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Another World
Plagued by nightmarish memories of the trenches where he saw his brother die, Nick's grandfather Gordie lays dying as Nick struggles to keep the peace in his increasingly fractious home. As Nick's suburban family loses control over their world, Nick begins to learn his grandfather's buried secrets and comes to understand the power of old wounds to leak into the present. As a study of the power of memory and loss, Another World conveys with extraordinary intensity the ways in which the violent past returns to haunt and distort the present.
277 pages, Paperback
First published October 29, 1998
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1719 people want to read
About the author
Pat Barker
26 books2,632 followersPat Barker is an English writer known for her fiction exploring themes of memory, trauma, and survival. She gained prominence with Union Street (1982), a stark portrayal of working-class women's lives, and later achieved critical acclaim with the Regeneration Trilogy (1991–1995), a series blending history and fiction to examine the psychological impact of World War I. The final book, The Ghost Road (1995), won the Booker Prize. In recent years, she has turned to retelling classical myths from a female perspective, beginning with The Silence of the Girls (2018). Barker's work is widely recognized for its direct and unflinching storytelling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 207 reviews
May 20, 2016
I seem to be on a quest for awkward books, as right after finishing Cunningham's "A Home at the End of the World" I have stumbled upon "Another World" by Pat Barker.
I was feeling hungry for another book of Barker's, as almost two years have passed after I finished the "Regeneration" trilogy. It fascinated me at that time in so many senses, that I was a bit afraid of reading another book by Barker, lest it should disappoint me. "Another World" did not disappoint me at all and I believe now, was the right book to follow the trilogy.
The action of "Another World" takes place in our time and revolves around a family, whose main characters are a university professor Nick and his grandfather Geordie, a 101 years old veteran of WWI. There are a lot of other characters who are important, and at the same time they remain somewhat in the background: not fully developed, not fully understood. I feel that the author wanted them to remain this way, getting the book to closer resemble real life.
When I think about Geordie, I try to imagine the characters from "Regeneration" living in our time and society, and I fail. But there he is, a living fossil, a relic from the times of the World War I, placed in our days. One of the main themes Barker analyses is memory. Geordie's traumatic war memories are suddenly becoming stronger as he is getting closer to his deathbed. Throughout the book and its different characters Barker questions the consistency and permanence of our memory, suggesting that it may be malleable instead, changing and adapting together with the environment and perceptions of other people.
Another topic Barker skillfully analyses, and which I found uncomfortable and at the same time captivating, is death. I had a feeling that no detail, no dismaying aspect of it has escaped the author's eye. Reading the passages of the book was difficult at times, as it brought to surface some related memories of my own, but it also brought me closer to the story and its characters.
A really great book, recommended to those who are not afraid of being lead out of their comfort zone.
I was feeling hungry for another book of Barker's, as almost two years have passed after I finished the "Regeneration" trilogy. It fascinated me at that time in so many senses, that I was a bit afraid of reading another book by Barker, lest it should disappoint me. "Another World" did not disappoint me at all and I believe now, was the right book to follow the trilogy.
The action of "Another World" takes place in our time and revolves around a family, whose main characters are a university professor Nick and his grandfather Geordie, a 101 years old veteran of WWI. There are a lot of other characters who are important, and at the same time they remain somewhat in the background: not fully developed, not fully understood. I feel that the author wanted them to remain this way, getting the book to closer resemble real life.
When I think about Geordie, I try to imagine the characters from "Regeneration" living in our time and society, and I fail. But there he is, a living fossil, a relic from the times of the World War I, placed in our days. One of the main themes Barker analyses is memory. Geordie's traumatic war memories are suddenly becoming stronger as he is getting closer to his deathbed. Throughout the book and its different characters Barker questions the consistency and permanence of our memory, suggesting that it may be malleable instead, changing and adapting together with the environment and perceptions of other people.
Another topic Barker skillfully analyses, and which I found uncomfortable and at the same time captivating, is death. I had a feeling that no detail, no dismaying aspect of it has escaped the author's eye. Reading the passages of the book was difficult at times, as it brought to surface some related memories of my own, but it also brought me closer to the story and its characters.
A really great book, recommended to those who are not afraid of being lead out of their comfort zone.
