Bringing history alive in all its gritty and grim and sometime sordid detail.
Needless to say underlying this is the futility and waste of war.
Thanks goodness for beacons like Rivers

Profound, and beautifully written.

Regeneration is a captivating read. By following the stories of young soldiers traumatized by their experiences in France during WWI, and their doctor, Pat Barker paints a vivid picture of life at an institution treating shell shock and the complex conflicts that arose. The author cleverly selected historical figures with a wealth of available information, and she used it exceptionally well to weave the details of their lives into the narrative.

Just as good as I remembered.

I read the first book of the trilogy, which was lovely and I really enjoyed it, but I could not get on with the subsequent books, so failed to complete the trilogy. The book is still on my shelf, so I may return to them one day.

I found this book hard going but I felt the need to finish it. There are quite a few different story lines each portrayed in great depth and very dipictive. Some parts very graphic and not for the faint hearted reader. Interesting to know that some of the characters did exist. I really felt I knew each character really well by the end. It does give you a real atmospheric read of what it must have been like for those who endured WW1.

As a student of WWI, a usually male dominated sphere of heroes, battles, and the western front, I was immediately captured by the descriptive power and alternative focus of this series. Pat Barker, a Booker Prize winner for "Ghost Road", has written a set of historical novels that far surpass most everything on the bookshelves. The trilogy is the societal back drop to the Grand Guerre. The Homefront, seen through the eyes of her characters is as ugly in its own way as Ypres, the Menin Road, and Passchendaele. If you are a WWI buff, this trilogy is a do not miss!

My son read this as part of his a level English.It was on his book shelf and it sounded interesting. It was actually heartbreaking, traumatic and truly fascinating. The reality of war and the psychological effects it had.The unbelievable treatments for patients affected and then off you go back to the front lines.Along with Schindlers Ark this should be read by all,Lest we forget..

World war 1 Read the first of trilogy Regeneration set in an asylum during WW1 Sassoon was in it , he was a decorated Lieutenant , didnt know thst in high school / uni when I read his poetry...

Following a cast of fictional and historical characters with the horror of the First World War as the backdrop, this trilogy explores the medical care for wounded soldiers, conscientious objection, moral quandaries and - in the final book - a heart of darkness style sub plot.

"If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, my friend, you would not tell with such high zest to children ardent for some desperate glory, the old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori." Wilfred Owen, Dulce Et Decorum Est.

In this emotive series of novels, we see the struggles of Owen and his contemporaries. These books give a deeply human account of those whose minds were wounded by war and, in a genre that generally disregards such topics, mental health and sexuality are explored at length.

I gave this four stars rather than five because, despite the first two novels being absolutely exceptional, the last one trails off a bit for me. I can't really see the point of it, being a more quotidian account of one of the less interesting characters to me.

These three inter-related historical novels are set during the First World War and deal mainly with the treatment of soldiers suffering from the effect of shell shock. Several of the characters are based on historical figures such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, famous war-poets but the series centers on Billy Prior, a fictional working class officer.

The opening novel is set in Craiglockhart Hospital which served as a psychiatric facility for war casualties in reality, and another of the principal characters, W.H.R. Rivers is based on a pioneering psychiatrist and anthropologist of the same name.

In the later section “The Ghost Road” we learn of his experiences on an Anthropological expedition to the Torres straits twenty years before. Rivers comes across as empathetic towards his patients, contrasting with the attitudes and treatment of other medical staff at the time though it should be remembered that the soldiers involved were officers; I wonder how private men suffering from war trauma fared.

The writer gives us a good picture of what life and society was like in Britain and at the front during the conflict, mainly through the experiences of Prior. It’s definitely worth a read.

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