life class , 21 Nov 2008
Pat Barkers refreshing writing puts you deep into the characters from the start. Its not in the same field as Ghost but i still really enjoyed the easy style and great story.

art of war and war of art, 02 Nov 2008
'They'd been drawing for over half an hour. There was no sound except for the skimming of pencils on Michallet paper or the barely perceptible squeak of charcoal.'

Barker is masterly at evoking time and place and here she moves from the life class at the Slade to the life class of WW1. The characters in the novel are of different social classes and this impacts their approach to art and the role they take in the conflict.

It's also a love story - of star crossed lovers whose lives become very different because of the war. One character does become an artist but is not commercially successful, one becomes a satellite of the Boomsbury group. The tone is essentially melancholic - dashed ambitions and couples in bed making love but we know they won't be living happily ever after.

Also disappointed, 10 Oct 2008
As a big fan of Pat Barker's previous work - especially the excellent Regeneration trilogy - I too was attracted to this book because of the return to the ground of former glories. So it was with keen anticipation that I bought it.

What a disappointment. The book completely failed to engage in the manner of Regeneration, which had me hooked from page 1, line 1.
The overriding emotion at the end of this was "So what?"
The examination of the relevance of art in wartime was unsatisfying and skin deep - my impression was that Barker does not know enough about the subject to get properly to grips with it. And an odd choice for one of the central themes.

The characters were anaemic. She seems to have lost that surefootedness when dealing with male characters - one recalls Billy Prior and Rivers - for Tarrant, Neville and Lewis just don't convince or happen. What is Lewis there for? He is cardboard cutout man.

And the correspondence between Elinor and Tarrant meandered along without getting anywhere. It was almost as if she could not bear the idea of them falling out.

This book could have taken so many other more satisfying routes. I found I did not care that much about anyone.
Sorry Pat - not in the same league as your previous WW1 work.

Thank you, Pat Barker, 21 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Pat Barker knows her period well, but she never lets the weight of her research overpower the writing. This reader was drawn in from the first page (I'd put her in the Deborah Moggach class for the ability to hook the reader and make you really care about the characters and want to know what happens to them). Kit Neville is a bit of a cipher, but Paul Tarrant and Elinor are wholly rounded, alive and memorable. There were times when I had to put the book down for a while, so vivid and hard to bear was the pain. And yet, in the end, it's a story of love -- especially love of life -- and determination. The ending is perfect.

A different look at WW1 from the Regeneration author, 21 Sep 2008
I am a big Pat Barker fan, having relished the Regeneration trilogy of books about the treatment of survivors of the horrors of the trenches, and I also enjoyed this novel which gives a different take on the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the people who worked behind the front lines in the casualty clearing stations. It is not as well rounded as The Ghost Road or The Eye in the Door, but it still makes the reader reflect on the debate about art and life. Paul Tarrant's struggle with what to paint in the war is described by Barker and a look at Henry Tonk's paintings shows you two very different types of subject. The book is split into two halves and it was the second that captured my imagination most strongly, where Paul goes behind the front lines as an ambulance driver. There are some powerfully written vignettes of bombing raids and its effects on men and horses and the passage where Paul himself is injured is tremendously well conveyed. All in all I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about WW1 and its effects on people's lives.

life class , 21 Nov 2008
Pat Barkers refreshing writing puts you deep into the characters from the start. Its not in the same field as Ghost but i still really enjoyed the easy style and great story.

art of war and war of art, 02 Nov 2008
'They'd been drawing for over half an hour. There was no sound except for the skimming of pencils on Michallet paper or the barely perceptible squeak of charcoal.'

Barker is masterly at evoking time and place and here she moves from the life class at the Slade to the life class of WW1. The characters in the novel are of different social classes and this impacts their approach to art and the role they take in the conflict.

It's also a love story - of star crossed lovers whose lives become very different because of the war. One character does become an artist but is not commercially successful, one becomes a satellite of the Boomsbury group. The tone is essentially melancholic - dashed ambitions and couples in bed making love but we know they won't be living happily ever after.

Also disappointed, 10 Oct 2008
As a big fan of Pat Barker's previous work - especially the excellent Regeneration trilogy - I too was attracted to this book because of the return to the ground of former glories. So it was with keen anticipation that I bought it.

What a disappointment. The book completely failed to engage in the manner of Regeneration, which had me hooked from page 1, line 1.
The overriding emotion at the end of this was "So what?"
The examination of the relevance of art in wartime was unsatisfying and skin deep - my impression was that Barker does not know enough about the subject to get properly to grips with it. And an odd choice for one of the central themes.

The characters were anaemic. She seems to have lost that surefootedness when dealing with male characters - one recalls Billy Prior and Rivers - for Tarrant, Neville and Lewis just don't convince or happen. What is Lewis there for? He is cardboard cutout man.

And the correspondence between Elinor and Tarrant meandered along without getting anywhere. It was almost as if she could not bear the idea of them falling out.

This book could have taken so many other more satisfying routes. I found I did not care that much about anyone.
Sorry Pat - not in the same league as your previous WW1 work.

Thank you, Pat Barker, 21 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Pat Barker knows her period well, but she never lets the weight of her research overpower the writing. This reader was drawn in from the first page (I'd put her in the Deborah Moggach class for the ability to hook the reader and make you really care about the characters and want to know what happens to them). Kit Neville is a bit of a cipher, but Paul Tarrant and Elinor are wholly rounded, alive and memorable. There were times when I had to put the book down for a while, so vivid and hard to bear was the pain. And yet, in the end, it's a story of love -- especially love of life -- and determination. The ending is perfect.

A different look at WW1 from the Regeneration author, 21 Sep 2008
I am a big Pat Barker fan, having relished the Regeneration trilogy of books about the treatment of survivors of the horrors of the trenches, and I also enjoyed this novel which gives a different take on the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the people who worked behind the front lines in the casualty clearing stations. It is not as well rounded as The Ghost Road or The Eye in the Door, but it still makes the reader reflect on the debate about art and life. Paul Tarrant's struggle with what to paint in the war is described by Barker and a look at Henry Tonk's paintings shows you two very different types of subject. The book is split into two halves and it was the second that captured my imagination most strongly, where Paul goes behind the front lines as an ambulance driver. There are some powerfully written vignettes of bombing raids and its effects on men and horses and the passage where Paul himself is injured is tremendously well conveyed. All in all I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about WW1 and its effects on people's lives.

A Future Classic, 25 Nov 2008
Regeneration is an astounding work of fiction, centred around the relationship between Siegfried Sassoon and his psychiatrist. Sassoon was a real-life World War 1 Officer and poet who spent some time in an institution (alongside Wilfred Owen) for speaking out against the way the war was conducted in its later stages.

Barker writes simply and authoritatively, creating vivid, vulnerable but strong characters that will stay with you long after you've put this book down. Her knowledge of the early twentieth century is profound and her ability to place the reader there seems almost effortless.

This book is not for the fainthearted, it's true; however Barker does not dwell on the horrors of war in a gratuitous fashion - she takes us on a journey with ordinary men who are trying to deal with horrifically extraordinary memories. That journey is intimate, and it is not easy. That's not to say that this is a political work, however it is clear that the mental aftermath of war is destroying and (still) not recognised often enough. If Barker's has any message with this book, it is that. This message, coupled with some of the most engaging characters and beautifully written dialogue I've ever come across, means that this book certainly earns a place as one of my favourite fictional works ever.

WW1 pyschological story, 16 Nov 2008
An interesting,introverted book,based on Dr Rivers study of some of his more famous clients.It's wonderfully written,and Barkers characters ooze,a moody,intellectual,introverted mind set.The tone of the book has a nice sepia,style to it,and the sadness of war and pointless death is always there.This is a book for people who like the physchological side of WW1 and all of it's dilemmas,rather than the actual gun fight in the trenches.Barker concentrates on understatement and introspection to bring the book,and it's characters to life.This will become a "classic" of it's genre in the fullness of time

life class , 21 Nov 2008
Pat Barkers refreshing writing puts you deep into the characters from the start. Its not in the same field as Ghost but i still really enjoyed the easy style and great story.

art of war and war of art, 02 Nov 2008
'They'd been drawing for over half an hour. There was no sound except for the skimming of pencils on Michallet paper or the barely perceptible squeak of charcoal.'

Barker is masterly at evoking time and place and here she moves from the life class at the Slade to the life class of WW1. The characters in the novel are of different social classes and this impacts their approach to art and the role they take in the conflict.

It's also a love story - of star crossed lovers whose lives become very different because of the war. One character does become an artist but is not commercially successful, one becomes a satellite of the Boomsbury group. The tone is essentially melancholic - dashed ambitions and couples in bed making love but we know they won't be living happily ever after.

Also disappointed, 10 Oct 2008
As a big fan of Pat Barker's previous work - especially the excellent Regeneration trilogy - I too was attracted to this book because of the return to the ground of former glories. So it was with keen anticipation that I bought it.

What a disappointment. The book completely failed to engage in the manner of Regeneration, which had me hooked from page 1, line 1.
The overriding emotion at the end of this was "So what?"
The examination of the relevance of art in wartime was unsatisfying and skin deep - my impression was that Barker does not know enough about the subject to get properly to grips with it. And an odd choice for one of the central themes.

