Book Club October Review: Regeneration

[Fionn]

It's a while since I read this so would someone else like to start?

I'm really cross I haven't read this in time as the First World War fascinates me.

bettys - read it anyway! I only got around to Atonement last week, too late to discuss it on the thread but I really enjoyed reading it anyway. I was reminded of Regeneration again this week when I heard someone on R4 discussing a biography they'd written of Wilfred Owen - he's a character in Regeneration. If you're interested in WWI you must read it, it's a great book IMO!

I've just discovered Regeneration in a pile of books here! Better go and get my nose into it.

Regeneration would be in my top 5 desert island books. But that is probably due to my morbid fascination with WW1 and the war poets.

Its absolutely haunting.

I see this discussion hasn't got very far. I bought it and read it in about a day, but then moved house so I thought I'd missed the discussion.

If anyone is still interested though....

I thought this was a great book and a very interesting way of looking at the first world war. The thing I found most upsetting though was the contrast between Rivers' hospital (for officers) and the other sadistic one for ordinary soldiers. I was quite disappointed realy that Barker didn't follow any of the patients from the latter hospital - we had so much detail about the officers' experiences. Maybe she's also falling into the upper-classes-are-more-interesting trap?

Lucy, thanks for re-starting this as I also read Regeneration last week.

I thought it was a very interesting way to look at the effects of WWI. Rivers seemed so far ahead of his times although I don't really know anything about psychology/psychiatry. My impression of WWI attitudes until now was that if you broke down you were a coward and letting down the side etc. Maybe that's why Barker didn't go into more depth about that side - because it is already well documented? Also, officers were perhaps more likely to write down their experiences. The book is one of a trilogy - what are the others about, does anyone know?