wall, they discover a lurid portrait of a family who previously lived in the house, this sends Nick down the path of looking into the history of that family.

I recommend this book to fans of family psychological dramas.

anne_27's review

mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.75

Oke boek, niet bijzonder. Niet echt fijn Engels door spreektaal/accenten. Pluspunten voor dat ik wel geroerd was op het einde

jessby's review against another edition

4.0

There was a lot packed into this psychological drama of less than 300 pages. Two storylines running parallel - firstly Geordie, WWI veteran and grandfather to Nick, is dying. He is troubled by his memories of the frontline and reflects on the relationship he shared with his brother who was killed in action. I really liked how Barker described the tenderness Nick shows to his deteriorating grandfather without becoming overly sentimental.
Secondly is the story of Nick's family consisting of his heavily pregnant second wife, children and stepson. For me this was the more interesting plot line. The home Nick's family have just moved in to has a gruesome history and in the context of the step son's worrying behaviour I found this fascinating and creepy.
Barker's writing is sparse but enthralling. No fussy details to get lost in, just relentless, progressive insight into a significant 6 week period for Nick, underpinned with broader issues of memory, family loyalty and human frailty.

aniek11's review against another edition

1.0

Vond er echt niks aan, je had het idee naar een clue toe te werken maar al de verschillende stukjes verhaal kabbelde maar door zonder een echte clue te bereiken. Echt zonde, geen aanrader

gg2023's review

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.5

panagiota_'s review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

the_wicked_witch_of_the_south's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It takes you right into the action, just by reading the first couple of pages you find yourself immersed in the stories that are mainly two but happen to be of equal importance.
Pat Barker has a nice style to write harsh situations.
A page turner

siria's review against another edition

2.0

Rather disappointing, actually. I expected a lot from this, given how much I loved the Regeneration Trilogy, but it fell a little flat for me. There were aspects of it I really liked--the strong character voices; the immediacy of much of her description; the constant reminder of the past, of how it is in many ways Geordie's present, of how it has echoes and links with us that we're not even aware of, much of the time--but there were too many other narrative threads which Barker started to unwind, but which she never managed to weave successfully into the fabric of the storyline. The scene in which Nick and his family uncover that odious picture of the Fanshawes on the wall of their living room is one of the tense, stand-out scenes of the book, but it seems to need some sort of follow-through that Barker never gives us. And especially in the earlier chapters, the POV wobbles amazingly, shifting from person to person with each new paragraph, leaving me disoriented and confused. A lot less than the sum of its parts, really.

andrew61's review against another edition

4.0

The core of this book is the dying days of 101 year old WW1 veteran Geordie and how he can come to terms with something he did during the war which has haunted his long life particularly when his mother had after the conflict expressed that it should have been him that died. His grandson Nick is trying to manage Geordies last days with the help of his elderly aunt but also managing his own life where his teenage daughter is coming to stay over the Summer due to his ex wife's mental health breakdown, his stepson is disturbed and hates him, and his wife is managing a toddler and is heavily pregnant during a hot summer.
Added into the story is the unearthing in their new house of a disturbing drawing under wallpaper, the history of a house where a child has died, and a suspicion of a ghost in the house.
As I said at the outset Geordie's story is compelling and kept me reading to an end which was very moving . The story of family conflict and the ghost did not hook me as much and I felt at time the book was covering too many issues but overall a good read.

wendoxford's review against another edition

2.0

I am a great fan of Pat Barker's writing. I thought I had read her complete works until I discovered this title. I wish I hadn't. This feels contrived and forced to conclusions unlike the depth of artistry in all her other novels.

The protagonist, Nick, his blended (or not so blended) family and his dying grandfather, Geordie form the pivot of the narrative. I somehow found the frustrations of domestic life more engaging than a rather bizarre stretching of the imagination that their family mirrored the house's previous occupants. Geordie's dying and his vivid First World War PTSD felt more thought through and character led but, for me, could not redeem the clunkiness of the over-populated story