Life class

Barker secured a high literary and popular reputation as the author of the well-regarded Regeneration trilogy of novels (Regeneration, 1991; The Eye in the Door, 1994; The Ghost Road, 1995) about Britain in World War I. As subsequent novels have demonstrated, that marvelous sequence certainly didn't deplete her reserve of talent. Her new novel returns her fans to the Britain of World War I; like the novels of the trilogy, it is about suffering, setbacks, and sacrifice on a personal level, at a time when the national fabric is under considerable stress. The book opens in a London art academy, where we meet the chief characters, who are embroiled in their little battles as artists and lovers. The bigger war soon unavoidably impacts their lives, however, especially as the main protagonist, Paul Tarrant, volunteers for the Red Cross and goes to the front. The point of the novel is the lesson that the war teaches these young men and women: quick, deep personal change is inescapable and probably beneficial in times of dire national change. Some readers may find Barker slow moving; others will appreciate the care she takes in her rich, deliberate character building.--Hooper, Brad Copyright 2007 Booklist

Set initially in 1914 before the start of WWI, Barker's first novel since 2004's Double Vision tells the story of two students at London's Slade School of Fine Art, Paul Tarrant and Elinor Brooke, along with that of Kit Neville, a promising young painter. Paul begins an affair with Teresa Halliday, a troubled artist's model, and Kit woos Elinor, but both men rush off to the Continent at the outset of hostilities to work with the wounded. The author's unflinching eye for detail and her supple prose create an undeniably powerful narrative, but her skills cannot compensate for a weak plot. What appear to be critical story lines (Paul's affair with Teresa, Kit's painting career) are almost abandoned once Paul and Elinor become lovers. And the book's main theme-war's impact on art and love-pales in comparison with the tragic experiences of those who fight and die in the conflict. Despite riveting passages depicting the waste and horror of WWI, this effort falls short of the standard set by Barker's magisterial Regeneration trilogy, the last of which, The Ghost Road, won the Booker Prize. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In 1914 Britain, three students discover love at a life-drawing class and war when they volunteer for the Red Cross at the outbreak of hostilities. With a reading group guide. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The Booker Prize-winning British author (Double Vision, 2003, etc.) returns to the subject of World War I, treated so memorably in her celebrated Regeneration trilogy. This is a story of hopeful ambitions and relationships redirected and reshaped by a climate of catastrophic change. Early chapters set in London chart the experiences of Paul Tarrant, in flight from his youth spent in the working-class north and his family's unhappiness, studying at the Slade Gallery, where--a demanding professor harshly implies--Paul will not transform himself into an artist. Parallel disappointments and rejections accumulate quickly. In a scene reminiscent of Dostoevsky, Paul attempts to protect a drunken teenaged girl from a well-dressed older man who appears to be stalking her--and cannot tell whether he succeeds. Paul fails to connect romantically with his virginal classmate Elinor Brooke, and a brief sexual relationship with artist's model Teresa Halliday, the victim of her abusive estranged husband, also goes awry. Then, the War--hitherto a threatening presence rumbling in the background--takes Paul and another Slade classmate, wealthy, supremely confident Kit Neville, to Belgium, where Paul labors as an orderly in a battlefield "hospital" in Ypres, two miles from the front. Exchanges of letters between Paul and Elinor, as well as her harrowing "visit" to Ypres during which she surrenders her closely guarded virginity, and barely escapes a violent bombing attack, render the horrors of combat with (Barker's trademark) meticulously researched detail and piercing clarity. Secondary characters' experiences likewise amplify into lucid microcosms of the global cataclysm that shadows every individual life. And Barker pulls strings expertly, leading to a heart-wrenching anti-resolution perfectly expressed by Elinor's guilty, self-lacerating rejection of Paul's commitment to serve and sacrifice. Mature, unsentimental and searching. One of this excellent writer's finest books. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Barker secured a high literary and popular reputation as the author of the well-regarded Regeneration trilogy of novels (Regeneration, 1991; The Eye in the Door, 1994; The Ghost Road, 1995) about Britain in World War I. As subsequent novels have demonstrated, that marvelous sequence certainly didn't deplete her reserve of talent. Her new novel returns her fans to the Britain of World War I; like the novels of the trilogy, it is about suffering, setbacks, and sacrifice on a personal level, at a time when the national fabric is under considerable stress. The book opens in a London art academy, where we meet the chief characters, who are embroiled in their little battles as artists and lovers. The bigger war soon—unavoidably—impacts their lives, however, especially as the main protagonist, Paul Tarrant, volunteers for the Red Cross and goes to the front. The point of the novel is the lesson that the war teaches these young men and women: quick, deep personal change is inescapable and probably beneficial in times of dire national change. Some readers may find Barker slow moving; others will appreciate the care she takes in her rich, deliberate character building. Copyright 2007 Booklist Reviews.

In 1914 Britain, three students discover love at a life-drawing class and war when they volunteer for the Red Cross at the outbreak of hostilities. With a reading group guide. Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Barker returns to the World War I setting of her award-winning Regeneration trilogy (Regeneration; The Eye in the Door; and The Ghost Road). It's the spring of 1914, and Paul Tarrant, a working-class lad from the North of England, is enrolled at London's Slade School of Art. He's attracted to a fellow student, the beautiful and self-contained Elinor Brooke, who has also drawn the romantic attentions of Kit Neville, a recent Slade graduate and rising star on the art scene. Instead of pursuing Elinor, Paul embarks on an affair with Teresa, an artist's model with an abusive, jealous husband. When war breaks out, Paul and Kit volunteer for the Belgian Red Cross, while Elinor remains in London to focus on her painting. Although Barker aims to make a profound statement about the role of art in a time of war, her book sadly lacks the devastating power and beauty of the Regeneration trilogy. Thinly drawn characters appear and disappear for no apparent reason; there are few scenes about the actual process of making art, an odd omission; and Barker half-heartedly throws in psychological suspense that goes nowhere. All in all, a muddle. Buy only for larger fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/07.]—Wilda Williams, Library Journal

Set initially in 1914 before the start of WWI, Barker's first novel since 2004's Double Vision tells the story of two students at London's Slade School of Fine Art, Paul Tarrant and Elinor Brooke, along with that of Kit Neville, a promising young painter. Paul begins an affair with Teresa Halliday, a troubled artist's model, and Kit woos Elinor, but both men rush off to the Continent at the outset of hostilities to work with the wounded. The author's unflinching eye for detail and her supple prose create an undeniably powerful narrative, but her skills cannot compensate for a weak plot. What appear to be critical story lines (Paul's affair with Teresa, Kit's painting career) are almost abandoned once Paul and Elinor become lovers. And the book's main theme—war's impact on art and love—pales in comparison with the tragic experiences of those who fight and die in the conflict. Despite riveting passages depicting the waste and horror of WWI, this effort falls short of the standard set by Barker's magisterial Regeneration trilogy, the last of which, The Ghost Road, won the Booker Prize. (Jan.)