Pat Barker is one of Britain's most respected and best-loved novelists. Her epic trilogy about the First World War began with the astonishingly powerful Regeneration, followed by The Eye in the Door (winner of the Guardian Prize) and The Ghost Road (winner of the Booker Prize). As definitive, detailed and deeply felt as that series, her new trilogy is equally classic. Following a group of artists who meet at the Slade during WW1, Noonday is the final part of the story (though easily also a stand-alone novel) that began with Life Class and Toby's Room. Struggling in the thick of the Blitz, Elinor is unable to paint, out all night driving ambulances while her husband Paul is dragging bodies out of rubble. Their friend Kit Neville is trapped in a paper-pushing job at the Ministry of Information, frustrated that Paul’s artistic reputation has overtaken his own, and aware of his long-buried feelings for Elinor. As the blackout darkness befuddles and confuses, and as their exhaustion warps and distorts perception, their relationships become blurred. The book is vividly atmospheric, immersed in a traumatised London and the effects of the sustained attacks. It is her expert psychological insight, however, those fleeting moments of fear or connection or compassion, that make Barker a truly outstanding novelist.
You can find out more on our book of the month page, plus get an insight into Pat Barker's own relationship to London, her childhood and kickstarting her writing career in this fascinating interview with Alex Clark in the Guardian.
Penguin have 50 copies of Noonday to give to Mumsnetters: to claim your copy please fill in your details on the book of the month page. We’ll post on the thread when all the copies have gone. If you’re not lucky enough to bag one of those, you can always get a Kindle edition or paperback copy here
We are honoured, thrilled and delighted that Pat will be joining us to answer your questions about Noonday, all her previous award-winning novels and her fascinating career on
Wednesday 27 April, 9-10pm. Please feel free to discuss the book here throughout the month and then come and meet Pat on the night, and ask her a question or simply tell her what you think of her books. It’ll be a particularly special chat, very much hope you can make it…