Rating: 
Summary: You must speak
Review: "You must speak, but I shall not listen to anything you say."A Doctor who is engaged in helping a World War I Soldier to regain his speech makes this statement. For anyone who has read of this war, you may agree it was a particularly gruesome event, abetted by the latest in weaponry. This Doctor who is supposed to heal, has the medical ethics of a Mengele. "Regeneration" by Pat Barker is the first of three acts, that examine War, its advocates, the objectors, and groups that society continues to marginalize to this day. This book is a brutal assault; it offers no respite, no quarter to the reader. Some have compared her writing of War to Hemingway, a comparison to Erich Maria Remarque may startle some, but this woman's grasp of the war is remarkable. All three parts of the trilogy were honored with awards, the final volume with The Booker Prize. Many of the players, locations, and events in this work actually exist or transpired. Part of the intensity of the writing derives from the impact only true history can make. The balance of the impact is due to Ms. Barker, and her skill of creating the sense of an epic in a scant 250+pages. There are no innocents in this book; guilt is another emotional commodity that prevails. I don't know that philosophically a pro war book could be credible. Such a book could be written, and few will argue that conflict at times is inevitable, if only because it is part of our nature. What Pat Barker does is to bring back the horror of war without sanitizing or sensationalizing the events. We no longer fight wars like the one that brought us Versailles. The barbaric behavior continues, but the exposure it gets to the public is measured. Death in combat has not changed. However if CNN were in the trenches I believe World War I would have been shortened. The infrared bombing that is more akin to a video game when watched does not have the impact of a soldier removing pieces of a friend from his gasmask. Ms. Barker also writes about a variety of other social events/practices that are as contentious today as nearly a century ago. She examines the need for scapegoats when the truth is unpleasant. This ranges in her work from a German bred dog that is disemboweled for sport, to the issue of those who object to serve, and those that do, but under the double life of what we have named, don't ask and don't tell. I have nearly completed the second volume, "The Eye In The Door", and I can say without hesitation, that if the discussion or graphic description of the subjects I have mentioned are not what you choose to read, pass these works by. If you can put her writing into context, and read through pages that will make some readers very uncomfortable, this is a phenomenal written work. I use the word uncomfortable not as a judgment on topics, individual's choices, or reader's personal views, rather only as an adjective that may apply to how some may feel. I don't know how these grounds can be covered without discomfort. The writer chooses the degree to which detail is used. Whether it is appropriate or not, is an individual decision.
Rating:
Summary: Regeneration/The Eye in the Door--Giving credit to Prior
Review: "Well, all I can say is I'd rather talk to a real person than a strip of empathetic wallpaper." These are the sarcastic and somehow desperate words of second-lieutenant Billy Prior, one of William Rivers' most difficult yet most enigmatic and ever-so inspiring patients. Prior becomes somewhat of an adopted project for Rivers throughout this novel and the following one. Unlike many patients, this confused, defiant, precarious, shell-shocked soldier progresses, with the help of his supporter, to overcome his memory loss and fears, while simultaneously forcing Rivers(his psychiatrist) to introspectively examine his own fears and insecurities; something Rivers hadn't been forced to do in the past. Many readers would assert that Regeneration is centered around the relationship between Rivers and Sassoon. On the surface this may seem a valid or correct assumption. However, lurking in the depths of the story we find the relationship between Rivers and Prior to be great deal more personal, revealing, and significant. It is the foundation to the entire trilogy. Sassoon is simply a construct within the story, whereas Prior, along with his relationships with Rivers and Sarah, is in essence "the story". Where Sassoon is portrayed as the solid and perpetual character, Prior is completely the opposite. He is this tangible character whom in we find parallels with ourselves and our own apprehensions and fears. And we become compassionately attracted to his unpredictability, his quick wit, and the struggles he so badly would like to overcome. We can probably attribute the remarkability of his character to the fact that he is one of the few fictional ones that Barker can independently manipulate at her own leisure. Let's not overlook the fact that Prior is a valuable entity to Regeneration and the novels following.
Rating:
Summary: Important central issues are discussed more than adequately!
