Guardian Newspaper 1000 Novels discussion

The home for our discussion of Pat Barker's Regeneration.

I am really enjoying this book and I am surprised that I took on it so quickly.

I am not sure how to share here since I don't want to spoil the story for anybody. Do I just put spoiler at the beginning of the discussion and where I am in the book (e.g., chapter 10?

Thanks!

Hi Chelsea, you can use the HTML tools (follow the link that says 'some HTML is ok') to blank out any spoilers you write, but as long as you give adequate warning in your posts I'm sure no one will complain :)

Thanks Iona! I appreciate it. :)

I really want to share about this book so I decided to just label it "spoiler" and share, and others can decide whether to read it or not. I am on page 167 or chapter 15.

I find this book fascinating because I myself have suffered from PTSD and I can appreciate the candid way in which the author talks about how the war affects these men and how they all deal with it. I specially like the way that she includes River's own frailties and he is a key person in their hopeful healing.

I can also appreciate the gray area when it comes to war and what those helping the men "heal" go through since, if the soldiers "heal", they have to return to the hell of war and what a decision to make in those lives by the helpers themselves.

Chelsea - I FINALLY just got this book from the library, so I will be joining you on the read shortly! It bodes well that you are enjoying it so much.

I am so glad, Kaycie! Can't wait! :)

I just got this from the library, but won't start for a few days as I am finishing up the mammoth The Luminaries.

Thanks, Leslie, for letting me know. We still have the whole month of January so that's great. Happy reading!

Just approaching halfway through - this is a re-read for me (I read the trilogy about a decade ago) and I had almost forgotten just how amazingly well-written the books are. Almost clinically detached, but able to take us into the heads of these people who have been through so much. Also, it is of course based on real people and real events.

The movie, starring Jonathan Pryce as River and James Wilby as Sassoon is worth watching.

I didn't know about the movie so I looked it up. It is called Behind the lines here in the USA. Thanks for the information.

Hi all! I finally read it and finished! I usually don't like war books very much because I really can't stand wars, so it was refreshing reading a war book with characters that shared my sentiments!

Overall, the writing is very sparse, which makes the horrors that are being described seem so much more stark. I don't have much experience with PTSD, but these descriptions are very good and it is easy to imagine from here.

Was anyone else absolutely horrified at the electrical shock treatment? I don't know much (ie. anything) about psychological treatments to know how frequent this was, but judging from the author's notes in the back of the book, this was not an uncommon treatment! Can you imagine surviving the horrors of war to have to go through THAT? I could imagine getting PTSD from that one experience alone!

Anyways, this book showed me just how glad I should be that I don't have to go to a war, and how much I never want to. I hope that the higher-ups in political power around the world read more books like this so that they can think a bit harder about getting their countries involved in future wars.

Good nomination, Phil. Like I said, I don't like war books so I never would have picked this up myself, but I'm glad I read it.

One of my favorite books, and I like the other two books of the trilogy as well. The psychologist with the inability to form visual memories is a memorable character, and so are the discussions about the "lizard brain." Beyond that, the moral dilemma of whether to cure a man so he can go back to war and be killed is deeply worth exploring, especially when today, we send men and women to war and then offer them no effective mental health treatment whatever.

I started this morning and have finished Part I. I have read both Sassoon and Graves prior to this, so I am finding it slightly uncomfortable to have them as characters. Anyone else have this reaction?

Other than that, I am finding it an absorbing book!

Hi Kaycie! Thanks for sharing. When I read the description about the electrocution, I felt nauseated. When I read, I tend to get right into the action. :)

I found this book fascinating because I myself have suffered from PTSD and I can appreciate the candid way in which the author talks about how the war affects these men and how they all dealt with it. I specially like the way that she includes River's own frailties and he is a key person in their hopeful healing.

And Dennis, I can also appreciate the gray area when it comes to war and what those helping the men "heal" go through since, if the soldiers "heal", they have to return to the hell of war and what a decision to make in those lives by the helpers themselves.

And that's the tricky part, the offering of treatment to the veterans. It is offered in the USA but, at the same time, going for help is seen as weak so many do not go. They have had articles and TV shows with higher ranking military officials, who got help, sharing that there is no shame in seeking help hoping to encourage others to do it.

The book was hard to read for me but, like Leslie, I couldn't put it down either and I can't wait to hear your opinions on the book.

I had to put the book down for a full day after I read the (view spoiler)[part about the electrocution therapy. (hide spoiler)] The idea that these men went to war defending their country, and yet they're treated so inhumanely in order to get them 'healed' and back to the front as soon as possible - makes me feel really uncomfortable.

On a lighter note, I quite liked the portrayal of Sassoon, Graves and Rivers. I can't comment as to its accuracy, but I really did enjoy their witty dialogue.

I went online, since I was curious, and read about the main characters, their lives, and even read about the doctor who performed the inhumane treatments. I was curious to see how their lives had prepared them (or not) for the war experience and what happened after the war to each of them.

I'm wondering about the real people we've had as characters or described: obviously Rivers, Sassoon and Owen, but also Graves (author of the I Claudius books and more pertinently Goodbye To All That), HG Wells, Bertrand Russell and I've just read about the visits during Rivers's childhood of the Reverend Charles Dodgson, more famously known by his pen name of Lewis Carroll. Anyone else I've missed?

Chelsea wrote: "I went online, since I was curious, and read about the main characters, their lives, and even read about the doctor who performed the inhumane treatments. I was curious to see how their lives had p..."

Did you find anything that might say how similar or different their real lives were from the book? For instance, was Sassoon even treated by Rivers? Does it seem like Barker was true to their real lives as much as possible, or did she take a lot of liberties in the writing?

Phil wrote: "I'm wondering about the real people we've had as characters or described: obviously Rivers, Sassoon and Owen, but also Graves (author of the I Claudius books and more pertinently Goodbye To All Tha..."

I hadn't realized that Charles Dodgson was Lewis Carroll!

@Kaycie -- I haven't done any real research since starting this, but do know that Sassoon was treated (along with Owens) at Craiglockhart. I believe Rivers was in fact his doctor but don't know for sure.

I am more than 3/4 done now & should finish up today or tomorrow.

Kaycie wrote: "Chelsea wrote: "I went online, since I was curious, and read about the main characters, their lives, and even read about the doctor who performed the inhumane treatments. I was curious to see how t..."

Kay

One source I found interesting online is the following article: my link text

I have finished - I gave it 4 stars but 4½ might be more appropriate. You can read my brief review here.

@Kaycie -- my book had an afterword by the author which discussed the historical facts used in the novel. Rivers was in fact Sassoon's doctor & his case was even used in one of River's books (under the pseudonym of Patient J or something like that).

Chelsea wrote: "One source I found interesting online is the following article: my link text "

What an interesting little article! I feel like this is a whole side of Rivers that wasn't quite developed yet in Regeneration....almost like a "what are they doing now" sort of followup!

Leslie wrote: "@Kaycie -- my book had an afterword by the author which discussed the historical facts used in the novel. Rivers was in fact Sassoon's doctor & his case was even used in one of River's books (under the pseudonym of Patient J or something like that). "

Fun! I wish I would have known this going in to the novel...I think it would have added a lot for me knowing that these characters were real people!

Thanks for sharing your review, Leslie. Here is mine:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I've enjoyed sharing here with you all about this book and look forward to more discussions in the future. :)