R E K. (bigstone) - , reviewed on + 1452 more book reviews
I have wanted to read The Ghost Road for a long time but friends advised beginning with the first in the trilogy so I did. Regeneration is written with such clarity and smoothness I found myself gliding through this novel without stopping. It's that type of read! Absolutely riveting.
While the topic is soldiers who fought in WWI, the emphasis in on those who find themselves hospitalized due to battle fatigue. Have they been driven mad by their gruesome experiences or are they just temporarily ill due to overexposure to the horrors of war? This is the mandate given to the highly respected Dr. William Rivers. As he works with soldiers whose mental stability must be determined before sending them back to the front he finds himself getting to know many of them on a personal level. One of his key patients is the highly intelligent Siegfried Sassoon, a notable poet and highly decorated hero. He views the war as senseless slaughter, a view also held by Dr. Rivers himself.
We get to know several of the patients well including Wilfred Owen who befriends Sassoon. Both write poetry and Sassoon helps Owen focus and publish his work. It's an unlikely friendship that blossoms while the two men are treated at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh. Some patients feel guilty when they find themselves in this facility while others are happy to be away from the horror of the front. The hospital echoes with the screams from the nightmares so many endure. It's a revealing glimpse into what happens within the minds of those who survive war in one way or another. In addition, we get a glimpse of how women are getting through the war when we meet Sarah who works in a munitions factors.
Drawn into this novel, I searched for the second in the series immediately and put the author on my favorites list. How could I not? Read it and see for yourself.
While the topic is soldiers who fought in WWI, the emphasis in on those who find themselves hospitalized due to battle fatigue. Have they been driven mad by their gruesome experiences or are they just temporarily ill due to overexposure to the horrors of war? This is the mandate given to the highly respected Dr. William Rivers. As he works with soldiers whose mental stability must be determined before sending them back to the front he finds himself getting to know many of them on a personal level. One of his key patients is the highly intelligent Siegfried Sassoon, a notable poet and highly decorated hero. He views the war as senseless slaughter, a view also held by Dr. Rivers himself.
We get to know several of the patients well including Wilfred Owen who befriends Sassoon. Both write poetry and Sassoon helps Owen focus and publish his work. It's an unlikely friendship that blossoms while the two men are treated at Craiglockhart War Hospital near Edinburgh. Some patients feel guilty when they find themselves in this facility while others are happy to be away from the horror of the front. The hospital echoes with the screams from the nightmares so many endure. It's a revealing glimpse into what happens within the minds of those who survive war in one way or another. In addition, we get a glimpse of how women are getting through the war when we meet Sarah who works in a munitions factors.
Drawn into this novel, I searched for the second in the series immediately and put the author on my favorites list. How could I not? Read it and see for yourself.
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