Barker's trilogy examines the effect of shell shock on soldiers in World War I and the efforts to treat them. She mixes historical with fictional characters to explore the challenges both on the home front and the Western front in the last two years of the war.

Picture This: The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker chronicles the psychological toll of World War I on soldiers and doctors in Britain, exploring trauma, camaraderie, and the boundaries of sanity.

Thoughts: Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the psychological aftermath of World War I. Set against the backdrop of Craiglockhart War Hospital in Scotland, the trilogy follows the lives of soldiers and doctors grappling with the trauma of war and the intricacies of human resilience. Barker's masterful storytelling delves into the complexities of shell shock (now known as PTSD), offering a deeply empathetic portrayal of the struggles faced by soldiers returning from the front lines. Through rich character development and vivid historical detail, Barker captures the profound impact of war on identity, friendship, and society at large. The trilogy not only sheds light on the brutality of war but also explores themes of compassion, healing, and the human spirit's capacity to endure and find hope amidst devastation. Barker's compelling narrative and meticulous research make the Regeneration Trilogy an essential read for anyone interested in the lasting effects of war on the individual psyche and the collective consciousness of a nation.

‘Tistnievard’. Als boodschap kunnen de laatste woorden van een neergeschoten militair tellen: geen enkele oorlog is al die menselijke ellende waard. Deel 1 van deze trilogie geef ik vier sterren, deel 2 drie en deel 3 vijf. Levert samen een mooie vier op. Hoewel ze vrij verschillend zijn bieden alle delen een interessante kijk op WOI en de maatschappij van toen. In ‘Niemandsland’ behandelt Dr. Rivers slachtoffers van shellshock als veelvoorkomende reactie op hun verschrikkelijke ervaringen in de Vlaamse loopgraven. Waarschuwing: sommige beschrijvingen zijn pure horror. Ik lees dat er ook bij de Engelsen een letterlijk dodelijke kloof heerste tussen de rijkere officieren en het armere voetvolk. ‘Het oog in de deur’ focust op de Jekyll-en-Hyde-persoonlijkheid van Billy Prior, een biseksuele militair. ‘De weg der geesten’ ten slotte combineert de herinneringen van Dr. Rivers met de ervaringen van Billy Prior in de laatste fase van de oorlog. Emotioneel, krachtig en indrukwekkend.

Book 1 was the best

Jesus fucking Christ

Probably the best books I’ve ever read

read these an age ago. only just realised not on my read list.

I like all her stuff but this trilogy is the best of her work (of what I'veeread).

Really enjoyed this book. I was unsure when I bought it, what it was actually about, other than WW1. It covered the effects of the war on the fighting men and civilians obtained by notes, letters and articles. The views and beliefs that were held at that time and the effects on people involved.

The trilogy is over 900 pages and I finished it inside 6 days.
What wonderful writing. Sensitive, insightful, compassionate; breathtaking in scope.
This book was a pleasure to read.

Pat Barker weaves fact and fiction into a wonderful tapestry, a record of the years of the First World War. If you’re interested in The Great War, and in particular in the poets of the time, this trilogy is a must read.

Regeneration
The forthcoming anniversary of the Great War should provide some motivation for readers to revisit, or discover this trilogy from the nineties. Acclaimed at the time (topped off by a Booker Prize for the last in the series The Ghost Road) it has been on my 'to read' list for many years. The story centres around an institution for mentally ill soldiers near Edinburgh, and psychologist W H Rivers. A particular focus is his relationship with patient Siegfried Sassoon and the moral conflict between his support for the war and the damage he sees in his patients.
The book sometimes feels a bit lacking in incident and plot mobility, but beautifully draws its characters. Pat Barker's research must have been detailed as her insight into the psychological treatment of the time as well as the maladies feels quite authentic. The setting is a really interesting way of exploring the consequences of the war rather than through a traditional battlefield context.
Not always an easy read the book is rewarding and insightful, and cleverly intertwines the main theme of wartime trauma and suffering with explorations of masculinity and the role of women in wartime.

Great book for me. It kept my attention throughout. I even took notes on some of it! A different take on the theme of war..World War I, to be exact. It looks at the impact on those back home, including injured soldiers, who had to return home to heal, and then perhaps return to the Front once again.

This is in my top ten, possibly my top 5, best novels.

It's a trilogy, but don't hesitate - buy all three as a single volume; they're all brilliant, jaw-droppingly insightful, and written with exquisite skill that appears effortless.

Barker writes men better than any male author I've ever read. If I wrote half as well as Barker, I'd die happy. Though the characters are almost all male, they're informed and contextualised within a dual society of men and women.

It's about war, it's about how and why we go to war, and how war damages all of us, yet it's mostly set far from the mud and blood of the Front. Only in the third part of this trilogy do we go there, and, despite there being a lot of one-on-one dialogue, sans action, the narrative is riveting.

If you love good writing, you'll be impressed. If you're a writer; this is how it's done. If you're about to start this particular journey, you're a lucky person indeed. Enjoy.

I read the trilogy a few years ago and found it spectacular!

Barker has a new novel coming out next year (I hope) of The Iliad from the viewpoint of a woman. It's about time we heard from Her. I have the new translation of The Odyssey translated for the first time by a woman and there is Le Guin's retelling of Cicero's Aeneid from the POV of Lavinia, a significant character who is unvoiced in that poem.