In volume one of Pat Barker’s award winning Regeneration Trilogy, readers experienced life in a hospital for English soldiers suffering from “war neurosis” (PTSD) during WWI. Barker uses both fictional and real historical characters (Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Dr. Rivers) to show the trauma of war for soldiers expected to heal and return to action, and the impact of their experiences upon the doctor treating them. At the end of that novel, Rivers’ patients are being released back to action, which was his goal, but […]
A View of WWI England’s Homefront
This is one of those books where I get why it’s acclaimed and award winning, but I didn’t really enjoy it that much. Granted, I’m not sure if these novels are meant to be enjoyed since I would definitely classify them in that literary fiction category that’s more about teaching than enjoying. However, even within that, I can’t say the novel particularly moved me. I thought it was dark and oppressive but in a way that actually turned me off from the novel. It isn’t […]