Plume), Regeneration (Contemporary Fiction

After the disappointment of Barker's _Life Class_, I was reluctant to read _Regeneration_. At the urging of a colleague, I gave the book a try. Based on the real-life institutionalization of poet Sigfried Sassoon (he was considered insane for speaking out against the senseless slaughter of his generation on the Western Front) and his psychiatrist, W.H.R. Rivers, Barker does a solid of job of mixing fact with fiction. She did this with _Life Class_ as well, bu here the characters were much more sympathetic.

Sassoon is really the foil used to show the cost of war on Rivers. After all, it is Rivers' job to take the psychologically broken men, "fix" their minds, and send them back to the front. Unlike his colleagues who cut and amputate, soldiers for whom the war is over, Rivers must face the fact that for many of his patients, the war will continue - both in a psychological and in a real sense.

I was most struck by the fact that gradually Rivers himself began to manifest symptoms of battle fatigue - not from a sense of helplessness in the face or mortal danger, but from a crisis of the soul. Ostensibly his job is to heal; instead, he was merely repairing broken soldiers before returning them to the environment that had broken them in the first place.

Another, more subtle message was also apparent, one I felt was appropriate for our own time, as we refuse to show caskets of returning soldiers and the American public politely looks away from the broken youth of our own war on foreign shores. The bitterness, sense of betrayal and accusatory tone Barker writes of these institutionalized soldiers is a reckoning I believe we will soon have to face. As Barker put it, "If the country demanded that price then it should bloody well look at the result." I cannot agree more.

"Regeneration" is best read as part of the so-called "Regeneration Trilogy," of which it is the first book. (The other two, in order, are "The Eye in the Door" and "The Ghost Road.") This way, you will be able to follow the main characters: Dr. W.H.R. Rivers, Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and Billy Prior (all but the last are historical figures) through all three books. In particular, you'll be able to appreciate the ways in which Barker develops the complex character of Rivers, the psychologist who treats soldiers who have suffered breakdowns and who, before the war, had done fieldwork in Melanesia, studying the cultural practices of a tribe of headhunters. "Regeneration" is set in Craiglockhart, the psychiatric hospital where Rivers treats Sassoon and Prior. "The Eye in the Door," mostly set in London, focuses on the social and economic conditions of British society in the war years, while "The Ghost Road" shifts among three settings: London, the battlefields in France, and Melanesia. As one reads through the trilogy, characters appear and disappear, but the figures of Rivers and Prior are central---and often antagonistic. I particularly admire the way Barker uses different techniques to illuminate complexity of character and thought, as when, in "The Ghost Road," Prior begins to write in a field diary (which he does not do in the first two novels). Some readers of "Regeneration" have compared Barker to Hemingway, but I don't think so. His technique is spare, but she works like a painter with a large canvas, one who paints panoramas of historic events. Thus, some parts of the canvas are minutely detailed, while others are merely brushed in. The effect, taken as a whole, is stunning and, by the end of "The Ghost Road," will reduce you to silence, the way a great painting does.

Regeneration by Pat Barker offers a unique, interesting perspective of World War I through the lives of Sassoon, who protests the atrocities and sufferings of the war, Dr. Rivers, who struggles to discover effective treatments for the mentally unstable soldiers under his care, the patients, and a group of young women who have found a new form of independence through the conflict. The author poses many thought-provoking questions revolving around the meaning of sanity and the morality of war that she leaves open to the reader to form opinions. She also reveals many hidden perspectives during the war, showing its brutality through the unstable patients, as well as its positive effects in the new freedoms of the women who started working in the munitions factories.

This novel also contributed to the AP World theme of the Development and Interaction of Cultures through its depiction of the advancements of psychiatric methods in response to trauma and mental damage of soldiers. It shows the uncertain and experimental nature of mental treatments such as discussion and electro-shock therapy. This demonstrates the doubts and developments of psychology and psychiatry that resulted from World War I. The novel also addresses the theme of Development and Transformation of Social Structures with its focus on the new freedoms the war provided for women. Jobs at munition factories offered women an escape from home life and an alternative to marriage with the chance to become self-sufficient. Overall, I would recommend the book to others because of its open questions, unique viewpoint, and interesting themes.

In Regeneration, Pat Barker fictionalises an encounter between H. R. Rivers and Siegfrid Sasson in a military psychological hospital. In Craiglockhart, near Edinburgh, there are numerous war wounded, whose experiences in the Flanders trenches of the First World War have left them psychologically, as well as sometimes physically scarred. The symptoms are many and varied. In Sassoon's case it is possible that the motivation might even be political, rather than psychological.

Rivers attempts to analyse his patients and his own responses to them. He is of the modern school, unlikely to resort to the blunt-edged methods of some of his contemporaries. Description of some of these established treatments read very much like torture. They were, after all, in the cases described, trying to make someone talk. How appropriate.

But Rivers is unimpressed and he pursues his own line. Along the way, he also develops new, ground-breaking treatments of his own invention.

Sassoon befriends a young man called Owen, whom he encourages to write. Another friend called Graves visits whenever he can. Together, Sassoon and Owen work on some of Owen's writing. The results, they both agree, are improvements.

The power of Regeneration is the relation between its overall idea and its setting. It presents the creative process as a reflection on experience and sets this in an institution where formal reflection on experience is a treatment. Eventually, it is not just the individual patient who benefits from the cathartic process of reflection, but also the analyst and, ultimately, all of us when the relief takes the form of great poetry.

This book is a tremendous and subtle work of art. The story revolves around the hositalization of poet, Siegfried Sassoon, for shell shock during World War I. He is being treated by Dr. Rivers, psychiatrist and anthropologist. The conversations, memories, and internal dialogues of these two men make up much of the book. How does an intelligent and refletive man come to try to give meaning to a meaningless and pointless catastrophy such as World War I. This is Sassoon's dilemna. He is against the war, not as a religious objector or a pacifist, but because he has come to see it as meaningless, pointless, horror imposed on the youth of Europe by an arrogant, stubborn, ruling class. Sassoon struggles during his hospitalization with the grief of losing young friends to the war, the frustration and irony of knowing that the excessive killing was pointless, and that he must find meaning in his sacrifice if he is to return to the front lines. Dr. Rivers is in a similar situation. He must assist men who have had a nervous breakdown compensate just enought to be returned to the front lines where they will no doubt be cannon fodder. He heals so that the sacrifice may continue.