The characters were anaemic. She seems to have lost that surefootedness when dealing with male characters - one recalls Billy Prior and Rivers - for Tarrant, Neville and Lewis just don't convince or happen. What is Lewis there for? He is cardboard cutout man.

And the correspondence between Elinor and Tarrant meandered along without getting anywhere. It was almost as if she could not bear the idea of them falling out.

This book could have taken so many other more satisfying routes. I found I did not care that much about anyone.
Sorry Pat - not in the same league as your previous WW1 work.

Thank you, Pat Barker, 21 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Pat Barker knows her period well, but she never lets the weight of her research overpower the writing. This reader was drawn in from the first page (I'd put her in the Deborah Moggach class for the ability to hook the reader and make you really care about the characters and want to know what happens to them). Kit Neville is a bit of a cipher, but Paul Tarrant and Elinor are wholly rounded, alive and memorable. There were times when I had to put the book down for a while, so vivid and hard to bear was the pain. And yet, in the end, it's a story of love -- especially love of life -- and determination. The ending is perfect.

A different look at WW1 from the Regeneration author, 21 Sep 2008
I am a big Pat Barker fan, having relished the Regeneration trilogy of books about the treatment of survivors of the horrors of the trenches, and I also enjoyed this novel which gives a different take on the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the people who worked behind the front lines in the casualty clearing stations. It is not as well rounded as The Ghost Road or The Eye in the Door, but it still makes the reader reflect on the debate about art and life. Paul Tarrant's struggle with what to paint in the war is described by Barker and a look at Henry Tonk's paintings shows you two very different types of subject. The book is split into two halves and it was the second that captured my imagination most strongly, where Paul goes behind the front lines as an ambulance driver. There are some powerfully written vignettes of bombing raids and its effects on men and horses and the passage where Paul himself is injured is tremendously well conveyed. All in all I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about WW1 and its effects on people's lives.

A Future Classic, 25 Nov 2008
Regeneration is an astounding work of fiction, centred around the relationship between Siegfried Sassoon and his psychiatrist. Sassoon was a real-life World War 1 Officer and poet who spent some time in an institution (alongside Wilfred Owen) for speaking out against the way the war was conducted in its later stages.

Barker writes simply and authoritatively, creating vivid, vulnerable but strong characters that will stay with you long after you've put this book down. Her knowledge of the early twentieth century is profound and her ability to place the reader there seems almost effortless.

This book is not for the fainthearted, it's true; however Barker does not dwell on the horrors of war in a gratuitous fashion - she takes us on a journey with ordinary men who are trying to deal with horrifically extraordinary memories. That journey is intimate, and it is not easy. That's not to say that this is a political work, however it is clear that the mental aftermath of war is destroying and (still) not recognised often enough. If Barker's has any message with this book, it is that. This message, coupled with some of the most engaging characters and beautifully written dialogue I've ever come across, means that this book certainly earns a place as one of my favourite fictional works ever.

WW1 pyschological story, 16 Nov 2008
An interesting,introverted book,based on Dr Rivers study of some of his more famous clients.It's wonderfully written,and Barkers characters ooze,a moody,intellectual,introverted mind set.The tone of the book has a nice sepia,style to it,and the sadness of war and pointless death is always there.This is a book for people who like the physchological side of WW1 and all of it's dilemmas,rather than the actual gun fight in the trenches.Barker concentrates on understatement and introspection to bring the book,and it's characters to life.This will become a "classic" of it's genre in the fullness of time

grim tale of split personality, 21 May 2008
This sequel to Regeneration starts with a sordid homosexual encounter. I found that I almost stopped reading the book. Having said that, I'm glad that I didn't, as the book does - eventually - move towards a meaningful denouement. This is care of the character Billy Prior, one of the shell-shock patients from the previous book. This book's themes are important, including sexual tolerance, uniformity and the nature of both mental illness and psychiatry. Like its predecessor, the book is thought-provoking.

Healthy and Unhealthy Mind Dualities Driven by War Tragedies and Paranoia, 29 Apr 2008

If you haven't read Regeneration, you are making a big mistake if you read The Eye in the Door before Regeneration. Regeneration sets the stage for The Eye in the Door and provides much background information that you need to appreciate this book.

Those who liked the first book in the Regeneration trilogy, Regeneration, will absolutely adore The Eye in the Door. The characters from Regeneration return, and you have a chance to find out the consequences of the treatments they received from Dr. William Rivers in Regeneration. Pat Barker builds on the tensions, damage, doubts, and despair of mid-World War I to show how much more desperate matters were for the British by the spring of 1918.

In developing these themes, Pat Barker does a masterful job of explaining how a soldier has to operate both by emotion and by objective distance in order to function. From there, she helps us use the crucible of war to see how that duality is important to everyday functioning for all people.

As the title indicates, the book builds on a central metaphor of everyone being under observation as doubts build about Britain's ability to win the war. Those on the margins are most under pressure and at greatest risk.

I thought that the portrayal of Lieutenant Billy Prior was brilliant. He comes across as the kind of complex, interesting character that can help us learn a lot about Ms. Barker's messages for us. The eye metaphor is nicely developed in the context of Billy's life.

Brava, Ms. Barker!


I didn`t like the first one.., 31 Mar 2008
and i didn`t like this one either. Barker jumps about all over the place, making point after point - all adding up to nothing and leaving you wondering what the hell it`s all been about anyway.
Anyone....?

Very loose ends, 30 Apr 2005
Books you have enjoyed stick with you, while books you didn't like fade away. But just occasionally, a bad book niggles and irritates your subconscious, until you stumble across it on Amazon and get the chance to exorcise that demon.
I didn't like 'The Eye in the Door'.
After a fascinating opening, the book rapidly tails away. Barker is clearly a good writer and has a sure grip on the darker side of language, but it becomes clear that she has two misguided motives for writing this book.
The first is to tie up all the loose ends of the previous book and pave the way for the next one. If you haven't read the previous book, then very little of the plot will make sense. And by the end, you won't care to read the third volume.
Her second motive is to make several left-leaning political points about Britain in the early 20th Century. I agree with much of it, but political statements don't make literature and the British Empire is a big and easy target. If I want to read political tracts, I'll read ones that are relevant to my own century, and preferably ones that are not disguised as literary fiction.
Barker has also succumbed to that modern habit of inflating a book's importance by introducing famous characters from history, hoping some of their kudos will rub off. Siegfried Sassoon is used like a celebrity endorsement for the rest of the book. Given that he is largely irrelevant here, his inclusion seems just a little crass.
I won't give away the ending, largely because I can't remember how it ends. And nor will you.

Interesting, but not compelling, 28 May 2001
Fascinating historical facts (primarily about the hypocrisy of the English) are woven into a moderately interesting fictional story. But the treatment seems slightly lightweight somehow.

The book is rather dialogue-heavy, the prose stlye very un-showy (dare I say plain!) & there's not much interior reflection.

Barker's main interest is in her characters but they are not always strongly drawn. The relationship between Prior and Rivers, his therapist, is by far the most successful, and most deeply explored aspect of the book.

But in general, the personal struggles don't always meld convincingly with the particular historical background that Barker is interested in bringing to light. Some minor characters appear as ciphers for "issues" rather than fully drawn individuals in their own right.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by having recently re-read Michel Tournier's stunning and deeply profound, WW2 inspired 'The Ogre', besides which this seemed very insubstantial fare.

life class , 21 Nov 2008
Pat Barkers refreshing writing puts you deep into the characters from the start. Its not in the same field as Ghost but i still really enjoyed the easy style and great story.

art of war and war of art, 02 Nov 2008
'They'd been drawing for over half an hour. There was no sound except for the skimming of pencils on Michallet paper or the barely perceptible squeak of charcoal.'

Barker is masterly at evoking time and place and here she moves from the life class at the Slade to the life class of WW1. The characters in the novel are of different social classes and this impacts their approach to art and the role they take in the conflict.

It's also a love story - of star crossed lovers whose lives become very different because of the war. One character does become an artist but is not commercially successful, one becomes a satellite of the Boomsbury group. The tone is essentially melancholic - dashed ambitions and couples in bed making love but we know they won't be living happily ever after.

Also disappointed, 10 Oct 2008
As a big fan of Pat Barker's previous work - especially the excellent Regeneration trilogy - I too was attracted to this book because of the return to the ground of former glories. So it was with keen anticipation that I bought it.

What a disappointment. The book completely failed to engage in the manner of Regeneration, which had me hooked from page 1, line 1.
The overriding emotion at the end of this was "So what?"
The examination of the relevance of art in wartime was unsatisfying and skin deep - my impression was that Barker does not know enough about the subject to get properly to grips with it. And an odd choice for one of the central themes.

The characters were anaemic. She seems to have lost that surefootedness when dealing with male characters - one recalls Billy Prior and Rivers - for Tarrant, Neville and Lewis just don't convince or happen. What is Lewis there for? He is cardboard cutout man.

And the correspondence between Elinor and Tarrant meandered along without getting anywhere. It was almost as if she could not bear the idea of them falling out.

This book could have taken so many other more satisfying routes. I found I did not care that much about anyone.
Sorry Pat - not in the same league as your previous WW1 work.