January 16, 2009
Another World by Pat Barker is a novel whose parts do not add up to the sum of the whole. There is no getting there in this novel, for there is nowhere to go. With the past dripping into the present through a ghost and a hidden mural in the family's home the novel has enough of the past to create interest; yet, it does not. The characters are well drawn, but there is no follow through and the reader is left wondering what to make of it all. This was a disappointment for this reader who immensely enjoyed the author's Regeneration Trilogy (Regeneration, The Eye in the Door and The Ghost Road). By all means, read Pat Barker, but start with her earlier trilogy.
April 16, 2018
I actually liked this book almost as much as the Regeneration trilogy. To me the World War I background of the trilogy was inherently more interesting, but the psychological drama of this book was close to equaling that of the earlier Regeneration works, which immediately preceded this novel.
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Previous review: 33 Moments of Happiness
Next review: Arrowsmith
More recent review: First Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
Previous library review: The Ghost Road
Next library review: The Sense of an Ending
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Previous review: 33 Moments of Happiness
Next review: Arrowsmith
More recent review: First Dictionary of Cultural Literacy
Previous library review: The Ghost Road
Next library review: The Sense of an Ending
December 14, 2020
ANOTHER WORLD (1998) has two story lines: the first one is the story of war veteran Geordie Lucas, aged 101. He is dying of cancer but he believes he is dying from a bayonet wound he sustained in the run-up to the battle of the Somme in 1916. He feels guilty over the death of his brother Harry during the war and is a perfect example of what it feels like to carry the guilt of wartime atrocities. The past overwhelms Geordie like an agonizing nightmare, and he spends the last days of his life haunted by ghosts of the trenches.
The second story line is about one of Geordie's descendants: his grandson Nick, who has recently moved into a late Victorian stately house with his second wife, his troubled stepson and their own toddler. Nick's exhausted and sleep deprived wife is heavily pregnant with their second child and, to complicate things further, his own daughter from his first marriage has come to stay with them for a few days. Nick's family life is full of unrelieved tensions and Barker deftly captures a sense of claustrophobia, danger, inminent evil. As if the family tensions were not disturbing enough, Barker adds a Victorian ghost that haunts Nick's house, a ghost which turns out to be the apparition of a young girl who was once suspected of killing her brother.
Initially, the two plots seemed really interesting but Barker was not able to weave the two story lines together convincingly. There are forced parallels, an unnecessary ghost, several implausible episodes and a sloppy ending. Definitely, not her best novel.
The second story line is about one of Geordie's descendants: his grandson Nick, who has recently moved into a late Victorian stately house with his second wife, his troubled stepson and their own toddler. Nick's exhausted and sleep deprived wife is heavily pregnant with their second child and, to complicate things further, his own daughter from his first marriage has come to stay with them for a few days. Nick's family life is full of unrelieved tensions and Barker deftly captures a sense of claustrophobia, danger, inminent evil. As if the family tensions were not disturbing enough, Barker adds a Victorian ghost that haunts Nick's house, a ghost which turns out to be the apparition of a young girl who was once suspected of killing her brother.
Initially, the two plots seemed really interesting but Barker was not able to weave the two story lines together convincingly. There are forced parallels, an unnecessary ghost, several implausible episodes and a sloppy ending. Definitely, not her best novel.
July 11, 2010
I quite enjoyed this book and warmed to the characters. However I did find that there were parts which could have been further developed, you were sort of left hanging. For example, the bullying episodes – would sending Gareth off to granny do the trick? And what about Barbara in the looney bin? Then, there was the ghost thing, what was that all about? Was there a ghost? What was the point of it? Did it have something to do with an idea of slipping in and out of time – different moments in time?
There were some very good one-liners, although these too were somehow never developed i.e.
p.9 … Barbara coming in from the garden…. He [Nick:] and Miranda exchanged glances, in it together. And then, less than a year later, he moved out and Miranda realized that while she was in it for life, he was merely in it for the duration of the marriage.
p. 73 … If, as Nick believed you should go to the past, looking not for messages or warnings, but simply to be humbled by the weight of human experience that has preceded the brief flicker of your own few days…
p. 87 The only true or useful thing that can be said about the past is that it’s over.
p. 232 The fact is that birth and death both go on too long for those who watch beside the bed. The appropriate emotions dry up.
