Regeneration: Amazon.co.uk: Pat Barker: 9780140123081: Books

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A brilliant novel. Intense and subtle (Peter Kemp Sunday Times ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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In Craiglockhart war hospital, Doctor William Rivers attempts to restore the sanity of officers from World War I. When Siegfried Sassoon publishes his declaration of protest against the war, the authorities decide to have him declared mentally defective and send him to Craiglockhart.

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First Sentence
I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

69 Reviews

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (69 customer reviews)

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54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No-man's mind, 8 Feb 2005

By

Christian Spriet "Chacklee Chack" (Bruges, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Regeneration (Paperback)

Though often mentioned alongside the likes of Faulks's Birdsong and Susan Hill's Strange Meeting, Regeneration does not exactly come up to the 'regular' qualification of a war novel. Instead, what novelist Pat Barker sets out to attain is to trace the mental paralysis the war leaves in man's mind as well as exploring the courageous, though mostly inept, ways for all those involved, to cope.

As a psychiatrist at Craiglockhart Hospital, psychiatrist W.H. Rivers, a historically authentic character and a kind-hearted, get-at-able, even noble person, faces up to the impossible task to try and free his inmates-patients from the war demons that do not cease to haunt their minds.
In this process he gets involved in their regeneration process at a personal level as they grow able to express the horrors that have incapacitated them psychologically.

Barker follows the treatment undergone by war poet Siegfried Sassoon (aka Mad Jack) upon his arrival at Craiglockhart after throwing his brave conduct medal into the river Mersey and publishing his notorious anti-war statement in the Times.
Another riveting feature of the book is when Sassoon meets young Wilfred Owen and encourages the young poet in his writing aspirations.

In Regeneration, admittedly, the war merely serves as an undercurrent; but Barker succeeds admirably in turning it into a dramatic device to explore the complex issues she sets forth to clarify.
Being a doctor, Rivers' job is to preserve life. However, in just doing this, he ends up getting the men back on their feet again so they are ready to go back to the front (to get killed there just the same).

For Sassoon, Owen and the other soldier-patients, an important crux is the guilt complex which, given the emotional closeness between the fellow-soldiers in the trenches, almost forces the chaps to return to the front; to them it is the only way by which to avert the threat of mental destruction by guilt.

This dilemma is just what makes novels like these so worth one's while: even while physically on the safe side, the soldiers remain damned and doomed. What, indeed, are their chances of survival if and when they go back to the trenches?
A worthy testimony and a valuable read.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars WW1 pyschological story, 16 Nov 2008

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D. Glowacki (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Regeneration (Paperback)

An interesting,introverted book,based on Dr Rivers study of some of his more famous clients.It's wonderfully written,and Barkers characters ooze,a moody,intellectual,introverted mind set.The tone of the book has a nice sepia,style to it,and the sadness of war and pointless death is always there.This is a book for people who like the physchological side of WW1 and all of it's dilemmas,rather than the actual gun fight in the trenches.Barker concentrates on understatement and introspection to bring the book,and it's characters to life.This will become a "classic" of it's genre in the fullness of time

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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anthem for Great Writing, 18 Nov 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Regeneration (Paperback)

One of the most impressive books I have read in ages. A worthy Booker Prize winner. What impressed me the most was the subject matter and how it was handled. On the surface the "shrink" sessions of a First World War poet does not seem to be a far reaching let alone interesting subject for a novel. However, I was utterly engrossed by the story of the rehabilitation of not just Sassoon but all the other "inmates" of Craiglockhart as well. The anti war message is very clear and well argued from the author's point of view and in retrospect Sassoon was quite right. The sadness of the stories from the Front, the breakdowns and the attitude of the government and military are impressively recreated, as unfortunately are the methods of some other military hospitals. The appearance of Wilfred Owen should inspire readers to try his poetry, it is wonderful, honest and heartbreaking. All the waste of war, yards of mud for thousands of lives are here. Lest we forget, this is indeed an important work.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A thoughtful read
Set in Craiglockhart Hospital in Edinburgh, the book mostly follows psychiatrist W.H. Rivers as he treats the soldiers who have been taken out of service for his treatment. Read more

Published 2 months ago by J. Willis