Thank you, Pat Barker, 21 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Pat Barker knows her period well, but she never lets the weight of her research overpower the writing. This reader was drawn in from the first page (I'd put her in the Deborah Moggach class for the ability to hook the reader and make you really care about the characters and want to know what happens to them). Kit Neville is a bit of a cipher, but Paul Tarrant and Elinor are wholly rounded, alive and memorable. There were times when I had to put the book down for a while, so vivid and hard to bear was the pain. And yet, in the end, it's a story of love -- especially love of life -- and determination. The ending is perfect.

A different look at WW1 from the Regeneration author, 21 Sep 2008
I am a big Pat Barker fan, having relished the Regeneration trilogy of books about the treatment of survivors of the horrors of the trenches, and I also enjoyed this novel which gives a different take on the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the people who worked behind the front lines in the casualty clearing stations. It is not as well rounded as The Ghost Road or The Eye in the Door, but it still makes the reader reflect on the debate about art and life. Paul Tarrant's struggle with what to paint in the war is described by Barker and a look at Henry Tonk's paintings shows you two very different types of subject. The book is split into two halves and it was the second that captured my imagination most strongly, where Paul goes behind the front lines as an ambulance driver. There are some powerfully written vignettes of bombing raids and its effects on men and horses and the passage where Paul himself is injured is tremendously well conveyed. All in all I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about WW1 and its effects on people's lives.

A Future Classic, 25 Nov 2008
Regeneration is an astounding work of fiction, centred around the relationship between Siegfried Sassoon and his psychiatrist. Sassoon was a real-life World War 1 Officer and poet who spent some time in an institution (alongside Wilfred Owen) for speaking out against the way the war was conducted in its later stages.

Barker writes simply and authoritatively, creating vivid, vulnerable but strong characters that will stay with you long after you've put this book down. Her knowledge of the early twentieth century is profound and her ability to place the reader there seems almost effortless.

This book is not for the fainthearted, it's true; however Barker does not dwell on the horrors of war in a gratuitous fashion - she takes us on a journey with ordinary men who are trying to deal with horrifically extraordinary memories. That journey is intimate, and it is not easy. That's not to say that this is a political work, however it is clear that the mental aftermath of war is destroying and (still) not recognised often enough. If Barker's has any message with this book, it is that. This message, coupled with some of the most engaging characters and beautifully written dialogue I've ever come across, means that this book certainly earns a place as one of my favourite fictional works ever.

WW1 pyschological story, 16 Nov 2008
An interesting,introverted book,based on Dr Rivers study of some of his more famous clients.It's wonderfully written,and Barkers characters ooze,a moody,intellectual,introverted mind set.The tone of the book has a nice sepia,style to it,and the sadness of war and pointless death is always there.This is a book for people who like the physchological side of WW1 and all of it's dilemmas,rather than the actual gun fight in the trenches.Barker concentrates on understatement and introspection to bring the book,and it's characters to life.This will become a "classic" of it's genre in the fullness of time

grim tale of split personality, 21 May 2008
This sequel to Regeneration starts with a sordid homosexual encounter. I found that I almost stopped reading the book. Having said that, I'm glad that I didn't, as the book does - eventually - move towards a meaningful denouement. This is care of the character Billy Prior, one of the shell-shock patients from the previous book. This book's themes are important, including sexual tolerance, uniformity and the nature of both mental illness and psychiatry. Like its predecessor, the book is thought-provoking.

Healthy and Unhealthy Mind Dualities Driven by War Tragedies and Paranoia, 29 Apr 2008

If you haven't read Regeneration, you are making a big mistake if you read The Eye in the Door before Regeneration. Regeneration sets the stage for The Eye in the Door and provides much background information that you need to appreciate this book.

Those who liked the first book in the Regeneration trilogy, Regeneration, will absolutely adore The Eye in the Door. The characters from Regeneration return, and you have a chance to find out the consequences of the treatments they received from Dr. William Rivers in Regeneration. Pat Barker builds on the tensions, damage, doubts, and despair of mid-World War I to show how much more desperate matters were for the British by the spring of 1918.

In developing these themes, Pat Barker does a masterful job of explaining how a soldier has to operate both by emotion and by objective distance in order to function. From there, she helps us use the crucible of war to see how that duality is important to everyday functioning for all people.

As the title indicates, the book builds on a central metaphor of everyone being under observation as doubts build about Britain's ability to win the war. Those on the margins are most under pressure and at greatest risk.

I thought that the portrayal of Lieutenant Billy Prior was brilliant. He comes across as the kind of complex, interesting character that can help us learn a lot about Ms. Barker's messages for us. The eye metaphor is nicely developed in the context of Billy's life.

Brava, Ms. Barker!


I didn`t like the first one.., 31 Mar 2008
and i didn`t like this one either. Barker jumps about all over the place, making point after point - all adding up to nothing and leaving you wondering what the hell it`s all been about anyway.
Anyone....?

Very loose ends, 30 Apr 2005
Books you have enjoyed stick with you, while books you didn't like fade away. But just occasionally, a bad book niggles and irritates your subconscious, until you stumble across it on Amazon and get the chance to exorcise that demon.
I didn't like 'The Eye in the Door'.
After a fascinating opening, the book rapidly tails away. Barker is clearly a good writer and has a sure grip on the darker side of language, but it becomes clear that she has two misguided motives for writing this book.
The first is to tie up all the loose ends of the previous book and pave the way for the next one. If you haven't read the previous book, then very little of the plot will make sense. And by the end, you won't care to read the third volume.
Her second motive is to make several left-leaning political points about Britain in the early 20th Century. I agree with much of it, but political statements don't make literature and the British Empire is a big and easy target. If I want to read political tracts, I'll read ones that are relevant to my own century, and preferably ones that are not disguised as literary fiction.
Barker has also succumbed to that modern habit of inflating a book's importance by introducing famous characters from history, hoping some of their kudos will rub off. Siegfried Sassoon is used like a celebrity endorsement for the rest of the book. Given that he is largely irrelevant here, his inclusion seems just a little crass.
I won't give away the ending, largely because I can't remember how it ends. And nor will you.

Interesting, but not compelling, 28 May 2001
Fascinating historical facts (primarily about the hypocrisy of the English) are woven into a moderately interesting fictional story. But the treatment seems slightly lightweight somehow.

The book is rather dialogue-heavy, the prose stlye very un-showy (dare I say plain!) & there's not much interior reflection.

Barker's main interest is in her characters but they are not always strongly drawn. The relationship between Prior and Rivers, his therapist, is by far the most successful, and most deeply explored aspect of the book.

But in general, the personal struggles don't always meld convincingly with the particular historical background that Barker is interested in bringing to light. Some minor characters appear as ciphers for "issues" rather than fully drawn individuals in their own right.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by having recently re-read Michel Tournier's stunning and deeply profound, WW2 inspired 'The Ogre', besides which this seemed very insubstantial fare.

Oh dear, 10 Nov 2008
With a disjointed plot that feels like it's been padded out to fill the required number of pages, and gay fantasies and activities which only get in the way of the story, I was hugely disappointed with this novel.
Last Pat Barker I'll be reading.

Bored, 09 Jul 2008
Disliked the shifting point of view (3rd person Prior and Rivers and then first person Prior etc). Was this Rivers' or Prior's story? If it was both, it did neither justice. Didn't have me turning the page though of course I did know that Owen dies. Thought Barker heavy handed with symbolism and comparison of societies. Found too much emphasis on sordid sex which was very depressing as was most of the book. Needed some levity to contrast with all the doom. Perhaps would have helped if read first two books in trilogy but have no desire to now.

Raises Disturbing Questions about the Nature of Humanity, 28 May 2008
Please do not read The Ghost Road before reading Regeneration and The Eye in the Door (the order intended by the author). As brilliant as The Ghost Road is, its message will hit you harder if you have read the other books first and anticipated what Pat Barker's final vision of humanity would be.

Without revealing any spoilers, The Ghost Road is the most nuanced novel about war that I've ever read. Most war-related books take one of two basic themes: Either war is too awful to be tolerated and needs to be abolished . . . or human nobility is expressed within war, but war itself is an evil event with people being destroyed by incompetent leaders. You'll find a different message here, one implied by a combination of observations about a tribe of head hunters and by the behavior of Billy Prior, one of the primary characters in the three books. I leave it to you to find out what this nuanced message is . . . but I believe it will probably surprise and enlighten you.

By narrowing down the focus onto just two of the continuing characters of the trilogy, Dr. William Rivers and Lieutenant Billy Prior, The Ghost Road has an intensity and power that I didn't observe in the prior two books. Clearly, The Ghost Road is a step above those excellent novels.

I am often left wondering why books that win prestigious prizes (like the 1995 Booker Prize . . . awarded to The Ghost Road) did so. I have no doubt that this award was well earned.

Life can be an ironic event, punctuated by moments of sublime joy. I have seldom read a novel that captured those perspectives as well as The Ghost Road does.

Brava, Ms. Barker!

more war, 26 May 2008
Once again, a meaningful book by Barker. The relative meanings of death are examined through the experiences of Prior the raving bisexual at war and his psychiatrist in his previous life as an anthropologist amongst head hunters. Again, Barker offers us the questionable opportunity to read about gay sex, this time awaiting us late in the book, when we've finally got to grips with its meaning. This rather spoiled it for me. Sorry.

A good Introduction, 14 May 2008
I came across this book when it was recommended in my book group, noticed it was one of three books and picked up a copy of the trilogy which I read straight through. It is an extremely readable series of books in which the language flows very well and the story is all the more poignant for this.

It's very difficult to form one point of view about the first world war from these books. Initially I experienced sympathy for Sassoon's anti-war protest and shock upon reading about Captain River's other patients. The beauty of Pat Barker's writing is that she expresses very complex issues well - the futility of this war, the hopelessness of those caught up in it, protest, patriotism, heroism and self-discovery.

The Eye in the Door is a little odd in comparisson to the other two books in that Billy Prior's story becomes disconcerting to say the least.

Sassoon's and Prior's ultimate actions in going back to war are understood in the context of their compassion for others. The Ghost Road reaches an emotional and despairing conclusion but gives enrichment and hope from the detailed descriptions of Prior's last journey to the front line.

Captain River's story is also compelling and adds another complex dimension about imperialism.

life class , 21 Nov 2008
Pat Barkers refreshing writing puts you deep into the characters from the start. Its not in the same field as Ghost but i still really enjoyed the easy style and great story.

art of war and war of art, 02 Nov 2008
'They'd been drawing for over half an hour. There was no sound except for the skimming of pencils on Michallet paper or the barely perceptible squeak of charcoal.'

Barker is masterly at evoking time and place and here she moves from the life class at the Slade to the life class of WW1. The characters in the novel are of different social classes and this impacts their approach to art and the role they take in the conflict.

It's also a love story - of star crossed lovers whose lives become very different because of the war. One character does become an artist but is not commercially successful, one becomes a satellite of the Boomsbury group. The tone is essentially melancholic - dashed ambitions and couples in bed making love but we know they won't be living happily ever after.

Also disappointed, 10 Oct 2008
As a big fan of Pat Barker's previous work - especially the excellent Regeneration trilogy - I too was attracted to this book because of the return to the ground of former glories. So it was with keen anticipation that I bought it.

What a disappointment. The book completely failed to engage in the manner of Regeneration, which had me hooked from page 1, line 1.
The overriding emotion at the end of this was "So what?"
The examination of the relevance of art in wartime was unsatisfying and skin deep - my impression was that Barker does not know enough about the subject to get properly to grips with it. And an odd choice for one of the central themes.

The characters were anaemic. She seems to have lost that surefootedness when dealing with male characters - one recalls Billy Prior and Rivers - for Tarrant, Neville and Lewis just don't convince or happen. What is Lewis there for? He is cardboard cutout man.

And the correspondence between Elinor and Tarrant meandered along without getting anywhere. It was almost as if she could not bear the idea of them falling out.

This book could have taken so many other more satisfying routes. I found I did not care that much about anyone.
Sorry Pat - not in the same league as your previous WW1 work.

Thank you, Pat Barker, 21 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Pat Barker knows her period well, but she never lets the weight of her research overpower the writing. This reader was drawn in from the first page (I'd put her in the Deborah Moggach class for the ability to hook the reader and make you really care about the characters and want to know what happens to them). Kit Neville is a bit of a cipher, but Paul Tarrant and Elinor are wholly rounded, alive and memorable. There were times when I had to put the book down for a while, so vivid and hard to bear was the pain. And yet, in the end, it's a story of love -- especially love of life -- and determination. The ending is perfect.

A different look at WW1 from the Regeneration author, 21 Sep 2008
I am a big Pat Barker fan, having relished the Regeneration trilogy of books about the treatment of survivors of the horrors of the trenches, and I also enjoyed this novel which gives a different take on the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the people who worked behind the front lines in the casualty clearing stations. It is not as well rounded as The Ghost Road or The Eye in the Door, but it still makes the reader reflect on the debate about art and life. Paul Tarrant's struggle with what to paint in the war is described by Barker and a look at Henry Tonk's paintings shows you two very different types of subject. The book is split into two halves and it was the second that captured my imagination most strongly, where Paul goes behind the front lines as an ambulance driver. There are some powerfully written vignettes of bombing raids and its effects on men and horses and the passage where Paul himself is injured is tremendously well conveyed. All in all I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about WW1 and its effects on people's lives.

A Future Classic, 25 Nov 2008
Regeneration is an astounding work of fiction, centred around the relationship between Siegfried Sassoon and his psychiatrist. Sassoon was a real-life World War 1 Officer and poet who spent some time in an institution (alongside Wilfred Owen) for speaking out against the way the war was conducted in its later stages.

Barker writes simply and authoritatively, creating vivid, vulnerable but strong characters that will stay with you long after you've put this book down. Her knowledge of the early twentieth century is profound and her ability to place the reader there seems almost effortless.

This book is not for the fainthearted, it's true; however Barker does not dwell on the horrors of war in a gratuitous fashion - she takes us on a journey with ordinary men who are trying to deal with horrifically extraordinary memories. That journey is intimate, and it is not easy. That's not to say that this is a political work, however it is clear that the mental aftermath of war is destroying and (still) not recognised often enough. If Barker's has any message with this book, it is that. This message, coupled with some of the most engaging characters and beautifully written dialogue I've ever come across, means that this book certainly earns a place as one of my favourite fictional works ever.

WW1 pyschological story, 16 Nov 2008
An interesting,introverted book,based on Dr Rivers study of some of his more famous clients.It's wonderfully written,and Barkers characters ooze,a moody,intellectual,introverted mind set.The tone of the book has a nice sepia,style to it,and the sadness of war and pointless death is always there.This is a book for people who like the physchological side of WW1 and all of it's dilemmas,rather than the actual gun fight in the trenches.Barker concentrates on understatement and introspection to bring the book,and it's characters to life.This will become a "classic" of it's genre in the fullness of time

grim tale of split personality, 21 May 2008
This sequel to Regeneration starts with a sordid homosexual encounter. I found that I almost stopped reading the book. Having said that, I'm glad that I didn't, as the book does - eventually - move towards a meaningful denouement. This is care of the character Billy Prior, one of the shell-shock patients from the previous book. This book's themes are important, including sexual tolerance, uniformity and the nature of both mental illness and psychiatry. Like its predecessor, the book is thought-provoking.

Healthy and Unhealthy Mind Dualities Driven by War Tragedies and Paranoia, 29 Apr 2008

If you haven't read Regeneration, you are making a big mistake if you read The Eye in the Door before Regeneration. Regeneration sets the stage for The Eye in the Door and provides much background information that you need to appreciate this book.

Those who liked the first book in the Regeneration trilogy, Regeneration, will absolutely adore The Eye in the Door. The characters from Regeneration return, and you have a chance to find out the consequences of the treatments they received from Dr. William Rivers in Regeneration. Pat Barker builds on the tensions, damage, doubts, and despair of mid-World War I to show how much more desperate matters were for the British by the spring of 1918.

In developing these themes, Pat Barker does a masterful job of explaining how a soldier has to operate both by emotion and by objective distance in order to function. From there, she helps us use the crucible of war to see how that duality is important to everyday functioning for all people.

As the title indicates, the book builds on a central metaphor of everyone being under observation as doubts build about Britain's ability to win the war. Those on the margins are most under pressure and at greatest risk.

I thought that the portrayal of Lieutenant Billy Prior was brilliant. He comes across as the kind of complex, interesting character that can help us learn a lot about Ms. Barker's messages for us. The eye metaphor is nicely developed in the context of Billy's life.

Brava, Ms. Barker!


I didn`t like the first one.., 31 Mar 2008
and i didn`t like this one either. Barker jumps about all over the place, making point after point - all adding up to nothing and leaving you wondering what the hell it`s all been about anyway.
Anyone....?

Very loose ends, 30 Apr 2005
Books you have enjoyed stick with you, while books you didn't like fade away. But just occasionally, a bad book niggles and irritates your subconscious, until you stumble across it on Amazon and get the chance to exorcise that demon.
I didn't like 'The Eye in the Door'.
After a fascinating opening, the book rapidly tails away. Barker is clearly a good writer and has a sure grip on the darker side of language, but it becomes clear that she has two misguided motives for writing this book.
The first is to tie up all the loose ends of the previous book and pave the way for the next one. If you haven't read the previous book, then very little of the plot will make sense. And by the end, you won't care to read the third volume.
Her second motive is to make several left-leaning political points about Britain in the early 20th Century. I agree with much of it, but political statements don't make literature and the British Empire is a big and easy target. If I want to read political tracts, I'll read ones that are relevant to my own century, and preferably ones that are not disguised as literary fiction.
Barker has also succumbed to that modern habit of inflating a book's importance by introducing famous characters from history, hoping some of their kudos will rub off. Siegfried Sassoon is used like a celebrity endorsement for the rest of the book. Given that he is largely irrelevant here, his inclusion seems just a little crass.
I won't give away the ending, largely because I can't remember how it ends. And nor will you.

Interesting, but not compelling, 28 May 2001
Fascinating historical facts (primarily about the hypocrisy of the English) are woven into a moderately interesting fictional story. But the treatment seems slightly lightweight somehow.

The book is rather dialogue-heavy, the prose stlye very un-showy (dare I say plain!) & there's not much interior reflection.

Barker's main interest is in her characters but they are not always strongly drawn. The relationship between Prior and Rivers, his therapist, is by far the most successful, and most deeply explored aspect of the book.