I think one of the parts I enjoyed most was when Nick and Geordie go off to visit the cemetary. I enjoyed their relationship.
There were some very good one-liners, although these too were somehow never developed i.e.
p.9 … Barbara coming in from the garden…. He [Nick:] and Miranda exchanged glances, in it together. And then, less than a year later, he moved out and Miranda realized that while she was in it for life, he was merely in it for the duration of the marriage.
p. 73 … If, as Nick believed you should go to the past, looking not for messages or warnings, but simply to be humbled by the weight of human experience that has preceded the brief flicker of your own few days…
p. 87 The only true or useful thing that can be said about the past is that it’s over.
p. 232 The fact is that birth and death both go on too long for those who watch beside the bed. The appropriate emotions dry up.
I think one of the parts I enjoyed most was when Nick and Geordie go off to visit the cemetary. I enjoyed their relationship.
August 14, 2012
Normally I'm a slow reader but this one I read quite fast.
At the time I was temporarily working at a residential hospital and the 30min train ride from and to my house was spent reading this. Maybe it was the mindset I was in at that time that made me connect with the character of Geordie and mainly with the relationship and process between him and Nick, the caretaker. I thought it was a great way to sincerely describe such a process.
Now I also understand how some of you were frustrated with this book, mainly those who didn't have something so specific to take from it like I had.
Geordie and Nick were only a part of the book and I too felt a little disappointed that the book didn't explore all the potential of the beginning. This was my initial "digestion" of Another World..but then I realized I was getting distracted with small things and when I stopped caring about what was missing or what could have been there, it was clear Another World is a subtle approach to a tricky subject. We have three characters haunted by mistakes done innocently, or the desire/impulse to do so in the case of Gareth. This reminded me of Ian McEwan's "Atonement".
At first I thought all the mystery behind the wall painting and the child-like figures' appearances relating to the Fanshawes' story were too much and were taking a direction I did not want the story to take (and it didn't!). Focusing on the subject, mistakes like that or even the possibility of having done such a thing, as innocent and unconscious like Muriel's story, Geordie's foggy memory or Gareth's impulses, will haunt you like a ghost forever. I do think this main is very well explored by the author through all the different story-lines, it captivates me and I now find myself thinking about this book and the flaws it shows in human nature.
After all this there's one thing that annoyed me and it is Miranda and why she is a "dead end" in terms of character. In the beginning she was the character I was most interested in and kept waiting for something to develop there but it never happened.. maybe this would have been the fifth star on my rating.
At the time I was temporarily working at a residential hospital and the 30min train ride from and to my house was spent reading this. Maybe it was the mindset I was in at that time that made me connect with the character of Geordie and mainly with the relationship and process between him and Nick, the caretaker. I thought it was a great way to sincerely describe such a process.
Now I also understand how some of you were frustrated with this book, mainly those who didn't have something so specific to take from it like I had.
Geordie and Nick were only a part of the book and I too felt a little disappointed that the book didn't explore all the potential of the beginning. This was my initial "digestion" of Another World..but then I realized I was getting distracted with small things and when I stopped caring about what was missing or what could have been there, it was clear Another World is a subtle approach to a tricky subject. We have three characters haunted by mistakes done innocently, or the desire/impulse to do so in the case of Gareth. This reminded me of Ian McEwan's "Atonement".
At first I thought all the mystery behind the wall painting and the child-like figures' appearances relating to the Fanshawes' story were too much and were taking a direction I did not want the story to take (and it didn't!). Focusing on the subject, mistakes like that or even the possibility of having done such a thing, as innocent and unconscious like Muriel's story, Geordie's foggy memory or Gareth's impulses, will haunt you like a ghost forever. I do think this main is very well explored by the author through all the different story-lines, it captivates me and I now find myself thinking about this book and the flaws it shows in human nature.
After all this there's one thing that annoyed me and it is Miranda and why she is a "dead end" in terms of character. In the beginning she was the character I was most interested in and kept waiting for something to develop there but it never happened.. maybe this would have been the fifth star on my rating.