The ethical and historic issues abound in this beautifully written novel. Whereas Joseph Heller in Catch 22 plays on the dark humor of the absurdities of war; Barker does not go for the sarcastic humor of the hanged. Rather, she takes a much more existentialist approach, of exploring how we try to create meaning to survive pointless and disasterous situations. I was reminded of Edith Stein, Ph.D., the phenomenologist philospher who became a Dutch nun but was then gased by the Nazis. While being transported by train across Germany to the gas chambers she tried to make sense of her senseless situation. She decided that she would offer herself up to God as the sacrificial lamb so that he might end the insanity and destruction of World War II. You will see that Sassoon stuggles with a similar situation, how to return to an absurdly deadly war with a sense of meaning, even if that meaning has to be forged out of our own soul and exists only for ourself.

We have in James Hillman's memorable phrase, 'a terrible love of war'. Living dangerously, at the edge, imminent distaster and probable annihilation excite the deeper drives. Baker's study of hospital records from the first World War (documents few of us would pause to access) have been recast as a fiction that sears all the more for its restraint of rhetorical flourish. Her avoidance of any hysterical note provides the appropriate tone for the accumulated horrors to seep in. By using her protaganist, the voice of novelist Siegfried Sassoon, she can shift her authorial tone to permit Sassoon and fellow 'inmate' Wilfred Owen, to rage poetically against the war's tragic outcomes. However, it's the dilemna of the psychologist, Rivers, treating them, that provides access to the less conspicuous, if no less dramatic consequences of the violence. It is his unenviable task to cure and deliver minds and bodies of young cannon fodder back to the trenches. This is a terrific book, and as we deal now with young veterans returning from their tours of duty be it Baghdad or elsewhere,and encounter the dysfunction from experiencing excessive violence, brutality and injustice, the text of this book should provide some understanding of their stress. Read to the accompaniment of The Pogues awesome take on Eric Bogle's,'And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda' from ,'Rum, Sodomy and the Lash', in turn attributed to that ace warmonger of both catastrophes, old Winston.

In 1917, Siegfried Sassoon threw his Military Cross into the Mersey River and published his "Soldier's Declaration" against the conduct of the war in France. Being a gentleman and an officer, Sassoon, instead of being clapped in irons, was sent to Craiglockhart Military Hospital, where he became the charge of Captain William Rivers, an anthropologist-turned-psychiatrist whose job it was to "cure" shell-shocked officers so that they could go back to the front lines.
This much is historical truth. Although that's a good place to start, the true achievement of Pat Barker's excellent "Regeneration" is the manner in which she invests these historical personages with vivid life and engaging personalities; particularly engaging is the evolution of the relationship between Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, who thanks in part to Sassoon's mentoring became perhaps the greatest of the war poets.
There are more stories in "Regeneration" than just that of Sassoon, however; Prior, who becomes mute after picking a human eye out of the ruins of a trench, or Burns, who can't eat after having inadvertently ingested human flesh in the trenches. Rivers, the center of Barker's trilogy, is also the common bond with these casualties of war. A profoundly humane man faced with the task of making war-shattered men whole enough to face the Front again, Rivers finds himself in a moral dilemma as deep and complex as Sassoon's- the constant need for experienced, "sane" soldiers who can withstand the pressure of the war, weighed against his recognition that their insanity is the logical response to the horror that was World War I.

Pat Barker's magnificent trilogy is not only a profound contribution to our literature on the First World War - it is also one of the most distinguished works of contemporary fiction in any genre. Barker doesn't skirt around the central issues with a po-faced patriotic reverence, but rather tackles them head on: the agonizing contradictions of patriotism and protest; the politics of social and self-surveillance; the homoerotic undertones of trench camaraderie, especially among the war poets; the horrendous physical and psychological costs of war; and the sense of personal duty which drives us, nonetheless, to fight. These are big themes, but Barker's talent is to handle them in a way which makes her novels feel like an easy read. They are accessible, engaging, seemingly simplistic in their style - but in the end profoundly moving in a way which only the highest literature aspires to be. The trick is that she makes her characters so real for us - Prior and Rivers, the consistent protagonists, are completely human. She makes us experience a world-historical incident on a very human scale. Harrowing, intelligent, moving and funny, Barker has crafted a fictional epic that will stay with you forever. Walking through Sydney's Central railway station months after finishing these books, I came across the honour boards listing the hundreds of railway men and women who died in the Great War. Barker's books made the war real for me, made these lives - these deaths - real. If they do nothing more than that for you, they've succeeded.

In "Regeneration" Pat Barker describes the psychological consequences of war, for both the soldiers and the doctors meant to help "cure" them. One of the strengths of the book was Pat Barker's ability to make every character as realistic and human as possible. None of the characters were simplified, as in many other books, to help the reader decide who they like or agree with. The characters are continually evolving and changing their views and values, as real people do. I must admit that at first I didn't like that I couldn't mold the characters to fit how I wanted them to be. For example, when I read that Sassoon was being sent to a mental hospital to be cured of his anti-war thoughts, I wanted his doctor (Dr. Rivers) to be mean and not at all understanding. This however would have made the book much easier and much less interesting had it been as simple as that. Looking back, one of my favorite aspects of the book was Dr. Rivers' doubt in not only himself, but his psychological techniques and views on the war as well. With the authority of the book, Dr. Rivers, questioning his own sanity and his justification for his work (sending the soldiers back to war), the book takes on a completely new level of meaning, quite an eerie one as well. Now one realizes how completely alone, misunderstood and mistreated the soldiers are.

Pat Barker's REGENERATION trilogy is a fascinating set of books. Barker follows some key British characters during WWI, and she vividly portrays the war's effect on them. In the first of the three novels, poet Siegfried Sassoon arrives at a mental hospital for British officers because he has formally objected to the war, and his friend has him committed for treatment rather than face execution for treason.

(Let me just add here, that, if I am ever sent to a Nut Hut, I hope it's like this one: these guys enjoy fine dining and afternoon golf, and they have access to top shelf alcoholic beverages. Huzzah!)

But the pivotol issue is the role of the psychiatrist who handles Sassoon's case: his responsibility is to "cure" the emotionally and mentally damaged victims of war so that they may be well enough to return to the battlefield, which he wrestles with morally. Sassoon intelligence and integrity force the doctor to face the uncomfortable fact Britain's sons are being fed into a voracious, mindless war machine, which is supported not least of all by good people trying to do the right thing.

This is a trilogy, but don't dip into the middle and try to catch up later. You have to read these books in order.

"Rivers' analysis of Sassoon's attitude towards the War shows Rivers the futility of Sassoon's protest. By refusing to participate in the War, Sassoon is not only breaking the oath he took when he entered the service, but because he is not serving, he is similar to the leaders and generals prolonging the War from afar."

Although Sassoon is technically breaking the oath he took when he entered the service by refusing to serve, this by no means places him parallel to the leaders and generals prolonging the war from afar. Unlike those war officers, Sassoon feels an immense emotional connection to his men, which is a main driving force in his refusal to serve in the war any longer in the first place. The oath that Sassoon has vowed to his men, therefore, a promise to protect them and to make sure they are safe, does not break during the novel because he is hoping to save their lives through his protest. Causing Rivers, an extremely intelligent psychologist, to question the motives and direction of the war as well, Sassoon demonstrates his ability to cause those of authority to question the morality of the war as well. In causing Rivers to question the reasons of the war effort, Sassoon provides the reader with concrete proof that his struggle is not futile.

Sassoon is steadfast in his desire to return the front, being described as almost ecstatic to be returning to his men at the end of the novel. Even though Sassoon's protest does not cause the war to end, he is still able to raise serious doubts about the sincerity of the war in Rivers' mind and is able to return to his men and resume fulfilling the physical aspect of his oath by protecting his men from bodily harm.

Having read the entire trilogy fairly recently, I find it hard to distinguish between the first book alone and the complete work. However, Regeneration itself does stick out by being the most well-researched and well-informed of the three. I presume that many people have heard about Sassoon's 1917 public objection to the way the war was being waged, which caused him to be put under the supervision of Dr. Rivers - but I had not before reading this novel.
The incident was so fascinating that I have since read further about Sassoon, Rivers and the war experience for those who suffered from neurasthenia - all of which reading has confirmed what I initially suspected, that Barker's novel, as well as being exceptionally well-written, insightful and moving, is also extremely true to events and situations. For the benefit of the "novel"-reading world, a fictional "hero" is added, whose life continues in tandem with Wilfred Owen's into the next two books; yet even he, Billy Prior, is more a composition deriving from real soldiers' experiences than the imagination.
Not to say that Barker does not apply her creativity to the full - in her descriptive style, and in stringing together of the various lives she is describing. She has insight into character which is both moving and important - it reminds us that beyond the cliches of tragedy lay a very human, normal and mostly dull war, whose effects were nevertheless all-encompassing and disruptive.

Having just finished Paul Fussell's "cultural essay" on WWI called "The Great War and Modern Memory", I found myself compelled to read this fictionalized account of one of the main figures in Fussell's book, Siegfried Sassoon.
The historical background helped me enjoy this book tremendously, but it shouldn't take anyone long to be drawn into this compelling story about a doctor who is trying to "help" shell-shock victims recover so they can be sent back to the front. The characters are rich, the dialog is sharp, and the plot is riveting. Even the pacing, which I was afraid would drag at times, was excellent. Interestingly, the Sassoon story is only a thread that goes through the book; Barker populates the book with several touching stories and characters, some who become more important to the reader than Sassoon.
I dare you to read this book and not come away with a deeper compassion and sympathy for the soldiers of WWI.

Fascinating insight into the motivation and psychology of Siegfried Sassoon, the poet and WW1 war hero who demanded an end to the war, even though he returned to the front after being hospitalized. This book is an even more valuable portrayal of the trauma suffered by many soldiers in that war. Once they returned home, they faced often benighted or even cruel attempts to heal them or, worse, a public and medical establishment that often denied that their psychological injuries were real. Too often they were hidden them away where they could be neglected and forgotten. Given the problems of returning veterans now, this story is prophetic.

"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.

That a historical novel came across as readable as it did was surprise enough for me, but after completing the reading of Regeneration, I respected it purely as a piece of literature, period.

Barker's roving plotlines, sometimes switched by the mere presence of a new character in a scene, were weaved together in a way that lent believability and drama to what was surely an excellent combination of history and fiction. Though I found some of Barker's dialogue hard to follow and the characters (with the exception of Sassoon, Owen and Rivers, who the reader obviously identifies most with) names a little difficult to keep straight, they nonetheless worked well enough to create a foundation for some superb storytelling.

The strict Freudian psycho-analysis present throughout the book got on my nerves at times. The sexual layers that the characters constantly talked about didn't come across to me in any of the dream sequences where they were supposedly abundant. I did however like the ambiguity of certain characters sexual orientation, as well as Rivers' self-analysis sessions, which gave you a deep look into his character.

The shaping and wordplay of the novel itself was also excellent, with some beautiful descriptions and a variety of useful and telling metaphors and similes. Barker was well deserving of the Booker Prize, without a doubt. I would happily recommend her work to anyone.

By Mollie

I thought this book was really good. I got attached to the characters and I wanted to read more about them and what happened to them!

I thought that Dr. Rivers was an especially interesting character, and it was my favorite part of the book, reading about all of his changes. As we discussed in class today, the book is about Seigfried Sassoon but you can observe monumental changes in Rivers. As he tries to rehabilitate his patients, he learns things from them and through them, changes himself.

I also liked that pat barker brought up the subject of bonds between men during the war, and all the men that realized that war wasn't really a manly experience, they actually ended up gaining more feminine qualities, nurturing and taking care of each other, and the other psychological effects of the war that you wouldn't normally think about.

I definitely recommend this book and I want to read the rest of the trilogy.

By Mollie Little

In the first book of Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy, the reader is introduced into the psychological consequences of trench fighting during World War. Officers suffering from variations of the controversial shell shock syndrome were commissioned by the British Army to be treated at Craiglockhart, a military hospital outside Edinburgh, with the intention of healing them and sending them back to the front in France. REGENERATION follows a group of officers treated at Craiglockhart as they deal with the horrific events they have witnessed. There is no doubt that what these soldiers experience can disturb even the most strong-minded individual today. The principle psychiatrist is Dr. Rivers, who suffered from his own personal demons and war symptoms. He created strong friendships with many of his patients and cared dearly for their well being. Rivers is a complex, nuanced character. While he portrays an exterior of believing in the War, he holds an internal debate of the War's philosophical warrants.
It was a pure enjoyment to read about WW1, an often forgotten war in the literary world in my own opinion. I was previously unaware to the full extent of the shock and revulsion of trench fighting that the soldiers had to endure. It seems virtually impossible to leave that situation psychologically untouched. REGENERATION contains many horrific scenes that remain with the reader long after the book is put down. Another intriguing aspect of this book concerns the fact that it is a mixture of fact and fiction. Characters such as Siegfried Sassoon and Dr. Rivers existed in real life, although Barker did perform some literary liberties in writing this book. REGENERATION is a book that was difficult to put down. The unique plot grabbed me and held my attention. Although there were many scenes of graphic violence I felt it was an integral part of the plot. It enabled the reader to get a glimpse of what these soldiers endured in the trenches. A well done accomplishment.