But in general, the personal struggles don't always meld convincingly with the particular historical background that Barker is interested in bringing to light. Some minor characters appear as ciphers for "issues" rather than fully drawn individuals in their own right.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by having recently re-read Michel Tournier's stunning and deeply profound, WW2 inspired 'The Ogre', besides which this seemed very insubstantial fare.

Oh dear, 10 Nov 2008
With a disjointed plot that feels like it's been padded out to fill the required number of pages, and gay fantasies and activities which only get in the way of the story, I was hugely disappointed with this novel.
Last Pat Barker I'll be reading.

Bored, 09 Jul 2008
Disliked the shifting point of view (3rd person Prior and Rivers and then first person Prior etc). Was this Rivers' or Prior's story? If it was both, it did neither justice. Didn't have me turning the page though of course I did know that Owen dies. Thought Barker heavy handed with symbolism and comparison of societies. Found too much emphasis on sordid sex which was very depressing as was most of the book. Needed some levity to contrast with all the doom. Perhaps would have helped if read first two books in trilogy but have no desire to now.

Raises Disturbing Questions about the Nature of Humanity, 28 May 2008
Please do not read The Ghost Road before reading Regeneration and The Eye in the Door (the order intended by the author). As brilliant as The Ghost Road is, its message will hit you harder if you have read the other books first and anticipated what Pat Barker's final vision of humanity would be.

Without revealing any spoilers, The Ghost Road is the most nuanced novel about war that I've ever read. Most war-related books take one of two basic themes: Either war is too awful to be tolerated and needs to be abolished . . . or human nobility is expressed within war, but war itself is an evil event with people being destroyed by incompetent leaders. You'll find a different message here, one implied by a combination of observations about a tribe of head hunters and by the behavior of Billy Prior, one of the primary characters in the three books. I leave it to you to find out what this nuanced message is . . . but I believe it will probably surprise and enlighten you.

By narrowing down the focus onto just two of the continuing characters of the trilogy, Dr. William Rivers and Lieutenant Billy Prior, The Ghost Road has an intensity and power that I didn't observe in the prior two books. Clearly, The Ghost Road is a step above those excellent novels.

I am often left wondering why books that win prestigious prizes (like the 1995 Booker Prize . . . awarded to The Ghost Road) did so. I have no doubt that this award was well earned.

Life can be an ironic event, punctuated by moments of sublime joy. I have seldom read a novel that captured those perspectives as well as The Ghost Road does.

Brava, Ms. Barker!

more war, 26 May 2008
Once again, a meaningful book by Barker. The relative meanings of death are examined through the experiences of Prior the raving bisexual at war and his psychiatrist in his previous life as an anthropologist amongst head hunters. Again, Barker offers us the questionable opportunity to read about gay sex, this time awaiting us late in the book, when we've finally got to grips with its meaning. This rather spoiled it for me. Sorry.

A good Introduction, 14 May 2008
I came across this book when it was recommended in my book group, noticed it was one of three books and picked up a copy of the trilogy which I read straight through. It is an extremely readable series of books in which the language flows very well and the story is all the more poignant for this.

It's very difficult to form one point of view about the first world war from these books. Initially I experienced sympathy for Sassoon's anti-war protest and shock upon reading about Captain River's other patients. The beauty of Pat Barker's writing is that she expresses very complex issues well - the futility of this war, the hopelessness of those caught up in it, protest, patriotism, heroism and self-discovery.

The Eye in the Door is a little odd in comparisson to the other two books in that Billy Prior's story becomes disconcerting to say the least.

Sassoon's and Prior's ultimate actions in going back to war are understood in the context of their compassion for others. The Ghost Road reaches an emotional and despairing conclusion but gives enrichment and hope from the detailed descriptions of Prior's last journey to the front line.

Captain River's story is also compelling and adds another complex dimension about imperialism.

Union Street , 10 Nov 2008
Shocking in its detail of what working class life was like for women in the 1970s - not so long ago and yet a world away. I was really moved by this book as it brought back memories of my own childhood which was all about poor women dealing with the pain of female existence and the violence and poverty of men who knew no better. I found this book haunting and the characters are still with me a week later.

Wonderfully readable, 12 Oct 2006
I took this on holiday and read it in a day. I thought all the characters were wonderfully constructed. The way Pat Barker makes each chapter separate but linked to the others is very well done.
I felt sort of sad at the end because the book had ended. Highly recommended!!

Beautiful, heartbreaking, yet strangely optimistic., 20 Feb 2006
I have to admit when I opened this book and read the first couple of pages, I was slightly taken aback by the crude tone and language used, and wondered if this novel was for me. However I perservered and within minutes I was completely absorbed. The book is incredibly easy to read, the characters are very well developed and you are quickly drawn into their world and made to sympathise with them.

The book contains the stories of 7 women all living on the same street in Northern England. It begins with the story of 11 year old Kelly, raped and traumatised, who struggles to deal with such an experience without much support. Then, chapter by chapter, it deals with the stories of 5 older women in the street, from about the ages of 20 up to 60, all dealing with various problems such as pregnancy, post natal depression, prostitution, the death of a husband, etc. Finally the book ends with the story of Alice, a stroke victim determined to end her life on her own terms without the interference of her uncaring son or a nursing home.

Whilst this might seem depressing, it actually manages to be quite uplifting. The harsh realistic imagery of the poverty and hardship present in the lives of these women is contrasted with the beauty of nature, the power of bonds between women, and the cyclical ongoing nature of life and love. The connection made between Kelly and Alice is particularly beautiful and heartrending.

It's also important to note that this isn't just a book for women - we read it on our university course and for a lot of the men, this was their favourite book of the module.

I had best say, though, that if you dislike hearing about the less glossy side of life, and are particularly sensitive, this may not be for you. Otherwise, definitely worth buying. Unreservedly 5 stars.

Rarely have characters endured such hopeless lives., 09 May 2001
Pat Barker describes three generations of Union Street dwellers, a bleak street of small, workers cottages, somewhere in the North East of England.

The stories that the seven principal characters have to tell, have the location and "life as a constant struggle" in common, but the overwhelming theme is the hopelessness of their lives, and yet in some characters, I saw an incredible desire to make the best of their circumstances. From the young girl living with her dark secret, to the workers at the local cake factory, the mother facing the shame of her daughter becoming pregnant, and ending with the courageous tale of the old matriach moving toward her own death, determined to die with dignity, demonstated so vividly by her struggle to regain the safety of her home having fallen heavily while trying to gather coal from the back yard.

I was truly enthralled with the characters, and lived every moment of their lives through the authors words. Quite siuperb.

Gritty and absorbing, 15 Mar 2001
It took me two brave tries to finish this book, and I'm not normally someone who does that. So here is a caveat for anyone who may react the same way I did: this novel shows Barker's power to shock has been, if anything, almost toned down with age. It begins with the rape of a 12 year old, and Barker doesn't let you off the hook later on (a backstreet abortion, childbirth and not the easy way either, a grisly yet touching death). If, like me, you're a rape victim, or plain squeamish, this disturbing book may not be for you. If you can cope, it is a powerful and disturbing portrayal of several women's lives in a vicious, poverty-stricken world: the despair, the ugliness, the violence. And yet astonishing strength and courage still come through; love and loyalty still exist, as far as they can in such a life.

For those of us with a far more privileged lifestyle, it too could have been named "Another World". Strangely beautiful through the harshness.

Border Crossing is haunted by one of the most disturbing figures in contemporary English culture: the child who kills. The award-winning Regeneration trilogy established Pat Barker's reputation as a novelist able to revive the traumas of war at the beginning of the 20th century. But her most recent fiction (Another World and, now, Border Crossing) revisits the terrain of her first novels (Union Street, Blow Your House Down). The dismal, if commonplace, violence of family life, violence between husbands and wives, fathers and children, children and children is explored alongside the more sensational story of a young man, Danny, whom, tracking down the psychologist who helped to convict him for the murder he committed as a child, wants to "talk about how impossible it was to leave the past behind". A tense, and seductive, relation develops between Danny and Tom Seymour, a professional forced to make his own return to a past in which he has played a defining part in someone else's life. As the brutal details of Danny's crime emerge, Barker confronts the possibilities of cure through time, through speech, through the attention given by one man to another. Danny is a man who is "very, very good at getting people to step across that invisible border", a character who draws attention to the pain, and helplessness, of having been a child. But Border Crossing also refuses to lose sight of his victim. The mutilated body of Lizzie Parks makes a claim on Danny, on Barker and on her readers as this novel probes the relation between Danny and Tom for the "only possible good outcome" of an irreparable act. --Vicky Lebeau

life class , 21 Nov 2008
Pat Barkers refreshing writing puts you deep into the characters from the start. Its not in the same field as Ghost but i still really enjoyed the easy style and great story.

art of war and war of art, 02 Nov 2008
'They'd been drawing for over half an hour. There was no sound except for the skimming of pencils on Michallet paper or the barely perceptible squeak of charcoal.'

Barker is masterly at evoking time and place and here she moves from the life class at the Slade to the life class of WW1. The characters in the novel are of different social classes and this impacts their approach to art and the role they take in the conflict.

It's also a love story - of star crossed lovers whose lives become very different because of the war. One character does become an artist but is not commercially successful, one becomes a satellite of the Boomsbury group. The tone is essentially melancholic - dashed ambitions and couples in bed making love but we know they won't be living happily ever after.