August 12, 2015
I got gripped by the story of this dysfunctional family moving into a new house, which appeared to be haunted by the past. During decorating they uncovered an old drawing of the previous family – the Fanshawes. This family appeared to mirror their own and the past began to haunt Nick, Fran and their children. The suspense is only heightened as Nick begins to uncover a sinister past attached to the Fanshawe’s while his own family begin to turn against each other. Could this be the past coming back to haunt them?
Then all of a sudden the excitement seemed to be lost; this enthralling story was never properly returned to and it became a less dramatic, but nevertheless touching, account of the death of Nick’s grandfather Geordie. During Geordie’s slow decline he is plagued by the past and his memories of the trenches of WWI, including the death of his brother.
The characters are really well rounded and their relationships rich. From the squabbling half siblings to Nick and Geordie’s interactions you could really feel each emotion, from awkwardness to pure love.
It is thought-provoking in the sense of how things are remembered by people who have suffered trauma and it is so open, and sometimes perhaps a little uncomfortably descriptive, of the last days of Geordie’s life and how family cope with death.
My only gripe with the book is that so many things were left unanswered. I suppose Barker was going for an overall sense of how the past can affect the living, but it hinted at ghosts, there was a traumatised boy who nearly killed his little brother and many more issues that were just brushed under the carpet. I felt a bit let down by the ending.
Three stars for the characterisation, relationships and descriptive writing style but I would probably drop it to two for satisfaction on finishing it.
Then all of a sudden the excitement seemed to be lost; this enthralling story was never properly returned to and it became a less dramatic, but nevertheless touching, account of the death of Nick’s grandfather Geordie. During Geordie’s slow decline he is plagued by the past and his memories of the trenches of WWI, including the death of his brother.
The characters are really well rounded and their relationships rich. From the squabbling half siblings to Nick and Geordie’s interactions you could really feel each emotion, from awkwardness to pure love.
It is thought-provoking in the sense of how things are remembered by people who have suffered trauma and it is so open, and sometimes perhaps a little uncomfortably descriptive, of the last days of Geordie’s life and how family cope with death.
My only gripe with the book is that so many things were left unanswered. I suppose Barker was going for an overall sense of how the past can affect the living, but it hinted at ghosts, there was a traumatised boy who nearly killed his little brother and many more issues that were just brushed under the carpet. I felt a bit let down by the ending.
Three stars for the characterisation, relationships and descriptive writing style but I would probably drop it to two for satisfaction on finishing it.
June 9, 2016
Hated every minute of this book. I thought the family was strange and I felt an uncomfortable, inappropriately sexual tension among all the characters that really put me in a weird mood. The concept of the book could have been interesting but the mood made it feel not quite right. What a slog.
November 12, 2019
Another World by Pat Barker takes place in the current day, with a big portion of the story occurring in the memories of the old man who fought in WW1. Our main characters are Nick and his grandfather Geordie. Nick is a university professor who is there to help care for his grandpa who is at the end of his life. Geordie is a 101 year old man in his last days, and a veteran of the first world war. Although many other members of the family are present they are mostly unimportant and part of the background.
The story is really about memory. How does trauma affect it? What about age? Is Geordie's memory stronger as he nears his death or is it less reliable. I like how the author questions the permanence and reliability of memory. She uses her characters to show us how memory is colored by our personal views and experiences. Memory changes and adapts. It is about perception. What we value at one point in our life differs from other times and those values affect what we remember and how we see things. And sometimes the memories are also affected by the stories we hear from others. They intertwine and meld together changing the story.
But for me the power of this book was about its exploration of death and grief. These moments between Nick and Geordie were quite beautiful. The emotions were real and raw and brought to my mind my own feelings about the last week of my father's life. I found myself wishing that he had been more alert and verbal during that time so that I could relive it and ask him a million questions, probing his memory regardless of its malleability. Explorations of death always resonate with me. It is one experience that we will all face. Losing a person we loved is a universal experience and the emotions that are triggered are parallel to those of others in the similar place.
The story is really about memory. How does trauma affect it? What about age? Is Geordie's memory stronger as he nears his death or is it less reliable. I like how the author questions the permanence and reliability of memory. She uses her characters to show us how memory is colored by our personal views and experiences. Memory changes and adapts. It is about perception. What we value at one point in our life differs from other times and those values affect what we remember and how we see things. And sometimes the memories are also affected by the stories we hear from others. They intertwine and meld together changing the story.
