Take a photo of a barcode or cover
tanyarobinson 's review for:
The Ghost Road
by Pat Barker
As I moved through this book I alternated between loving it and hating it. I loved the sections from William Rivers' perspective. This real person, a renowned British anthropologist, lived amongst Melanesian head-hunters before the war. As he tries to treat shell-shocked and disfigured soldiers, his past experiences with these tribal peoples come to the forefront of his mind, and he draws such interesting parallels between their death customs and the constant death around him. I believe these sections are what make The Ghost Road worthy of the Booker Prize and other honors bestowed on it.
On the other hand, I absolutely hated many of the sections focusing on fictional Billy Prior, mostly because he is a repugnant human. Through his eyes, and that of the much more likable real-life poet Wilfred Owen, we see life in the trenches and on the battlefield. Unfortunately we also get Prior's thoughts on sexual perversion (he is actively bi-sexual), and in general a crude perspective on life. I definitely could have done without that, and scanned over his nastier bits.
I thought the ending was masterfully done, really quite beautiful though tragic. So overall I give this book 4 stars, even though I can't really recommend it. Why is it that so much award-winning literature is anything but uplifting?
On the other hand, I absolutely hated many of the sections focusing on fictional Billy Prior, mostly because he is a repugnant human. Through his eyes, and that of the much more likable real-life poet Wilfred Owen, we see life in the trenches and on the battlefield. Unfortunately we also get Prior's thoughts on sexual perversion (he is actively bi-sexual), and in general a crude perspective on life. I definitely could have done without that, and scanned over his nastier bits.
I thought the ending was masterfully done, really quite beautiful though tragic. So overall I give this book 4 stars, even though I can't really recommend it. Why is it that so much award-winning literature is anything but uplifting?