I found Regeneration to be an extremely enjoyable book and i highly recommend it. Pat Barker does a wonderful job tying together bits of history with fictional characters to form a piece of historical fiction surrounding Dr. River's experiences at Craiglockhart. It was particularly interesting to see what was considered to be mentally unstable in the early 1900s - such as homosexuality or opposing war. Barker's use of Yaelland's treatment for Callan served as a great contrast to River's treatment for Prior, letting the reader know that not all doctors were as considerate or personal as Rivers. In the end River's interestingly finds that not only has he influenced his patients but the patients have changed his ways of thinking as well.

I actually have to review the trilogy as the three books are of a whole. These books deeply moved me and caused me to question and wonder about quite a lot of various things. After reading this book, I delved further into Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and, eventually World War One. As the "great" war did not concern America until towards the end of that terrible conflict, it is not as thoroughly discussed as World War II. It was an awful, senseless war. No war can ever really be justified, though there are always those who come up with some reason or another. Violence is never an answer. However, there is no excuse for World War I other than avarice. And so many died. Yes....this trilogy made me think and review and re-review my thoughts and feelings on a lot of things. Amazing!

When the First World War broke out, most people assumed it would be over in a few months as their nation (whichever one that was) sent the others packing. In fact, many raced to enlist fearing that "the fun" might be over before they got there.

Instead, what they discovered in Western Europe was a stalemate with trenches dug from the North Sea to the Atlantic Coast across which English, French, and German soldiers faced each other for years from cold, wet, corpse-filled, and disease-ridden trenches.

No one knew how to break the stalemate. Millions died as shelling continued against these fixed positions.

Every so often some general would convince himself that a massive charge would break the other line. Each time this was tried, the slaughter accelerated as men ran into point-blank machine gun fire and artillery barrages.

Regeneration looks at the disillusionment that led one decorated English officer and poet, Siegfried Sassoon, to remonstrate against the military leadership in public. Rather than court-marital Sassoon, the military chose to send him to a psychiatrist, Dr. William Rivers. Regeneration creates a fictional account of their relationship at Craiglockhart War Hospital. The book also looks at how Rivers treated other "mental" cases sent his way.

The most interesting parts of the story come in looking at the ethical dilemma of being asked to help those who cannot mentally deal with the war any more . . . when that "help" may lead to them going back to France where their life expectancy is measured in weeks. I was reminded of stories I've read about patching up people who tried to kill themselves so they could be legally executed.

There's a revolting section on how less sensitive physicians dealt with these "mental" problems . . . basically torturing soldiers until they wouldn't resist going back to fight.

The book has two weaknesses that mar its obvious strengths in recapturing that difficult moment in English history.

1. Ms. Barker assumes that her readers already know about Siegfried Sassoon (or at least that they don't mind her holding back details about what he did for some time). I had never heard of him so it was annoying to try to figure out what all the fuss was about in the early pages. The book could use an extensive historical footnote as a prologue for those who don't know about the incident.

2. The book often skates around the edges of how Sassoon and Rivers related to one another. Much is tacit, and I found it hard to understand in all scenes what Ms. Barker was trying to suggest each one was thinking.

I commend Ms. Barker for picking real characters and bringing them to life in a way that's very poignant (even for those who aren't English) 90 years after the events have taken place.

Based on an actual incident of WW I, Barker explores the moral quandary of Rivers, a psychiatrist/anthropologist whose duty is to 'cure' shell-shocked' soldiers and return them to the front. His patients include famous (and sane) poet Siegfried Sassoon, whose righteous rejection of the war is read before the House of Commons. The story resonates with the profound implications of Rivers' moral dilemmas, as shown through the lives of the ordinary soldiers he treats. The style is spare, though unexpectedly luminescent with brilliant turns of phrase. Delicious appearances of such historical figures as Wilfred Owen, Robert Graves, and the mysterious Rev. Charles Dodgson, add to the reader's delight

This is the first in a crisply written trilogy of novels woven around WWI trench soldiers and the doctor that treats them when they come home shell-shocked. One of Dr. Rivers' patients is Sassoon who takes a stand on the moral status of the war and it's continuance. Given that it is better to be thought lunatic than a pacifist Sassoon's friends pull strings to see that he is treated instead of court-martialed. His arrival at Craiglockhart introduces us to a startling variety of damaged soldiers, their ailments, the treatments, and their futures, which we follow in the next two books: The Eye in the Door, and The Ghost Road. Grisley. Disturbing. Graphic sex. I am still undecided as to whether or not I recommend these books.

Despite being a long-time reader of several WWI poets (Owen, Brooke, Sassoon, etc.), I only got around to reading this book last summer (2004). I found it an excellent interpretation of the times and people. I think that the issues raised in the work are timeless, as apt today as yesterday. Moreover, (risking some sense of gender neutrality) the book is hauntingly in tune with "maleness," coming, as it were, from a female author. In other words, this is a perceptive work, underrated despite any of the stars I might give it. This is a book of interest to the casual reader and the scholar alike.

Depicting the mental and physical atrocities that soldiers were forced to cope with during World War I, *Regeneration* by Pat Barker is an eye opener. Engrossing me completely, the novel depicted a side of World War I that I had never delved so deeply into. From my European History knowledge, I knew that it was the difficult emotional and physical reprecussions the soldiers had to deal with after the war that were pivotal reasons for igniting the anger that led to World War II. Seeing these traumas through the eyes of Dr. Rivers, I felt as thought I were right by his die, attempting to diagnose and perscribe a treatment to heel the trauamas each patient experienced.