Also disappointed, 10 Oct 2008
As a big fan of Pat Barker's previous work - especially the excellent Regeneration trilogy - I too was attracted to this book because of the return to the ground of former glories. So it was with keen anticipation that I bought it.

What a disappointment. The book completely failed to engage in the manner of Regeneration, which had me hooked from page 1, line 1.
The overriding emotion at the end of this was "So what?"
The examination of the relevance of art in wartime was unsatisfying and skin deep - my impression was that Barker does not know enough about the subject to get properly to grips with it. And an odd choice for one of the central themes.

The characters were anaemic. She seems to have lost that surefootedness when dealing with male characters - one recalls Billy Prior and Rivers - for Tarrant, Neville and Lewis just don't convince or happen. What is Lewis there for? He is cardboard cutout man.

And the correspondence between Elinor and Tarrant meandered along without getting anywhere. It was almost as if she could not bear the idea of them falling out.

This book could have taken so many other more satisfying routes. I found I did not care that much about anyone.
Sorry Pat - not in the same league as your previous WW1 work.

Thank you, Pat Barker, 21 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Pat Barker knows her period well, but she never lets the weight of her research overpower the writing. This reader was drawn in from the first page (I'd put her in the Deborah Moggach class for the ability to hook the reader and make you really care about the characters and want to know what happens to them). Kit Neville is a bit of a cipher, but Paul Tarrant and Elinor are wholly rounded, alive and memorable. There were times when I had to put the book down for a while, so vivid and hard to bear was the pain. And yet, in the end, it's a story of love -- especially love of life -- and determination. The ending is perfect.

A different look at WW1 from the Regeneration author, 21 Sep 2008
I am a big Pat Barker fan, having relished the Regeneration trilogy of books about the treatment of survivors of the horrors of the trenches, and I also enjoyed this novel which gives a different take on the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the people who worked behind the front lines in the casualty clearing stations. It is not as well rounded as The Ghost Road or The Eye in the Door, but it still makes the reader reflect on the debate about art and life. Paul Tarrant's struggle with what to paint in the war is described by Barker and a look at Henry Tonk's paintings shows you two very different types of subject. The book is split into two halves and it was the second that captured my imagination most strongly, where Paul goes behind the front lines as an ambulance driver. There are some powerfully written vignettes of bombing raids and its effects on men and horses and the passage where Paul himself is injured is tremendously well conveyed. All in all I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about WW1 and its effects on people's lives.

A Future Classic, 25 Nov 2008
Regeneration is an astounding work of fiction, centred around the relationship between Siegfried Sassoon and his psychiatrist. Sassoon was a real-life World War 1 Officer and poet who spent some time in an institution (alongside Wilfred Owen) for speaking out against the way the war was conducted in its later stages.

Barker writes simply and authoritatively, creating vivid, vulnerable but strong characters that will stay with you long after you've put this book down. Her knowledge of the early twentieth century is profound and her ability to place the reader there seems almost effortless.

This book is not for the fainthearted, it's true; however Barker does not dwell on the horrors of war in a gratuitous fashion - she takes us on a journey with ordinary men who are trying to deal with horrifically extraordinary memories. That journey is intimate, and it is not easy. That's not to say that this is a political work, however it is clear that the mental aftermath of war is destroying and (still) not recognised often enough. If Barker's has any message with this book, it is that. This message, coupled with some of the most engaging characters and beautifully written dialogue I've ever come across, means that this book certainly earns a place as one of my favourite fictional works ever.

WW1 pyschological story, 16 Nov 2008
An interesting,introverted book,based on Dr Rivers study of some of his more famous clients.It's wonderfully written,and Barkers characters ooze,a moody,intellectual,introverted mind set.The tone of the book has a nice sepia,style to it,and the sadness of war and pointless death is always there.This is a book for people who like the physchological side of WW1 and all of it's dilemmas,rather than the actual gun fight in the trenches.Barker concentrates on understatement and introspection to bring the book,and it's characters to life.This will become a "classic" of it's genre in the fullness of time

grim tale of split personality, 21 May 2008
This sequel to Regeneration starts with a sordid homosexual encounter. I found that I almost stopped reading the book. Having said that, I'm glad that I didn't, as the book does - eventually - move towards a meaningful denouement. This is care of the character Billy Prior, one of the shell-shock patients from the previous book. This book's themes are important, including sexual tolerance, uniformity and the nature of both mental illness and psychiatry. Like its predecessor, the book is thought-provoking.

Healthy and Unhealthy Mind Dualities Driven by War Tragedies and Paranoia, 29 Apr 2008

If you haven't read Regeneration, you are making a big mistake if you read The Eye in the Door before Regeneration. Regeneration sets the stage for The Eye in the Door and provides much background information that you need to appreciate this book.

Those who liked the first book in the Regeneration trilogy, Regeneration, will absolutely adore The Eye in the Door. The characters from Regeneration return, and you have a chance to find out the consequences of the treatments they received from Dr. William Rivers in Regeneration. Pat Barker builds on the tensions, damage, doubts, and despair of mid-World War I to show how much more desperate matters were for the British by the spring of 1918.

In developing these themes, Pat Barker does a masterful job of explaining how a soldier has to operate both by emotion and by objective distance in order to function. From there, she helps us use the crucible of war to see how that duality is important to everyday functioning for all people.

As the title indicates, the book builds on a central metaphor of everyone being under observation as doubts build about Britain's ability to win the war. Those on the margins are most under pressure and at greatest risk.

I thought that the portrayal of Lieutenant Billy Prior was brilliant. He comes across as the kind of complex, interesting character that can help us learn a lot about Ms. Barker's messages for us. The eye metaphor is nicely developed in the context of Billy's life.

Brava, Ms. Barker!


I didn`t like the first one.., 31 Mar 2008
and i didn`t like this one either. Barker jumps about all over the place, making point after point - all adding up to nothing and leaving you wondering what the hell it`s all been about anyway.
Anyone....?

Very loose ends, 30 Apr 2005
Books you have enjoyed stick with you, while books you didn't like fade away. But just occasionally, a bad book niggles and irritates your subconscious, until you stumble across it on Amazon and get the chance to exorcise that demon.
I didn't like 'The Eye in the Door'.
After a fascinating opening, the book rapidly tails away. Barker is clearly a good writer and has a sure grip on the darker side of language, but it becomes clear that she has two misguided motives for writing this book.
The first is to tie up all the loose ends of the previous book and pave the way for the next one. If you haven't read the previous book, then very little of the plot will make sense. And by the end, you won't care to read the third volume.
Her second motive is to make several left-leaning political points about Britain in the early 20th Century. I agree with much of it, but political statements don't make literature and the British Empire is a big and easy target. If I want to read political tracts, I'll read ones that are relevant to my own century, and preferably ones that are not disguised as literary fiction.
Barker has also succumbed to that modern habit of inflating a book's importance by introducing famous characters from history, hoping some of their kudos will rub off. Siegfried Sassoon is used like a celebrity endorsement for the rest of the book. Given that he is largely irrelevant here, his inclusion seems just a little crass.
I won't give away the ending, largely because I can't remember how it ends. And nor will you.

Interesting, but not compelling, 28 May 2001
Fascinating historical facts (primarily about the hypocrisy of the English) are woven into a moderately interesting fictional story. But the treatment seems slightly lightweight somehow.

The book is rather dialogue-heavy, the prose stlye very un-showy (dare I say plain!) & there's not much interior reflection.

Barker's main interest is in her characters but they are not always strongly drawn. The relationship between Prior and Rivers, his therapist, is by far the most successful, and most deeply explored aspect of the book.

But in general, the personal struggles don't always meld convincingly with the particular historical background that Barker is interested in bringing to light. Some minor characters appear as ciphers for "issues" rather than fully drawn individuals in their own right.

Maybe I'm just spoiled by having recently re-read Michel Tournier's stunning and deeply profound, WW2 inspired 'The Ogre', besides which this seemed very insubstantial fare.

Oh dear, 10 Nov 2008
With a disjointed plot that feels like it's been padded out to fill the required number of pages, and gay fantasies and activities which only get in the way of the story, I was hugely disappointed with this novel.
Last Pat Barker I'll be reading.

Bored, 09 Jul 2008
Disliked the shifting point of view (3rd person Prior and Rivers and then first person Prior etc). Was this Rivers' or Prior's story? If it was both, it did neither justice. Didn't have me turning the page though of course I did know that Owen dies. Thought Barker heavy handed with symbolism and comparison of societies. Found too much emphasis on sordid sex which was very depressing as was most of the book. Needed some levity to contrast with all the doom. Perhaps would have helped if read first two books in trilogy but have no desire to now.

Raises Disturbing Questions about the Nature of Humanity, 28 May 2008
Please do not read The Ghost Road before reading Regeneration and The Eye in the Door (the order intended by the author). As brilliant as The Ghost Road is, its message will hit you harder if you have read the other books first and anticipated what Pat Barker's final vision of humanity would be.

Without revealing any spoilers, The Ghost Road is the most nuanced novel about war that I've ever read. Most war-related books take one of two basic themes: Either war is too awful to be tolerated and needs to be abolished . . . or human nobility is expressed within war, but war itself is an evil event with people being destroyed by incompetent leaders. You'll find a different message here, one implied by a combination of observations about a tribe of head hunters and by the behavior of Billy Prior, one of the primary characters in the three books. I leave it to you to find out what this nuanced message is . . . but I believe it will probably surprise and enlighten you.

