A review by alundeberg
Life Class by Pat Barker

4.25

Imagine if Somerset Maugham wrote a prequel to Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, but focused on art instead of bullfighting: Pat Barker's Life Class would be the result. Maugham and Hemingway should be honored to be in Barker's league; she is quite possibly one of the best authors of fiction set in WWI, and her Regeneration Trilogy sets the bar for that genre. Paul Tannant and Elinor Brooke are students at London's Slade School of Art, and they develop a tenuous romantic relationship over time that is tested by the war. Paul volunteers to be an ambulance driver in Belgium and struggles to reconcile his dedication to art during a time of war. Elinor, ambivalent about her commitment to Paul as other men pursue her, remains steadfastly dedicated to her craft as she pretends the war does not exist. Together Paul and Elinor symbolize what will be the post-war cultural shifts. Paul presages the Lost Generation as he witnesses the horrors around him and finds his voice in creating a new, brutal art, while Elinor is ready to drink and paint her way into the Roaring Twenties. Barker's writing feels entirely natural, full of an immediacy and a deft touch that bring a time and place to life. She is able to explore the themes of love, art, and war without contrivance, averting easy answers. 

Highly recommend!