But for me the power of this book was about its exploration of death and grief. These moments between Nick and Geordie were quite beautiful. The emotions were real and raw and brought to my mind my own feelings about the last week of my father's life. I found myself wishing that he had been more alert and verbal during that time so that I could relive it and ask him a million questions, probing his memory regardless of its malleability. Explorations of death always resonate with me. It is one experience that we will all face. Losing a person we loved is a universal experience and the emotions that are triggered are parallel to those of others in the similar place.
November 29, 2011
The thing I most enjoy about this book is that, after finishing it, one continues to think about it, going over the various elements of the story, trying to see how they might cohere into a unifying theme. One does not come away from the book with this,with a clear sense of an "ending" or resolution. Rather, the various sections resonate after the novel has been read, and the reader, if so inclined (as this one is) must continue to think about the book and see what conclusions can be derived. I, for one, do not mind having the opportunity to need to continue to think about the book after the last page is read.
June 14, 2024
Disjointed in parts, dysfunctional family and characters. Not the best I've read by the author.
August 1, 2017
The clarification of a two star review was that while the book did not offend me in any way, it passed like a hot day spent inside - without noticeable interest. I think Pat Barker is an excellent novelist whose works plumb the very depths of the psyche in states of peril, particularly that brought on by war neuroses and emotional loss. Her regeneration trilogy is so human its painfully beastly.
This book fails in that it links the ephemeral modern world of Nick and his family with the dying one of Geordie by way of an insubstantial metaphor, one I briefly recognised before I realised I was stretching links by way of habit. Her protagonist admits, almost shyly, that the past rarely offers anything so avoidable as repetition so I wonder why she's tried to convince herself that these two disparate story lines make for any sort of allegorical comparison.
This book fails in that it links the ephemeral modern world of Nick and his family with the dying one of Geordie by way of an insubstantial metaphor, one I briefly recognised before I realised I was stretching links by way of habit. Her protagonist admits, almost shyly, that the past rarely offers anything so avoidable as repetition so I wonder why she's tried to convince herself that these two disparate story lines make for any sort of allegorical comparison.
November 21, 2017
And now for something completely different: a dysfunctional family fused together through second marriages with two adolescents in turmoil due to impending sexuality and being torn between parents, and both children and adults are forced to confront their relationships when they're put into a difficult situation. What more could be shoveled into the mix? Well, they're living in a house where apparently nasty business occurred years back and there may be ghosts. Or maybe not. There are no sympathetic characters here, just a psychological thriller which doesn't thrill, an extremely lame haunting with no resolution and not even the cliche diary found under the floorboards to tie up loose ends. Not even enough here for me to dislike...
December 3, 2015
Pat Barker continues her obsession with the first world war but this time decides to combine it with her thoughts on the murder of Jamie Bulger and boy does it not work.
There are various plot strands running here - the dying 101 year old WWI veteran, his grandson who has left his wife for his fancy woman, his daughter who is on the cusp of adulthood, her son who is a violent bully and the fate of the Victorian family who previously lived in their house.
...and come the end of it only the dying man has actually had his story resolved as the rest of the plots splutter out in a "well I've told my WWI story and can't be bothered with anyone else" style.
There are various plot strands running here - the dying 101 year old WWI veteran, his grandson who has left his wife for his fancy woman, his daughter who is on the cusp of adulthood, her son who is a violent bully and the fate of the Victorian family who previously lived in their house.
...and come the end of it only the dying man has actually had his story resolved as the rest of the plots splutter out in a "well I've told my WWI story and can't be bothered with anyone else" style.
June 8, 2018
You know how some books are not for everyone I felt like Another World is one of them and this book was definitely not for me.
I have tried so much to like every minute of reading this book but it wasn't happening. The book wasn't going anywhere. most parts we're not developed and some parts seemed misplaced. I tried out relate to the characters but I couldn't maybe because they were just characters and they didn't seem real to me(if that makes sense)
So basically I was disappointed by this read. Another World was my first Pat Barker read and despite the disappointment it won't be my last, hopefully
I have tried so much to like every minute of reading this book but it wasn't happening. The book wasn't going anywhere. most parts we're not developed and some parts seemed misplaced. I tried out relate to the characters but I couldn't maybe because they were just characters and they didn't seem real to me(if that makes sense)
So basically I was disappointed by this read. Another World was my first Pat Barker read and despite the disappointment it won't be my last, hopefully
March 9, 2016
Didn't start well but got into the swing eventually. However it didn't really hang together. A mishmash of stuff that could have been interesting on it's own but didn't really fit together and allow the narrative to breathe. And why the ghost story? No need for it really.
January 10, 2023
3.5 stars. An engaging, easy to read novel about Geordie Lucas, a 101 year old World War One veteran, and his grandson, Nick. Geordie has cancer and not long to live. He is haunted by the horrors surrounding the death of his brother Harry, in the trenches in 1916. Geordie and Harry fought in the same army unit during the war.
Nick is trying to help out with Geordie, who still lives on his own. Geordie’s daughter, Frieda, lives close by and cares for Geordie on a part time basis. Nick lives with Fran. Fran is pregnant and also caring for a very young Jasper. Nick’s step son, Gareth, aged eleven, is making life difficult, especially when left with two year old Jasper. Miranda, who is fifteen, is Nick’s daughter by another marriage. She comes to stay for a short time.
A thought provoking book about how time can distort one’s memory of events in the distant past.
This book was first published in 1998.
Nick is trying to help out with Geordie, who still lives on his own. Geordie’s daughter, Frieda, lives close by and cares for Geordie on a part time basis. Nick lives with Fran. Fran is pregnant and also caring for a very young Jasper. Nick’s step son, Gareth, aged eleven, is making life difficult, especially when left with two year old Jasper. Miranda, who is fifteen, is Nick’s daughter by another marriage. She comes to stay for a short time.
A thought provoking book about how time can distort one’s memory of events in the distant past.
This book was first published in 1998.
April 8, 2024
Show Don't Tell (SDT) is a broad writing dictum often misunderstood by editors and reviewers, which like all other artistic "rules" should be approached with great suspicion. However, Pat Barker's Another World showcases SDT's merits when handled by an expert craftsperson.
Barker arrives at all her disturbing observations on violence through action, allowing her richly developed characters' reactions to cohere into thematic unity. She maintains constant narrative motion without skimping on sense of place, reflectivity, or developed character psychology. She also offers novel insights into PTSD without resorting to easy editorializing and sloganeering.
Another World works because it's driven by characters as ideologically vexed as real people. It's an addictive and unpredictable read, filled with persuasively heartbreaking insights into pain's reverberations across time and space.
Barker arrives at all her disturbing observations on violence through action, allowing her richly developed characters' reactions to cohere into thematic unity. She maintains constant narrative motion without skimping on sense of place, reflectivity, or developed character psychology. She also offers novel insights into PTSD without resorting to easy editorializing and sloganeering.
Another World works because it's driven by characters as ideologically vexed as real people. It's an addictive and unpredictable read, filled with persuasively heartbreaking insights into pain's reverberations across time and space.
November 17, 2016
World War One, a speciality of Pat Barker, is present in every page of this tale of war veteran 101-year old Geordie, living through his final days with his grandson Nick. Woven through Geordie’s story are the threads of Nick’s life, his extended family involving wife, step son and half-siblings. In the modern day there are tensions between siblings, as there were between Geordie and his brother.
Pat Barker is an author who does not flinch from showing the human reactions that in real life we prefer to hide: sibling jealousy, sibling hate and underlying it all, selfishness. How these emotions affect this family, from 101-year old Geordie to his great-grandson Jasper, a toddler, is fascinating and often a difficult read.
A sideline from the main story is the life of the family who lived in the house where Nick has just moved with pregnant wife Fran, Fran’s son Gareth, and Fran and Nick’s son Jasper. Also visiting is Miranda, Nick’s daughter. I said the family ties were twisted. Tidying an overgrown rose on the wall of the house, Nick unveils a plaque labelled ‘Fanshawe’. This is the name of the family who lived in this house, Fanshawe made his money from armaments. When parents and children strip wallpaper off the walls, they unveil a portrait of a family. Is it the Fanshawes, or is it them? And so Barker introduces the ghostly strand with uncanny echoes between then and now.