Review: 'Regeneration' establishes its setting, atmosphere and characters from an early stage, providing a platform upon which the central concerns of the novel can be discussed effectively, and Pat Barker is certainly successful in performing this task. At the very beginning she introduces the controversial theme of the purpose of war, in the form of Siegfried Sassoon's Declaration. This is one of the major central concerns which can be traced throughout the novel. Sassoon believes that enough has been done for negotiations to commence and sees further fighting as a waste. Barker's technique of varying the viewpoint from which the reader sees issues through the use of contrasting characters contributes to the novel's success. For example, Sassoon believes his declaration to be credible whereas the Board see him as 'shell-shocked'. Barker soon changes her emphasis from the purpose of the war to its effects. The mental effects on soldiers is the other key concern of the novel, from which stem numerous other issues. It is treated extremely seriously. Barker tackles the issue of war neurosis extremely efficiently by portraying horrific events and emotions. The terrible detail in which she goes into is the key way in which she successfully lays down the aims of the novel. She uses a number of characters, each having been exposed to different circumstances and suffering, in contrasting ways. This highlights the extent of the issue, and also divides the reader's emotions. Pat Barker introduces numerous issues in 'Regeneration' which provoke the reader to consider their own opinions and to become emotionally involved. These issues are then built upon as the novel progresses. A very interesting book! That is what I thought about it. I would be interested to hear your views!
Rating: 
Summary: Absurdly Overrated Fluff
Review: Absurdly overrated, and I am wondering what kind of bigwig muckety-muck connections Ms. Barker has in the publishing industry which allows for such mediocre material to receive such propagandistic hooplah.
It is written adequately enough for a psychological novel, sure; however, as a chronicle of WAR it fails miserably: there is precious little of the dirt and grit of war, just a lot of fluff from someone who has obviously never experienced it first hand. Barker should stick to something she knows, something she's actually experienced. She gives the reader so little concrete detail here: One or two pages of "Homage to Catalonia" by Orwell, or "A Farewell to Arms" by Hemingway, are worth far more than this entire light-weight book in providing the reader with a real glimpse into war and a soldier's thoughts.
Rating: 
Summary: Leaves you eager to read the next two books in the trilogy.
Review: After seeing a preview of the film version of this novel, I picked up a copy and began to read. While the story is insular--almost claustrophic--in its setting, it is nevertheless gripping. The characters, especially Dr. Rivers, are sympathetic. I'm disappointed to hear that the two succeeding novels are of lesser quality!
Rating:
Summary: Catch-22 upended. The crazy are cured and returned to war.
Review: An accutely precise mix of historical and fictional characters illuminate the tragedy of WWI. Dr. Wm. Rivers cures the shell-shocked and returns them to the insanity of the Western Front, changing himself and the reader as well. Also see "The Face Of Battle" by John Keegan!
Rating:
Summary: A monstrous journey through the insanity of War.
Review: As a combat veteran, it is rare that a written page will haunt me so. Pat Barker's "Regeneration"(the entire trilogy for that matter)does just that. Not since reading "Johnny Got His Gun" had I been thrust once again so vividly--into the horrors of war. As in war, the only redemptive aspects of Barker's book, lie in the complex and profound interaction of it's characters. As bravery and insanity abound; horror and tenderness will confront you all at once. A must read for those who wish to be sickened and inspired simultaneously. A truly extraordinary and insightful work.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent writing, best if you read all three.
Review: As a stand-alone novel it's good. As book one in a trilogy, it's excellent. You meet the main characters in Regeneration. You learn their secrets in The Eye in the Door. You share their pain in The Ghost Road. It's a very different--and often haunting--look at World War I through its soldiers and their horrors. But it's Barker's writing that makes this trio a "10." There is history, fiction, philosophy, psychiatry, even sex and gore; but all part of the story, none of it gratuitous. She does not clutter her prose with tedious descriptions, yet every picture is crystal clear. She tells you things you don't want to know, through three books you won't want to put down.
Rating:
Summary: A good time to read a good -- though troubling -- book.
Review: Barker explores the inner dimensions of World War I -- its effects on soldiers and those who care for them, both physically, psychologically and emotionally, in all senses of the word "care." In these times (fall 2001) when the US is heading towards who-knows-what kinds of upheavals, this sensitive portrait of what was supposed to be "the war to end all wars" is an important addition to our understanding.
Rating:
Summary: Quite brilliant, but not personally moving
Review: Barker's novel is a most impressive anti-war novel, wonderfully written and meticulously accurate in its characters' psychoanalysis. I occasionally had some trouble enagaing with the story, but that is most likely a result of my personal preferences (and non-preferences). I lean more toward plot driven tales, but this should delight anyone who prefer character driven fiction.
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