Setting A+, Plot B-
Pre-World War I London and rural England come vividly to life in Pat Barker's novel, Life Class. The descriptions and situations from city fairs to country bike rides appeal to the reader's every sense. Few books have transported me so completely to another time and place. If only I had felt as involved in the plot or cared about the characters, it would have been a perfect read. Still, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.
Rated of 5
by Patricia (Seward AK)
Life Class by Pat Barker
Woodrow Wilson’s “war to end all wars” certainly did not. At best, WWI set the stage for introspection into the consequences of unbridled cruelty in the name of peace. As Pat Barker illustrates in Life Class, artists can reflect this anomaly through their passion. Yet what they commit to sketch pad or easel might not truly reflect the artist in real life. Barker spends almost too much time with the self-indulgent life of her characters in their pre-war existence. Abruptly, reality interrupts their angst and pettiness, forever. Life Class is a relatively quick read with lingering effect. If you want to contemplate the futility of war, the meaning of love and the value of art, Life Class is a good place to start.
Rated of 5
by Maggie (Canoga Park CA)
Life Class vs. Real Life Class
Pat Barker's new novel is as condensed and impressionistic as her Regeneration trilogy is lengthy and detailed. In fact, it could be a section of a larger work as the reader is given glimpses of the lives of its characters as they are derailed from expected paths by the great war with their futures left unresolved. As a fan of Barker, I very much enjoyed this slim novel and recommend it to those who have enjoyed the trilogy as well as those who have read Ian McEwan's Atonementand On Chesil Beach with pleasure.
Rated of 5
by Darlene (Rancho Mirage CA)
Life Class
Pat Barker can add another success with her new novel Life Class. Her beautiful writing skills combined with well defined characters makes this a wonderful read. Barker reminds us of the harsh realities of war and it's effect on an entire generation robbed of it's innocence.
Rated of 5
by Sandra (Philadelphia PA)
Life Class
Before reading this book, I had not read any of Pat Barker's novels. If this is her "superb new novel," I am quite disappointed. This book has nothing in it to keep me engaged or interested. The characters are thin, the time line keeps jumping... and the story, for me, has no passion. Reading this novel was work.
Rated of 5
by Beth (Savannah GA)
Art, War, Life - In Slow Motion
I was looking forward to reading this book by an author whose work was unfamiliar to me. And although Pat Barker is obviously an accomplished writer, with occasionally brilliant phrasing and moments of vivid insight and clarity, the book seemed to go in slow motion for me, and I had a tough time getting through it. I found the characters callow and unsympathetic, became impatient with their immaturity, and really didn't much care what became of them. So for me, Life Class was disappointing. I wouldn't recommend it to readers who like their fiction lively.
Rated of 5
by Donna (Woodstock MD)
Strange Start
This is the first Pat Barker novel that I've read so I am unfamiliar with her style. That being said, I thought the beginning of the book was very strange and irrelevant to the main story (the war and it's effect on the characters).
I felt as though the book I was expecting to read did not start until somewhere around chapter 12. I did enjoy the novel after that and felt that seeing the war through the eyes of a Red Cross volunteer was poignant and unique.
I agree with some of the other reviews, in that there is very interesting language at times and a lot of character development, but that didn't bother me. If it weren't for the Strange Start I would have given the book a 4.
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by Becky (Junction TX)
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by Sandra (Philadelphia PA)
