Life Class (2007)

Like Pat Barker’s hugely successful Regeneration trilogy ‘Life Class’ is set just before and during the First World War. As the novel opens Paul Tarrant an art student studying at the Slade School of art takes his place in the life drawing class tutored by the difficult Henry Tonks. Paul has a tough time under Tonks, leading him to even question his talent in his frustration. Paul and his artistic friends spend many evenings at the Café Royal, where he is introduced to Teresa, a beautiful troubled young woman, who Paul soon becomes involved with. In the background however, is Elinor Brooke another Slade student who is admired by both Paul and fellow artist Kit Neville. Paul is a lesser artist than Kit and Elinor, both of whom seem to be teetering on the brink of brilliance.
As tensions in Europe rise, Elinor invites both Paul and Kit to spend some time with her family at their home, but Elinor is reticent of getting too involved with Kit who wants to marry her, and knows that Paul is also attracted to her – but she keeps them both at arm’s length. Elinor is a modern young woman, shockingly short haired she is unconventional in many ways and doesn’t dream of the traditional role of wife and mother that other young women content themselves with. For Elinior is serious about her art, and anxious not to end up like her mother and sister. When war comes Elinor wants only to continue with her art, she prefers to ignore the war as much as possible, despite her brother Toby enlisting and going off to France.
With the outbreak of hostilities, and unable to serve in the army, both Paul and Kit Neville find themselves in Belgium, as Red Cross volunteers. Here Paul works with men dreadfully injured, many of whom don’t survive their injuries. Paul and the people he works alongside have an impossible task – by the time the injured arrive at their station their wounds are already infected – they are in fact fighting their own losing battle. There is a soldier so desperate he tries to shoot himself, failing to kill himself, he is patched up, so that later he can be shot for desertion. A frustrated and enraged surgeon kicks an amputated limb across the operating room. These are not pretty images, but they are powerful. Pat Barker’s writing about World War I is uncompromising and unforgettable.
“But then, that's the question. Should you even pause to consider your own reactions? These men suffer so much more than he does, more than he can imagine. In the face of their suffering, isn't it self-indulgent to think about his own feelings? He has nobody to talk to about such things and blunders his way through as best he can. If you feel nothing -this is what he comes back to time and time again -you might just as well be a machine, and machines aren't very good at caring for people. There's something machine-like about a lot of the professional nurses here. Even Sister Byrd, whom he admires, he looks at her sometimes and sees an automaton. Well, lucky for her, perhaps. It's probably more efficient to be like that. Certainly less painful.”
When new recruit Lewis arrives, without the matter of fact cynicism that Paul has acquired, he is accommodated in Paul’s hut, and therefore under his wing. Paul finds this responsibility irritating, and the sharing of his space difficult – wanting somewhere where he could at least theoretically paint on his days off. Paul rents a room in the small nearby town, and invites Elinor to stay, for a short time. Here their relationship naturally moves on a pace. However the war encroaches and Elinor must leave suddenly – and return to the safety of England.
The longer Paul stays in Belgium, tending to the horribly injured, later driving ambulances – leaving injured men he cannot accommodate in the road, even dealing with piles of dead bodies – the more of himself he seems to lose. The distance between he and Elinor seems greater as her letters become less frequent, and the world he once inhabited seems a long way away. Back in London Elinor has joined a group of pacifists and conscientious objectors led by society hostess Lady Ottoline Morrell. As letters pass between the two lovers it becomes apparent that neither can fully understand the world of the other.
After the bombardment of Ypres, Paul begins to see the world very differently, on his return to London, Paul must determine whether his experiences have changed him completely – and where, if anywhere, he now fits.
I found Life Class a compelling and powerful novel, Pat Barkers descriptions of injured men, and the bombardment of Ypres transport the reader to Belgium in the early days of World War I. The novel’s opening in the months before the outbreak of war, the frivolity, flirting and possibilities that life offers these young people contrast starkly with what comes later. I now cannot wait to read the sequel Toby’s Room which I have on my kindle. ( )

Life Class deals with idealism and morality as it relates to war; especially its conflicting points of view. These are concepts I have struggled with throughout my life. In my youthful 20’s and 30’s, I had the same idealist thought process as Elinor: ignore war, it is not real, life is. As Elinor, I looked to art as the aesthetic light that would inform and guide us to higher thoughts. This, in turn, would eradicate violence and unethical behaviors. Thirty years later, I am less idealistic. Life experiences have altered my philosophy. I understand the role war has played in history, although I do not accept it as necessary. Pat Barker leaves Elinor’s perspective inconclusive. She is still young. Her life has not fully formed. Will her experiences change how she looks at war in the future? Will she allow it to become real. If she does, what will she do with those thoughts and how will they change her. These are important issues the author’s secondary character, Elinor, brings forth. Played out against the realist protagonist, Paul, the author has written a conscientious and memorable novel that has more substance to it than first meets the mind’s eye. ( )

I liked this more than 2 stars so I think I'm penalizing Barker for this not being as great as Regeneration or even Double Vision. ( )

Didn't like the characters at the start of this novel. Too whiny, too shelfish. But once I was thrust into the horrors of WWI I felt a little closer to them. And I sometimes found it difficult to understand who was talking during the dialog scenes. Just call me Mr. Dense. Probably a very minor criticism, but I sometimes enjoy reading fiction aloud and I kept getting my character voices mixed up. Barker is famous for writing the Regeneration trilogy about WWI. While this book is good, I can't imagine it compares to the trilogy. I've heard so many great things about it. ( )

I was lucky enough to hear Pat Barker read from this book when it was first published. As always, Pat Barker books are very easy to read and it was enjoyable to become engrossed in some fabulous narrative. Her characters are always well developed even when (in this case) you might not like them. I liked the two clear sections of this book, it became an almost before and after more so for Paul than any of the other characters I felt.

I enjoyed the combination of art and history and with the references at the end any readers interested in developing their knowledge in this area have a range of resources they could look at. I don’t have a lot to say that isn’t already available to read in other reviews. What I will mention is that her writing is so good and accessible to all but doesn’t bypass any of the atrocities of war.

The only reason this book doesn’t get the full five stars from me is because I didn’t enjoy all of the letters between Paul and Elinor. They were a good addition to the novel and made it more personal but I just didn’t enjoy them in the same way as I did the narrative. ( )