Several intriguing quotes in the novel caught my eye, but none so much as the brilliant rebuke Prior makes towards Rivers,"When all this is over, people who didn't go to France, or didn't do well in France- people of my generation I mean- aren't going to count for anything. This is the Club to end all Clubs." Conveying one of the main themes of *Regeneration*, Prior highlights the fact that in battle soldiers feel a sense of love and brotherhood that cannot be replaced or surpassed by anything else, making them an exclusive "club". Especially since he has no empathy towards his own mother and father, it is fitting that Prior hold this type of comradeship in high esteem.

Beginning with immense promise, *Regeneration* had me enraptured, until Dr. Rivers' vacation, where I felt the book slowed down from the climax that it had built. Aside from these few chapters, the novel is brilliant and captivating, telling a story that I could see being produced on the big screen.

Regeneration, The Eye in the Door and Ghost Road make up Pat Barker's remarkable trilogy about England during the "Great War." The three books center around the character of Dr. William Rivers, a well known psychiatrist who served in Scotland and England during the war treating officers suffering from war-related neuroses - and restoring their sanity enough for them to return to the insanity of the front. Two of Rivers' patients play a central role in the trilogy - poet and decorated war hero Siegfried Sassoon, who was sent to Dr. Rivers after taking a public stand against the war, and Billy Prior, a working class boy who managed to work his way into the ranks of officer and whose psychological and personal conflicts drive a lot of the plot in The Eye in the Door.
The trilogy is so multi-faceted it can be difficult to say what it's really about. It's first and foremost a story of England during the war - how the war challenged traditional views of "maleness" (and enhanced the role of women in society), the scapegoating of homosexuals, leftists, and others as a political tool, etc. Barker draws on historical material and characters to depict the times - I don't know the history so I can't comment on the accuracy. But it's more than a historical novel. It deals with the universal role of war in human culture and contrasts the WW1 orgy of death and destruction with the war culture of the headhunters of Melanesia (where Rivers spent some time doing anthropological research). It's also a psychological study of Rivers, Sassoon and Prior (the former two historical, the latter fictional) who all seem to encapsulate multiple personalities - in Prior's case these are true multiple personalities, but in the cases of Rivers and Sassoon they are more subtle differences between their empathetic, sensitive, selves and the automatons they become when faced with professional responsibilities or when they otherwise operate from deeper instincts. There are many other threads in the story that I can't possibly mention here.
Parts of the book(s) are brilliant - great language and images, stories and sub plots at times harrowing and at times funny, great character development, witty dialogue. This is not a book that will be easily forgotten. It's also for the most part a great read.
My major criticism is that it should not have been published as three separate books. I read Ghost Road - the Booker winner - first and was disappointed, but loved it the second time around after I read Regeneration and (my favorite) The Eye in the Door. Related to this is the fact that while the books don't stand on their own, the trilogy doesn't really hold together as one novel either. Regeneration takes place mostly in the Craiglockhart War Hospital in Scotland and focuses on Rivers and his patients (especially Sassoon). Prior is there but not as central a figure as he becomes later. The Eye in the Door takes place mostly in London and centers around Prior, his sexual escapades, his personality disorders, and his attempt to free an old friend and neighbor from prison where she has been charged with plotting to kill the Prime Minister. The Ghost Road returns the focus to Rivers, his patients (but now in a hospital in England), and flashbacks to his research in Melanesia but also weaves into it the experience of Prior now back at the front in France through a journal Prior keeps. All a little confusing for those like me that prefer more of a clear roadmap.
One confusing thing is the focus on homosexuality (or bisexuality in Prior's case). Prior's appetite for sex was impressive and seemed to be very non-distinguishing (except for the fact that he "doesn't pay"). What I couldn't tell for sure was whether Rivers and Sassoon were homosexuals; I think they were but either they had repressed this aspect of their personalities (given the times probably understandable) or what I wasn't clear. I got the impression at points that every man in the story was homosexual or at least potentially so, and I'm not sure if Barker is saying something about the times, the WW1 environment, or just happened to pick out these characters for study. There are also references to nerve regeneration experiments that seemed important - I'm assuming the name of the book is related to this - but I wasn't sure how they tied into everything else. OK, nerve regeneration, psychological regeneration, etc...but so what?
In any case, these books give the reader a lot to think about and while the Ghost Road by itself does not in my opinion deserve a Booker I would say that the trilogy as a whole probably does.

"Remember, you must behave as becomes the hero I expect you to be."

In Regeneration, by Pat Barker, Dr. Rivers, a brilliant psychologist is given the task of "curing" the soldiers sent to his mental institute so they can return to service. Ironically, these mental problems are caused by their service in WWI. The story tells of a brilliant psychologist, Rivers, and his treatment of several patients, the most important of which is Siegfried Sassoon, the published War poet who was taken to the Craiglockart Mental Institution for his written protest against the War. Rivers is forced to treat Sassoon, who is not remotely insane, but possibly saner in recognizing the evil of the War, which is evident in all the patients he treats. Sassoon forces Rivers to come to terms with his own work and mission at Craiglockart. Rivers' analysis of Sassoon's attitude towards the War shows Rivers the futility of Sassoon's protest. By refusing to participate in the War, Sassoon is not only breaking the oath he took when he entered the service, but because he is not serving, he is similar to the leaders and generals prolonging the War from afar.

Pat Barker expertly illustrates the horrors of the War through its victims. Regeneration is so blunt, open, and horrific that it forces us to square with the terror and outrage of this tragedy, and discover our real feelings on the conflict in the world today. WWI is the perfect setting for this dramatic anti-war book. The author uses the destructive weapons, real people, and extreme mental breakdowns to emphasize what these men went through.

There is a poem by Wilfred Owens, a character in the book and friend to Siegfried Sassoon, which mirrors the brutal horror and futility of the War.

So Abram rose, and clave the wood, and went,

And took the fire with him, and a knife.

And as they sojourned both of them together,

Isaac the first-born spake and said, My Father,

Behold the preparations, fire and iron,

But where the lamb, for this burnt-offering?

Then Abram bound the youth with belts and straps,

And builded parapets and trenches there,

And stretched forth the knife to slay his son.

When lo! an Angel called him out of heaven;

Saying, Lay not thy hand upon the lad,

Neither do anything to him, thy son.

Behold! Caught in a thicket by its horns,

A Ram. Offer the Ram of Pride instead.

But the old man would not so, but slew his son,

And half the seed of Europe, one by one.