By narrowing down the focus onto just two of the continuing characters of the trilogy, Dr. William Rivers and Lieutenant Billy Prior, The Ghost Road has an intensity and power that I didn't observe in the prior two books. Clearly, The Ghost Road is a step above those excellent novels.

I am often left wondering why books that win prestigious prizes (like the 1995 Booker Prize . . . awarded to The Ghost Road) did so. I have no doubt that this award was well earned.

Life can be an ironic event, punctuated by moments of sublime joy. I have seldom read a novel that captured those perspectives as well as The Ghost Road does.

Brava, Ms. Barker!

more war, 26 May 2008
Once again, a meaningful book by Barker. The relative meanings of death are examined through the experiences of Prior the raving bisexual at war and his psychiatrist in his previous life as an anthropologist amongst head hunters. Again, Barker offers us the questionable opportunity to read about gay sex, this time awaiting us late in the book, when we've finally got to grips with its meaning. This rather spoiled it for me. Sorry.

A good Introduction, 14 May 2008
I came across this book when it was recommended in my book group, noticed it was one of three books and picked up a copy of the trilogy which I read straight through. It is an extremely readable series of books in which the language flows very well and the story is all the more poignant for this.

It's very difficult to form one point of view about the first world war from these books. Initially I experienced sympathy for Sassoon's anti-war protest and shock upon reading about Captain River's other patients. The beauty of Pat Barker's writing is that she expresses very complex issues well - the futility of this war, the hopelessness of those caught up in it, protest, patriotism, heroism and self-discovery.

The Eye in the Door is a little odd in comparisson to the other two books in that Billy Prior's story becomes disconcerting to say the least.

Sassoon's and Prior's ultimate actions in going back to war are understood in the context of their compassion for others. The Ghost Road reaches an emotional and despairing conclusion but gives enrichment and hope from the detailed descriptions of Prior's last journey to the front line.

Captain River's story is also compelling and adds another complex dimension about imperialism.

Union Street , 10 Nov 2008
Shocking in its detail of what working class life was like for women in the 1970s - not so long ago and yet a world away. I was really moved by this book as it brought back memories of my own childhood which was all about poor women dealing with the pain of female existence and the violence and poverty of men who knew no better. I found this book haunting and the characters are still with me a week later.

Wonderfully readable, 12 Oct 2006
I took this on holiday and read it in a day. I thought all the characters were wonderfully constructed. The way Pat Barker makes each chapter separate but linked to the others is very well done.
I felt sort of sad at the end because the book had ended. Highly recommended!!

Beautiful, heartbreaking, yet strangely optimistic., 20 Feb 2006
I have to admit when I opened this book and read the first couple of pages, I was slightly taken aback by the crude tone and language used, and wondered if this novel was for me. However I perservered and within minutes I was completely absorbed. The book is incredibly easy to read, the characters are very well developed and you are quickly drawn into their world and made to sympathise with them.

The book contains the stories of 7 women all living on the same street in Northern England. It begins with the story of 11 year old Kelly, raped and traumatised, who struggles to deal with such an experience without much support. Then, chapter by chapter, it deals with the stories of 5 older women in the street, from about the ages of 20 up to 60, all dealing with various problems such as pregnancy, post natal depression, prostitution, the death of a husband, etc. Finally the book ends with the story of Alice, a stroke victim determined to end her life on her own terms without the interference of her uncaring son or a nursing home.

Whilst this might seem depressing, it actually manages to be quite uplifting. The harsh realistic imagery of the poverty and hardship present in the lives of these women is contrasted with the beauty of nature, the power of bonds between women, and the cyclical ongoing nature of life and love. The connection made between Kelly and Alice is particularly beautiful and heartrending.

It's also important to note that this isn't just a book for women - we read it on our university course and for a lot of the men, this was their favourite book of the module.

I had best say, though, that if you dislike hearing about the less glossy side of life, and are particularly sensitive, this may not be for you. Otherwise, definitely worth buying. Unreservedly 5 stars.

Rarely have characters endured such hopeless lives., 09 May 2001
Pat Barker describes three generations of Union Street dwellers, a bleak street of small, workers cottages, somewhere in the North East of England.

The stories that the seven principal characters have to tell, have the location and "life as a constant struggle" in common, but the overwhelming theme is the hopelessness of their lives, and yet in some characters, I saw an incredible desire to make the best of their circumstances. From the young girl living with her dark secret, to the workers at the local cake factory, the mother facing the shame of her daughter becoming pregnant, and ending with the courageous tale of the old matriach moving toward her own death, determined to die with dignity, demonstated so vividly by her struggle to regain the safety of her home having fallen heavily while trying to gather coal from the back yard.

I was truly enthralled with the characters, and lived every moment of their lives through the authors words. Quite siuperb.

Gritty and absorbing, 15 Mar 2001
It took me two brave tries to finish this book, and I'm not normally someone who does that. So here is a caveat for anyone who may react the same way I did: this novel shows Barker's power to shock has been, if anything, almost toned down with age. It begins with the rape of a 12 year old, and Barker doesn't let you off the hook later on (a backstreet abortion, childbirth and not the easy way either, a grisly yet touching death). If, like me, you're a rape victim, or plain squeamish, this disturbing book may not be for you. If you can cope, it is a powerful and disturbing portrayal of several women's lives in a vicious, poverty-stricken world: the despair, the ugliness, the violence. And yet astonishing strength and courage still come through; love and loyalty still exist, as far as they can in such a life.

For those of us with a far more privileged lifestyle, it too could have been named "Another World". Strangely beautiful through the harshness.

Absorbing study of human psychology, 09 Nov 2007
To what extent can a child can be held responsible for their actions? Can they change? Do they deserve a second chance?

Tom, a psychologist encounters Danny, who was his patient as a child and at whose trial he gave evidence. Although Danny has served his time, he is haunted by the past and by a crime he still hasn't come to terms with committing.
Tom has his own problems, and Danny fills a void as his marriage comes to an end. However whilst wanting to help, Tom's concerned that Danny may be manipulating him as he may have manipulated others in his life.

The events that make Danny feel hunted were conveyed well, showing how almost impossible it is to make a new start in our society. I also felt Tom's empathy with Danny was very realistic and honest. He recalls an event from his own childhood that he feels would have ended differently if it weren't for the intervention of an adult. Sometimes we're quick to condemn and forget what being a child was like, how sometimes children can get into situations they don't know how to get out of.

Rather than giving us all the answers in neat little story we're encouraged to come to our own conclusions which made for a more interesting read.


Disturbing but thought provoking, 28 Oct 2007
This was quite a tense, emotional read. A child murderer bares his soul to a psychologist - yet in the end we are left to draw our own conclusions as to Danny's true character and state of mind.

We first meet Danny as he attempts suicide in the lake near Tom Prescott's house. Tom, out walking with his wife, saves Danny from drowning. It seems they have met before, when Tom acted as an expert witness at the trial where 10yr old Danny was convicted of murdering 78yr old Lizzie Parkes. Danny has served his time and is now living under a new identity but he wants to understand his own motivations and prevails on Tom to let him talk through the events surrounding the murder. However, whenever discussions get close to the real event, Danny starts to show signs of cracking.

A very concise book, a mere 225 pages, I find myself wishing it were a little longer, with a little less left to our imagination.
I gave 4 stars because there were several times where I felt the writing lacked continuity.
Reminiscent of The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers and Healing Flynn by Juliette Mead.
An interesting book which I enjoyed more that Regeneration.

Very matter of fact, 16 Aug 2007
This was a great book to read and quite chilling but in a very calm manner. Tom Seymour unthinkily pulls a suicide victim out of the river; it turns out he is a child murderer who he gave evidence against. Danny Miller was 10 years old when he murdered Lizzy, a 78 year old who lived with her cats.

Tom is a child psychologist working in the north of England. He is increasingly unhappy about the evidence he gave at the trial and it's unclear whether Danny set up his suicide attempt in order to meet up again with Tom.

Although Danny is now out of prison he wants time with Tom, just to talk, not official sessions. He has a new name and a new identity but the past always has a way of coming back to haunt those involved.

Good writing, convincing characters and a chilling (but very real) plot.

Unusual, well-written, thought-provoking page-turner., 14 Jan 2006
Border Crossing deals with a very unusual subject, and I found the "talking heads" approach to the storyline very appealing. It's well-written but in a low-key way, and I kept wanting to know more. The subject matter is dark, but apart from a mild edginess throughout the novel the reading doesn't get dark or depressing.
It's the first novel by Pat Barker I've read but I very much doubt it'll be the last. I'm interested to see what other nooks and crannies of humanity she's probed with her talented pen.
Why not 5 stars? I think only because, although she writes well and evocatively, she doesn't use the type of poetic prose which most gets me going.

"Regeneration" revamped, 07 Feb 2004
When child psychologist Tom Seymour pulls a would-be suicide from a river, he recognises the young man as Danny Miller, the child whom Tom's assessment had helped imprison for the brutal murder of an old woman thirteen years ago. Now out of prison and supposedly starting a new life, Danny has hunted Tom down in the hope that he might be able to help him understand the killing. With his own life troubled and his marriage collapsing, Tom succumbs to the temptation to travel into Danny's past.

