Toby's Room, by Pat Barker opens in 1912, with Elinor, an aspiring artist studying at the Slade School of Fine Art, having gone back home for a visit. After being badgered for details about her exotic life in London, and the men she must be meeting, she blurts out the name of the first man she can think of - Kit Neville - a man who makes an impression wherever he goes, although rarely a positive one! Her brother Toby, who she has always been extremely close to, seems to feel threatened by this news of a potential beau, and his later reaction almost destroys their relationship. They strive to bury what happened between them, and life goes on, with Elinor eventually becoming involved with Paul Tarrant, another artist at The Slade. At the outbreak of the First World War however, all the young men in her life enlist, including Toby, who serves as a Medical Officer. When the family receive news that Toby is "Missing, Believed Killed" Elinor refuses to accept this. She retreats to her family home once again, and paints all of Toby's favourite places, and sleeps in Toby's room to feel closer to him. In her quest to find out the truth, she then seeks the help of Paul, who is back home with a leg injury. Together, they track down Kit Neville, who served with Toby and is also back home after suffering a horrific facial injury. Kit is saying very little, which only adds to the conviction that the real story is being hidden from her. Elinor finds a new role in helping the medical staff at The Queen's Hospital, Sidcup, where she provides anatomical sketches before, during and after the pioneering operations taking place on the soldiers by Harold Gillies (a real life figure, thought to be the father of plastic surgery). As the surgeons try to rebuild shattered faces, Elinor tries to rebuild her life ... will she find what she is looking for? Pat Barker has worked an intimate family story into the broad fabric of the First World War. Mixing fact and fiction she has created a novel that is disturbing and visceral, but also quiet and thoughtful. The horrors of war, both immediate, and long lived, are laid out for all to see. I found this book (which I read in print) unsettling at times, both in the themes and the detailed descriptions. Not all the characters are sympathetic ones, but then that is much more true to life. A book to make you think. A book that warns of the dangers of secrets. A book that anyone who thinks that war is a glorious thing should be made to read.
My STAR rating: FOUR.
Length: 264 print pages.
Price I paid: Free, borrowed from my husband.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio CD; unabridged audio download; ebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment