Regeneration

A really interesting book and outside my usual wheelhouse. I read it on a friend's recommendation, particularly for its depiction of trauma and treatment in World War 1. His comment has stuck with me: "I love the humanity of Regeneration, especially in light of the anger, rage, and grief as each of the characters faces the ugly truth of war and that of insensitive people in authority."

Interesting subject and very sensitively depicted. A really excellent portrayal not just of several victims of war trauma but also the conflicted role of Rivers, the doctor who is treating them. All set in the backdrop of the horror of WW1 in the UK.

It's been awhile since I've read a book that was this, well, literary. I mostly read genre fiction which leads you by the hand and tells you what it's about. Barker's writing is a lot more complex but also very clearly written, a pleasure to read the prose page after page. I'm just not entirely sure what all she was getting at. Particularly in one of the last chapters, the torture treatments of Yealland which nevertheless cure the patients? Very uncomfortable reading.

Another theme of the book I particularly enjoyed was the gay characters Sassoon and Owens. The hints of homosexuality being discussed in hushed but forthright tones, with Rivers being sympathetic and refusing to pathologize his gay patients. Along with the themes of masculinity and upper British class consciousness there's a lot of interesting social depiction going on.

The first half of the book was strongest for me. I started to lose the plot a bit when Rivers leaves the hospital. That's part of Barker's obliqueness, there's no strong narrative story here, no complex plot machinations to follow. There's the evaluation of Sassoon as the main progression, a foil for all the other psychological treatment stories, but that's not a lot to hold on to. I made an error not paying more attention to Prior at first, his story is as important as Sassoon's and in some ways a more followable narrative arc. But the book is really Rivers' story.

I think I will watch the movie soon, curious how this story works in that medium.