The problem is that what he finds there is not particularly riveting, and certainly not unusual enough to account for an act which society regards with horror as completely beyond the boundaries of “normality”. Unlike, say, Peter Shaffer’s “Equus”, when Danny finally remembers the murder there is little depth, no sense of climax, no sense of a mystery unravelled, not even much horror. The novel sets up the idea of a journey into the mind of an outcast, the child who kills, but never lives up to what it promises.

The second problem is the characterisation. Danny Miller is a pale reworking of Billy Prior, Barker’s brilliant creation in “Regeneration”, complete with Prior’s unpleasant father, manipulative charm and “wintry smile”, but nowhere near as interesting (especially once you recognise him as Prior). Tom isn’t even a shadow of “Regeneration”’s Dr Rivers, and there is even less substance to the supporting cast, his wife, his colleagues, and the people whose lives Danny has passed through. Although there are hints that there will be trouble between Tom and Danny, since Danny seems to blame Tom for his imprisonment and is renowned for getting people who deal with him to “cross the invisible line”, the relationship barely develops, again being a lack-lustre echo of the intense but still professional relationship between Rivers and Prior.

Barker is capable of extraordinary writing, as evidenced in her superb “Regeneration” trilogy, a remarkable exploration of people who kill and what it does to their psyches. It’s a pity that she seems to have been rewriting it ever since.

life class , 21 Nov 2008
Pat Barkers refreshing writing puts you deep into the characters from the start. Its not in the same field as Ghost but i still really enjoyed the easy style and great story.

art of war and war of art, 02 Nov 2008
'They'd been drawing for over half an hour. There was no sound except for the skimming of pencils on Michallet paper or the barely perceptible squeak of charcoal.'

Barker is masterly at evoking time and place and here she moves from the life class at the Slade to the life class of WW1. The characters in the novel are of different social classes and this impacts their approach to art and the role they take in the conflict.

It's also a love story - of star crossed lovers whose lives become very different because of the war. One character does become an artist but is not commercially successful, one becomes a satellite of the Boomsbury group. The tone is essentially melancholic - dashed ambitions and couples in bed making love but we know they won't be living happily ever after.

Also disappointed, 10 Oct 2008
As a big fan of Pat Barker's previous work - especially the excellent Regeneration trilogy - I too was attracted to this book because of the return to the ground of former glories. So it was with keen anticipation that I bought it.

What a disappointment. The book completely failed to engage in the manner of Regeneration, which had me hooked from page 1, line 1.
The overriding emotion at the end of this was "So what?"
The examination of the relevance of art in wartime was unsatisfying and skin deep - my impression was that Barker does not know enough about the subject to get properly to grips with it. And an odd choice for one of the central themes.

The characters were anaemic. She seems to have lost that surefootedness when dealing with male characters - one recalls Billy Prior and Rivers - for Tarrant, Neville and Lewis just don't convince or happen. What is Lewis there for? He is cardboard cutout man.

And the correspondence between Elinor and Tarrant meandered along without getting anywhere. It was almost as if she could not bear the idea of them falling out.

This book could have taken so many other more satisfying routes. I found I did not care that much about anyone.
Sorry Pat - not in the same league as your previous WW1 work.

Thank you, Pat Barker, 21 Sep 2008
I really enjoyed this book. Pat Barker knows her period well, but she never lets the weight of her research overpower the writing. This reader was drawn in from the first page (I'd put her in the Deborah Moggach class for the ability to hook the reader and make you really care about the characters and want to know what happens to them). Kit Neville is a bit of a cipher, but Paul Tarrant and Elinor are wholly rounded, alive and memorable. There were times when I had to put the book down for a while, so vivid and hard to bear was the pain. And yet, in the end, it's a story of love -- especially love of life -- and determination. The ending is perfect.

A different look at WW1 from the Regeneration author, 21 Sep 2008
I am a big Pat Barker fan, having relished the Regeneration trilogy of books about the treatment of survivors of the horrors of the trenches, and I also enjoyed this novel which gives a different take on the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of the people who worked behind the front lines in the casualty clearing stations. It is not as well rounded as The Ghost Road or The Eye in the Door, but it still makes the reader reflect on the debate about art and life. Paul Tarrant's struggle with what to paint in the war is described by Barker and a look at Henry Tonk's paintings shows you two very different types of subject. The book is split into two halves and it was the second that captured my imagination most strongly, where Paul goes behind the front lines as an ambulance driver. There are some powerfully written vignettes of bombing raids and its effects on men and horses and the passage where Paul himself is injured is tremendously well conveyed. All in all I would recommend this book if you are interested in reading about WW1 and its effects on people's lives.

A Future Classic, 25 Nov 2008
Regeneration is an astounding work of fiction, centred around the relationship between Siegfried Sassoon and his psychiatrist. Sassoon was a real-life World War 1 Officer and poet who spent some time in an institution (alongside Wilfred Owen) for speaking out against the way the war was conducted in its later stages.

Barker writes simply and authoritatively, creating vivid, vulnerable but strong characters that will stay with you long after you've put this book down. Her knowledge of the early twentieth century is profound and her ability to place the reader there seems almost effortless.

This book is not for the fainthearted, it's true; however Barker does not dwell on the horrors of war in a gratuitous fashion - she takes us on a journey with ordinary men who are trying to deal with horrifically extraordinary memories. That journey is intimate, and it is not easy. That's not to say that this is a political work, however it is clear that the mental aftermath of war is destroying and (still) not recognised often enough. If Barker's has any message with this book, it is that. This message, coupled with some of the most engaging characters and beautifully written dialogue I've ever come across, means that this book certainly earns a place as one of my favourite fictional works ever.

WW1 pyschological story, 16 Nov 2008
An interesting,introverted book,based on Dr Rivers study of some of his more famous clients.It's wonderfully written,and Barkers characters ooze,a moody,intellectual,introverted mind set.The tone of the book has a nice sepia,style to it,and the sadness of war and pointless death is always there.This is a book for people who like the physchological side of WW1 and all of it's dilemmas,rather than the actual gun fight in the trenches.Barker concentrates on understatement and introspection to bring the book,and it's characters to life.This will become a "classic" of it's genre in the fullness of time

grim tale of split personality, 21 May 2008
This sequel to Regeneration starts with a sordid homosexual encounter. I found that I almost stopped reading the book. Having said that, I'm glad that I didn't, as the book does - eventually - move towards a meaningful denouement. This is care of the character Billy Prior, one of the shell-shock patients from the previous book. This book's themes are important, including sexual tolerance, uniformity and the nature of both mental illness and psychiatry. Like its predecessor, the book is thought-provoking.

Healthy and Unhealthy Mind Dualities Driven by War Tragedies and Paranoia, 29 Apr 2008

If you haven't read Regeneration, you are making a big mistake if you read The Eye in the Door before Regeneration. Regeneration sets the stage for The Eye in the Door and provides much background information that you need to appreciate this book.

Those who liked the first book in the Regeneration trilogy, Regeneration, will absolutely adore The Eye in the Door. The characters from Regeneration return, and you have a chance to find out the consequences of the treatments they received from Dr. William Rivers in Regeneration. Pat Barker builds on the tensions, damage, doubts, and despair of mid-World War I to show how much more desperate matters were for the British by the spring of 1918.

In developing these themes, Pat Barker does a masterful job of explaining how a soldier has to operate both by emotion and by objective distance in order to function. From there, she helps us use the crucible of war to see how that duality is important to everyday functioning for all people.

As the title indicates, the book builds on a central metaphor of everyone being under observation as doubts build about Britain's ability to win the war. Those on the margins are most under pressure and at greatest risk.

I thought that the portrayal of Lieutenant Billy Prior was brilliant. He comes across as the kind of complex, interesting character that can help us learn a lot about Ms. Barker's messages for us. The eye metaphor is nicely developed in the context of Billy's life.

Brava, Ms. Barker!


I didn`t like the first one.., 31 Mar 2008
and i didn`t like this one either. Barker jumps about all over the place, making point after point - all adding up to nothing and leaving you wondering what the hell it`s all been about anyway.
Anyone....?

Very loose ends, 30 Apr 2005
Books you have enjoyed stick with you, while books you didn't like fade away. But just occasionally, a bad book niggles and irritates your subconscious, until you stumble across it on Amazon and get the chance to exorcise that demon.
I didn't like 'The Eye in the Door'.
After a fascinating opening, the book rapidly tails away. Barker is clearly a good writer and has a sure grip on the darker side of language, but it becomes clear that she has two misguided motives for writing this book.
The first is to tie up all the loose ends of the previous book and pave the way for the next one. If you haven't read the previous book, then very little of the plot will make sense. And by the end, you won't care to read the third volume.
Her second motive is to make several left-leaning political points about Britain in the early 20th Century. I agree with much of it, but political statements don't make literature and the British Empire is a big and easy target. If I want to read political tracts, I'll read ones that are relevant to my own century, and preferably ones that are not disguised as literary fiction.
Barker has also succumbed to that modern habit of inflating a book's importance by introducing famous characters from history, hoping some of their kudos will rub off. Siegfried Sassoon is used like a celebrity endorsement for the rest of the book. Given that he is largely irrelevant here, his inclusion seems just a little crass.
I won't give away the ending, largely because I can't remember how it ends. And nor will you.

Interesting, but not compelling, 28 May 2001
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