A review by siria
The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker

5.0

The second book in the 'Regeneration' trilogy, 'The Eye in the Door' is just as impressive a book as the first installment, if not more so. Barker's use of language is just superb. Never showy or overly lyrical, but absolutely measured, each word feeling lyrical and right. Sassoon is involved less in this volume, with most of the events centred around Billy Prior and to a slightly lesser extent on Rivers. I think it works very well, because you have Billy set up as a liminal character—someone who is neither working class nor upper class, neither the good soldier nor the pacifist, someone who is literally dividing himself in two—living in an England which is dividing itself in two and which is moving from the long nineteenth century into something completely new. Highly recommended.