Reviews

Het oog in de deur by Pat Barker

borborygmus's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Really liked Regeneration, but less moved by this one. There seems a little bit of the middle child syndrome about it - you know there's a third one coming!

cathepsut's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

The Regeneration Trilogy: I read these books in the late '90s, after Ghost Road was first published. I was in love with the British war poets of WWI at the time and this fit right in. I don't remember many details, but these books were great reads. Very athmospheric, accessible and captivating main characters, I suffered with them every step of the way.

P.S.: The movie is also very good.

selkelite's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Amazing. Better than the first and oh, so much gayer. Prior truly comes into his own in this one and the sheer level of emotional feeling I have for him is giving me problems functioning, like, day to day. I love him. I love him. I can't talk about the things I love most without spoiling and I don't want this to be a spoiler review but... oh, Lord. This shoots into my top ten books.

Straight on to The Ghost Road, now.

babbysket's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

lovmelovmycats's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

Dr. Rivers doesn't think Prior should imagine a monster where he has gaps in his memory. But, should he?
This story is so gripping.

It had me so tense about Prior's blackouts! I thought there was going to be more to the process of
integrating his dissociative personality
. But then the book ended! Prior has to know but seems so reluctant to believe that
he betrayed Mac
. I expect these things will be important in the sequel.

And Dr. Rivers! Things are up in the air with him. On to The Ghost Road, and if it doesn't tie up these character arcs, I might cry!

dfvictorie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

charlottespiers's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Pat Barker is still an amazing author, I just hated the main character compared to the first book.

cloudfarmer's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.25

hannahm25's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lauli's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

The second installment in Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy, like its predecessor, delves into the physical and psychological consequences of WWI on soldiers, but this time centering on the issue of identity and its fragmentation or dissociation upon extreme conditions. The book opens with a quotation from Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and presents characters who initially feel watched or stalked by "the eye in the door" only to later discover that the real threat abides within themselves, at the threshold of consciousness ("the I in the door"). As Barker puts it: "For somebody like Manning, profoundly committed to living a double life, the revelation that both sides of his life were visible to unknown eyes must be like having the door to the innermost part of one's identity smashed open." An enlightening read for people who are obsessed with WWI like yours truly.