Pat Barker's novel, Regeneration, part of the Regeneration Trilogy, is mostly based in a military psychiatric hospital during World War I. Although the book is slow to start, it picks up soon after the first fifteen pages or so. The entire novel is based on four main themes: insanity, emasculation, parenting, and sexual orientation. Throughout the novel, however, Barker focuses on revealing the atrocities of war, as well.

There are multiple non-fictional characters in this novel -- in fact, there are more historical figures than there are fictional characters. Barker seems to make these characters her own throughout the course of the four main parts of Regeneration. Sassoon, a disgruntled "conchie" (or conscientious objector) and a historical figure, has a mind well beyond the grasp of psychiatry at the time. Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, a non-fictional character and the head psychiatrist at the hospital where the book takes place, is seen as a father-figure by the majority of his patients. These characters she crafts from these real-life people seem to take a life of their own.

Since this book is one of a trilogy, the ending does not seem to sum up each of Barker's adapted characters completely. We are left at the end with a sense of something missing, though we cannot identify what we are lacking. This novel is a quick read, however, despite the fact that there is no real identifiable climax.

What interested me the most about this book was how Pat Barker revealed the methods during this time period for treating mental illnesses. Most of the story focuses on Dr. Rivers's Freudian style of treatment, which includes helping the patient understand his repressed feelings by discussing it with a trained doctor. Later on in the book, Dr. Rivers witnesses electroshock therapy, another form of treatment that forces patients to recover mentally by painfully shocking them with electric currents. "Regeneration" sheds light on the lack of understanding of mental illnesses during WWI and its effects on the patients and doctors. The afflicted soldiers were expected to be mentally "fixed" and sent back to the war, which must have inhibited a full mental recovery for them.

A few weeks after finishing "Regeneration," I read an article about a woman's experience with electroshock therapy during this era, as told by her daughter. The woman's husband sent her to a mental hospital to treat her anxiety, thinking that it was for her own good. The woman not only suffered physical damage from the shock therapy, but she also suffered emotionally from becoming shunned from her own family and society. No one understood mental illnesses at this time, so these patients were looked down upon as lunatics. The author of this article finally reunited with her mother, having been separated for years. She then watched her mother continue her life with forgiveness and optimism, passing away later with a new home and a happy remarriage.

Having read "Regeneration," I felt that I understood this article at a higher level, and it left a very deep impression on me. I would recommend "Regeneration" by Pat Barker to anyone who is interested in the mental effects of World War 1 on the soldiers and the society in general.

I began this book thinking it would be exactly like other books I had read about World War I. I thought it would be like "All Quiet on the Western Front," complete with gore, death, and tragedy. However, "Regeneration" turned out to be more about the tragic effects of the war rather than the brutal warfare. This was a new perspective for me. Pat Barker's characters questioned the war and its aims. The novel begins with Siegfried Sassoon's declaration opposing the war, questioning the figures of authority, and advocating a peace negotiation. Yet, as the novel continues, the reader sees how conflicted the characters really are. While two of the main characters, Sassoon and his doctor Rivers, constantly see what the war has done to the British youth, they also feel the need to be present at the front so they can protect the other soldiers. It is a complicated feeling that is never completely resolved. Barker makes a connection to a caterpillar's metamorphosis to a butterfly. If one were to cut open the cocoon, one would not see a creature that was half butterfly and half caterpillar. Instead, the caterpillar would be in a state of decay. The views of the characters decay and discretely develop as the novel progresses. Through seeing the effects of the war, the characters begin to develop new opinions of the war and its direction.

Simultaneously, Barker incorporates authentic poetry written by the soldiers to display the different ways the war affected the different characters. Both Sassoon and Owen, another patient at the hospital, write of the war. Sassoon writes of the brutalities and realities while Owen writes of the utter hopelessness. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It provided new insight for me into the World War I British society.

I found "Regeneration" by Pat Barker to be a gruesomely truthful book as it describes the traumatic events soldiers endured during the First World War. It provides horrific details of men wounded and the affects of war on their mental state of mind as well as their physical states. Barker goes into detail describing the ways in which the doctors at Craiglockhart, a mental institution in Scotland where those suffering from shell shock and other post-war illnesses are sent to recuperate and prepare themselves to possibly re-enter war, must find any way possible to cure and convince patients that fighting in the war is proving how faithful one is to their country. Siegfried Sasson, a patient at Craiglockhart who previously was a soldier who composed poems based upon what he has witnessed throughout the war, is one of Barker's main characters. He has realized that the war has moved from being based upon freedom to proving which country is the most powerful and most dominating. Dr. Rivers, the protagonist, must evaluate and diagnose patients then find cures for whatever problems war has caused for them such as shell shock. He uses different types of therapy based on the state of the patient. Sasson and Rivers develop a close relationship and eventually when Sasson returns to fighting, Rivers realizes that Sasson has greatly affected his life and his view on issues such as war. "Regeneration" focuses mostly on the consequences of war rather than the actual war itself. Those who resulted in having shell shock were especially unfortunate and "Regeneration" describes the evaluation, cures, and aftermath of it.

The anti-war novel, "Regeneration", attempts to portray the severity of the Great War by guiding the reader through the minds and lives shell-shocked soldiers in a hospital undergoing different forms of recovery. Pat Barker uses real poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and others as examples throughout the book, which acts as evidence for her case- yet the novel has a slight sense of fiction and it detracts from the feeling I believe she was trying to convey to the readers. Barker also analyzes the dreams and thoughts of the mental patients in order to examine exactly how WWI affected the minds of the surviving soldiers.

Although I understand how greatly the war affected the soldiers mentally, I do not believe that Barker was particularly strong at showing this fully. Although she used existing people, their stories didn't seem such. I found that there was also plot left unsettled or underdeveloped, particularly with the love story between Sarah and Prior and the hanging ambiguity in patients' sexual orientations (although that may have been intended).

Though I found some of Barker's dialogue hard to follow and some of her metaphors over the top, the novel was generally comprehensible and a quick read. I think that if one were to want a general feel of the effect of WWI and the anti-war sentiments that were felt afterwards, particularly by Sassoon, this would be a great book to start with. However, I believe that there are better choices for those that wish to delve into a more realistic, first-hand account of the occurrences and affects of WWI.

From the very beginning I was interested by this book, but for some reason it took me a ridiculously long time to read.

I thought it was very interesting how non-fictional characters such as Siegfriend Sassoon, a poet who really existed, as well as Wilfred Owen, were incorporated into this fictional story. I appreciated the fact that Sassoon was against the war although he was a decorated war hero. It is rare to find a story about war in which the protagonist is against the war. Although I have not read any other books on WWI other than "All Quiet on the Western Front", this is the first time I have seen the war looked at from the psychological post-war effects. I thought that was interesting despite the fact that not many psychological cases are examined in detail in this book. I enjoyed the fact though, that the time in which Rivers spends with Sassoon ends up forcing Rivers to question himself and everything he previously stood for- a kind of role reversal of doctor and patient. The title of the book refers to the medical studies attempting to reattach nerve endings and restore senses to wounded men. I think this is slightly ironic though. This is because the men who loose feeling in their body become so do to horrific wounds which are painful and violent enough to tear apart nerves which leave them unable to feel, but when these nerves are reattached, the men are only able to feel their pain, restoring also sense-memory images of the horrific war as well as the physical and mental pain they did, are, and will feel.

Having just finished reading "Birdsong" I felt compelled to read more about a period of time that is moving out of living memory. I think "Regeneration" is a superb book that is well written, well researched and moving. I think books like this are so important because we should not be allowed to forget what the people of that time went through and we should not be allowed to trivialise what the First World War did to human beings and how it broke the seemingly Golden Age that had developed throughout Victorian and Edwardian England. I think the novel helps to honour the memory of the people who gave their lives in the war over something they did not understand or comprehend. The book is not just about war as it goes far deeper in helping to explain humanity, gender, class and truth. "Regeneration" is a disturbing and thought provoking book which people should read firstly because it is a good book and secondly becuase it will ensure that you do not forget what the people of the time and especially the soliders went through. They were caught up in a war of industrial proportions and were caught up in a war that they did not understand and we should forever hold them in high regard and in our memories. Afterall, in one month in 1917 there were 104,000 casualties in the war. Sacrifice like that deserves and should be remembered.
From a literary point of view, this book is superbly crafted and is an original work of fiction with a good story. It is energetic and highly readable and I recommend it to anyone.

While reading Regeneration, I particularly enjoyed Pat Barker's ability to integrate the poetry of various writers, like Sassoon and Owen, into the setting of a war hospital during World War I. I thought it was interesting to see Sassoon express his feelings of resentment and defiance against the war through his poetry. In the beginning of the book, Sassoon uses active measures to express his feelings by writing a declaration against the war and actively speaks about his resentment against the unnecessary suffering caused by war. However, Sassoon later learns that acting defiant against those in power will just get him in further trouble. Therefore, Sassoon starts using a more passive approach to expressing his opinions, "All the anger and grief now went into the poetry" (221).

I also found the relationship between Sassoon and Owen interesting because Sassoon played the role of a mentor to Owen and helped hone his writing style to create great poetry that we appreciate today. Sassoon encourages Owen to publish some of his poetry in the Hydra, the hospital magazine. With this initial encouragement by Sassoon, Owen was able to gain confidence to start publishing more and more inspiring poetry. Sassoon also learned from Owen that even though war is such a huge part of their lives, their poetry did not have to be all about war, as seen through Owen's poetry. By encouraging each other, Sassoon and Owen each helped each other create great poetry and improve both of their writing styles.

Pat Barker's novel "Regeneration" follows soldiers, some based on real poets, who have been admitted into the Craiglockhart War Hospital for treatment of "war neurosis" during WWI. Through the patients and their doctor (Rivers), Barker analyzes the toll the war took on the generation of men who fought in it.

The novel opens with an anti-war declaration written by Siegfried Sassoon, a new patient at the hospital who is angry with the government because he believes there is no point to the war. Rivers's job is to make patients like Sassoon fit to return to the fighting, but the mental conditions of some of the men makes him question the war's motives just as Sassoon does.

In my opinion, one of the strongest sections of the novel is towards the end when Rivers goes to sit in on a treatment session led by another doctor, Yealland, who uses electroshock treatment on his patients. Rivers compares himself to Yealland, and is overcome with guilt for how he controls his own patients.

I had never read a novel set during WWI, so I didn't have anything to compare "Regeneration" with when I started reading it. I was quite surprised at how much sympathy I had for the characters by the end of the novel. I would definitely recommend this novel for anyone who is looking for a perspective of WWI that demonstrates the struggle of the soldiers as well as other people involved with the war.

Pat Barker's novel "Regeneration" is an interesting account of the shell-shocked soldiers and poets of WWI. Her use of real people for the characters of the novel (Siegfried Sassoon, Robert Graves, Wilfred Owen, and others) adds versimilitude. She delves deeply into the meaning of the bizarre dreams and fantasies of the soldiers in a mental hospital and their reactions to their experiences in the war. The beginning of the book is strong and well written, but as it progress she tends more toward the bizarre and symbolic; particulary with Burns' condition.

This book focuses on the anti-war position of Sassoon, but I feel that "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a more successful anti-war story. This novel reeks of fiction despite the fact that she bases it on historical personages, and to some extent the horrors of the war seem manufactured, whereas in "All Quiet on the Western Front" the author experienced the war first hand and therefore his story is a much deeper account of such a fraught time in history.

I read "Regeneration" in an afternoon, and found it enjoyable, though the author's tendency towards the overly metaphorical was irritating. The best part of the book was the focus on WWI poetry and insights into the poetry through the characters in the novel.

- A.B.

This book deserved the praise it has received. It is horrifying at times and incredibly clear-eyed about the situation the characters find themselves in. The story is succint, crystal clear, and short, but the characters are breathtakingly, brilliantly drawn. Barker has found amazing characters to work with, drawing liberally from real writers and doctors of the time. This can be read as an outstanding historical novel, or literary novel, but it is just plain brilliant.

Regeneration, though told mainly from Sigfried Sassoon's perspective, has a variety of different perspectives that, through their common time at the Craiglockhart Hospital and their separate experiences and changes, are shared. Despite the fact that the patients are not children, Regeneration leaves the reader with the feeling that whatever innocence each of the characters had is now lost, and their lives forever changed. Being told from Sassoon's perspective, who was opposed to the war, is interesting and definitely de-romanticizes it, thus creating a more realistic experience for the reader. Sassoon's encounters with Dr. Rivers are interesting as well because Rivers' attachment to each of his patients creates an ongoing internal debate about his work and its effects on its patients. These 'episodes' of interal debate, reflection and nostalgia provide realistic insight to the struggles and concerns of doctors during that era. Pat Barker's accurate descriptions and distinct writing style MAKES the reader live through and understand the atrocities that the soldiers from WWI did.

