Life Class Trilogy: Toby's Room Lib/E (Audiobook)

from PDCRead

I had never heard of Pat Barker before, and read this as a monthly book group read. It is a sad story about a brother an sister, who share a very dark secret, and is set just before the First World War. The family they come from is slightly dysfunctional, but fairly well to do, and Elinor has a t...

from Laura400

This immaculately constructed novel is a testament to Pat Barker's skill and power as a novelist. With her usual felicitous writing style, she carries the reader along effortlessly. One doesn't immediately notice how complex this book is. But the structure sprawls over months and years, with stop...

from johnwbeha

I approach a Pat Barker book with a sense of trepidation. I know that what I read will be fiction, but I also know that it will be the truth and that that truth will be both uncomfortable and immensely sad. Perhaps that it in inevitable once the First World War becomes part of the background to t...

from meredk

Terrific book, slightly better (IMO) than the first of the trilogy. This is Pat Barker at her best: crisp, imaginative writing; fascinating characters; keen insight into people's motivations. The descriptions of both WWI battle injuries and art work are insightful. The pacing of the book is perfe...

from Cariola

As a fan of Barker's brilliant Regeneration series, I had high hopes for Toby's Room, but I confess to being somewhat underwhelmed. Art student Elinor Brooke, familiar to readers of Life Class, returns at the heart of the story. World War I is peering over the horizon but has not yet crossed the ...