false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182874011m/1342650.jpg 1342650 7 In this superb new novel, Pat Barker returns to her most renowned subject: the devastation and psychic damage wrought by WWI on all levels of British society. In the spring of 1914, a group of young students gather in an art studio for a life-drawing class. Paul Tarrant and Elinor Brooke are two components of a love triangle, and at the outset of the war, they turn to each other. After volunteering for the Red Cross, Paul must confront the fact that life, love, and art will never be the same for him. Pat Barker is unrivaled in her ability to convey simple, moving human truths. Her skill in relaying the harrowing experience of modern warfare is matched by the depth of insight she brings to the experience of love and the morality of art in a time of war. LIFE CLASS is one of her genuine masterpieces. 2441915 1 2007 Life Class total:479|5:43|4:168|3:189|2:68|1:11| 479 1601 836 149 0 2 false false Sat Nov 01 04:53:05 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 01 04:55:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 3 false false Sat Jul 19 13:43:38 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 04 12:43:59 -0700 2008 Regeneration trilogy so much, but I just can’t get into Barker’s other work. Her latest novel struck me as weirdly unfocused: the first half follows Paul through art school and various romantic assignations, including a quasi love triangle thing; I didn’t find it particularly compe...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 10:35:46 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 10:44:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 16:40:13 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 21:36:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:53:45 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:53:45 -0800 2009 It's unsurprising that critics in the U.S. and U.K. compared Life Class to Pat Barker's Regeneration Trilogy (Regeneration, 1990; The Eye in the Door, 1993; and the Booker Prize-winning Ghost Road, 1995) in its thematic exploration of World War I's immediate impact. Reviewers generally agreed that L...

more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Jul 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 15:56:22 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 25 16:04:46 -0700 2009 Regeneration trilogy, it is really upsetting to me that Pat Barker's other fiction leaves me feeling, for the most part, somewhat cold. I was hopeful that Barker's return to the WWI era would mean that this book would be as amazing as Regeneration et al, but unfor...more...]]> 2 0 false false Wed Jun 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 21 18:57:59 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 27 08:01:08 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Sep 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 04:31:48 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 15 09:48:52 -0700 2009
The novel follows a trio of art students and their preoccupations with love and lust, which pale to insignificance as the momentum of war gathers pace. Paul and Kit bo...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 22:56:27 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 22:57:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 08 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 08:31:07 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 08 16:45:31 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 06:04:08 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 15 06:08:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 29 20:34:06 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 08:56:43 -0800 2008
I'm a big fan of Pat Barker's "Regeneration" trilogy, and also a lot of her recent work, but I think "Life Class" is a let-down. The World War I scenes are vivid enough, but there's not enough of them. The n...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 11:30:43 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 27 11:35:37 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jun 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 14:26:35 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 14:34:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 02 08:29:25 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 30 09:19:37 -0800 2008 Life Class is an apt title for Pat Barker's newest novel. Set during World War I, the story turns on the experiences of three London art students, Paul, Elinor, and Neville. We meet the young painters at the Slade School of Art, on the eve of the Great War. As the novel progresses a triangular lo...more...]]> 2 0 false true Mon Sep 15 22:13:12 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 22:14:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 04:37:50 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 04:42:08 -0700 2008 Set initially in 1914 before the start of WWI, tells the story of two students at London's Slade School of Fine Art, Paul Tarrant and Elinor Brooke, along with that ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Jun 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 01 10:18:57 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 08 18:29:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 23 13:34:44 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 14:03:03 -0700 2008
If you tasted and disliked the trilogy, then stay away from "Life Class." And vice ve...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jul 21 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 17 19:29:29 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 08:21:37 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1342650