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.

Pat Barker's novel, Regeneration, is an interesting and unusual account of World War I. Instead of taking place in the trenches, the book is set in a mental hospital for shell-shocked soldiers. This setting not only allows Barker to explore the horrors of the war, but also the lives of the soldiers outside of the war. Her use of fascinating non-fiction characters such as Siegfried Sassoon makes the novel even more compelling. I was thoroughly engrossed by the story for the first 60 pages or so, but as the book progressed my interest began to wane. Barker's work now seemed more speculation than fact, and in some parts downright bizarre and overly metaphorical. Overall, I enjoyed the book as a work of fiction, but I believe there is other, more powerful anti-war literature which more accurately portrays the effects of war.

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!

Regeneration was an insightful book, but it did not completely captivate me. In it, a man (Siegfried Sassoon) is sent to a psychiatric hospital for soldiers in WWI, only because he had realized that the war he was fighting is essentially useless, that the reason for the war has disappeared, and that the people dying there, are not dying for a real cause. Dr. Rivers treats the patients at the hospital and he meets with Sassoon and it is his job to prepare him to be sent back to war. At the hospital the reader sees the other soldiers wounded physically and mentally from the war and the reader and Dr. Rivers begin to wonder if maybe Sassoon is right. Though the book was not my personal favorite it did make me think about how justifiable war is.

Regeneration was an insightful book, but it did not completely captivate me. In it, a man (Siegfried Sassoon) is sent to a psychiatric hospital for soldiers in WWI, only because he had realized that the war he was fighting is essentially useless, that the reason for the war has disappeared, and that the people dying there, are not dying for a real cause. Dr. Rivers treats the patients at the hospital and he meets with Sassoon and it is his job to prepare him to be sent back to war. At the hospital the reader sees the other soldiers wounded physically and mentally from the war and the reader and Dr. Rivers begin to wonder if maybe Sassoon is right. Though the book was not my personal favorite it did make me think about how justifiable war is.

This excellent book is one of the most haunting and beautiful I have read of late. Its vivid cast of characters and their poignant struggles -- both without and within -- challenge the reader to understand the ramifications of the Great War and define what it means to be a member of society.

Readers who want a fictionalization of Paul Fussell's "The Great War and Modern Memory" should look no further. This slender novel captures the essential cultural impact of World War I--the destruction of sincere discourse. Barker's economical style is ideally suited to the material, although at times I wished she would probe her characters a bit further. While her reticence is fatal to the other two books in the trilogy, it works here, perhaps because Rivers is such a wonderful, complex personality. A haunting experience, and worth every bit of the discomfort it causes.

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!

I found this a fascinating book!! I am really interested in anything about medicine and so found the description of early psychological treatments of WWI veterans very interesting. Also, that the whole trilogy is based on fact, on the real life meeting of the poet Sigfried Sassoon and his doctor during his rehabilitation W.H.R. Rivers. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Regeneration depicts the psychological horrors and effects of war on soldiers during WWI. The main character, Dr. William Rivers, is effected as well because he is a psychiatrist who treats soldiers sent to the Craiglockhart War Hospital. His exposure to these scarred men makes him reconsider his own standing in the war. Rivers becomes attached to these men and their traumatizing stories, but his job is to restore the soldiers and send them back to the trenches to die. This novel not only follows the lives and changes of traumatized soldiers, but the effects on the Doctor who treats these soldiers.

-Bianca Louie

Pat Barker's Regeneration depicts some of the disturbing results of war. The book starts off with Seigfried Sassoon on his way to Craiglockhart,a mental institution in scottland. At this mental institution, the horrors of war are revealed through different patients stories. Although Sassoon hasnt suffered from a breakdown, the other patients that Rivers deals with have. These characters' stories reveal the devasting aspects of war and the effects the war has had on them. Although the horrors of war are the source of many soldiers' war neurosis, Sassoon uses the war as inspiration for his poems.

This is definately my favourite book! From the minute i picked it up, i did not want to put it down. I was surprised by its content and found it utterly compelling. It is one of the lighter war literature reads, which seemed somewhat refreshing. The characters were fantastically developed and i found myself particularly drawn to Billy Prior. The sessions between Rivers and all his patients were entertaining, yet touching.
All in all this is an incredible book and i can not wait to read the rest of the trilogy!

I was pleasantly surprised by regeneration. What I thought would be another "war book" turned out to have heart, as well as an interesting story line. Tired of the romanticizing of war that often goes along with these depictions of World War I, I loved the way the different patients' gruesome stories of war weaved together. I was most intrigued by Dr. Rivers and his fear that the emotionally painful work he is doing with his patients will not pay off in the end but will have caused more damage to them.

A number of people who know nothing about the Great War have written laughable and pathetic reviews of Barker's book. The 1914-1918 war is properly called the Great War and never WW1. THe Craiglockhart hospital, not facility, was set up by William Rivers-Rivers, generally regarded as the father of British psychiatry. It was a hospital for shell-shocked officers. At one time the three geatest British poets of the war--Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and Robert Graves were all patients at Craiglockhart. The stereotypical view of the war presented by all the misinformed reviewers has been rejected by serious contemporary historians. Any one who would presume to comment on Barker's marvellous novels should know something about the war and about its literature. All the reviews which have been posted so far are worthless.

This book resonated with me because the characters are very vivid and I connected with them. Although the plot line seemed to drag at times, the book was still a very good reflection on the horrors of world war one. I liked the fact that it was told by a soldier opposed to war rather than a soldier who was only fighting for the honor. Sassoon is a fantastic character for the book and it is great that he was an actual person. I highly recommend reading Regeneration.

This is a marvelous novel, beautifully written, with wonderful characters. I was enthralled throughout and found Dr. Rivers simply fascinating. Barker is one of the finest authors around and this higly acclaimed novel is another example of her amazing talent.

I was so looking forward to this read, and equally disappointed. The male characters (with one notable exception) don't seem to live and breathe, and are a sketchy set of characteristics and tics. The one exception (and not a surprise, considering the author's former work) is a working class Northern woman involved with one of the main characters. Since the characters are not particularly involving and the milieu and era is not brought vividly to life, the book reads as a schematic, rather than a flesh-and-blood, fully realized work of art.