This is a slim volume, read quickly, but not so quickly as to miss the delicacy of Barker’s writing. Here is Nick on his grandfather: ‘Nick feels he’s never known him, not because they’ve been distant from each other – far from it – but because they’ve been too close. It’s like seeing somebody an inch away, so that if you were asked to describe them you could probably manage to recall nothing more distinctive than the size of the pores in their nose.’
A slim volume with such acute observations about human nature, ‘Another World’ makes you feel uncomfortable and ask questions of yourself. I read every novel Barker writes. Her 'Regeneration' trilogy, including the 1995 Booker Prize-winning ‘The Ghost Road’, is a must.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
Pat Barker is an author who does not flinch from showing the human reactions that in real life we prefer to hide: sibling jealousy, sibling hate and underlying it all, selfishness. How these emotions affect this family, from 101-year old Geordie to his great-grandson Jasper, a toddler, is fascinating and often a difficult read.
A sideline from the main story is the life of the family who lived in the house where Nick has just moved with pregnant wife Fran, Fran’s son Gareth, and Fran and Nick’s son Jasper. Also visiting is Miranda, Nick’s daughter. I said the family ties were twisted. Tidying an overgrown rose on the wall of the house, Nick unveils a plaque labelled ‘Fanshawe’. This is the name of the family who lived in this house, Fanshawe made his money from armaments. When parents and children strip wallpaper off the walls, they unveil a portrait of a family. Is it the Fanshawes, or is it them? And so Barker introduces the ghostly strand with uncanny echoes between then and now.
This is a slim volume, read quickly, but not so quickly as to miss the delicacy of Barker’s writing. Here is Nick on his grandfather: ‘Nick feels he’s never known him, not because they’ve been distant from each other – far from it – but because they’ve been too close. It’s like seeing somebody an inch away, so that if you were asked to describe them you could probably manage to recall nothing more distinctive than the size of the pores in their nose.’
A slim volume with such acute observations about human nature, ‘Another World’ makes you feel uncomfortable and ask questions of yourself. I read every novel Barker writes. Her 'Regeneration' trilogy, including the 1995 Booker Prize-winning ‘The Ghost Road’, is a must.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
July 17, 2012
This is the first book by Pat Barker I have read, but it won't be the last.
Okay...this book took ME FOREVER to read! Not because it was extremely long or anything, it was me. You know those stories that you should be interested in and normally you are, but you just arn't? This book was that book for me.
A nice family drama mixed in with historical bits is usually right up my alley, but for some reason I didn't really care much about these people. Perhaps it was because I couldn't connect with them. I only cared about Gordie, the grandad who was dying. I felt horrible for him! Poor guy. He survived WWI and a stab to the gut from a bayonet. He survived cancer. However, in the end he had a stroke and had to live in misery the last few weeks of his life.
Throughout the story while grandad is suffering from his troubled past and side-effects of the stroke, Nick and his family are being all butts and selfish. I just didn't care about Nick and his little family of drama-kings and drama-queens.
After reading some other reviews, I guess the struggles of the family was suppose to somehow connect with grandad's WWI past. I guess I missed it. I have no idea. I really wished that the story was revolved around grandad more.
Don't get me wrong...I loved Pat Barker's writing and I can't wait to read another of her books, but this was not the tale for me. I wouldn't really recommend this book to others, but I would suggest reading one of her other books. She's a wonderful author! She has great potential! There isn't much else to say and I feel bad that my review is relatively short. Oh well. Out of five stars I grant this one 1 star. :(
Favorite Character(s): Gordie/Grandad
Not-so Favorite Character(s): everyone else.
Okay...this book took ME FOREVER to read! Not because it was extremely long or anything, it was me. You know those stories that you should be interested in and normally you are, but you just arn't? This book was that book for me.
A nice family drama mixed in with historical bits is usually right up my alley, but for some reason I didn't really care much about these people. Perhaps it was because I couldn't connect with them. I only cared about Gordie, the grandad who was dying. I felt horrible for him! Poor guy. He survived WWI and a stab to the gut from a bayonet. He survived cancer. However, in the end he had a stroke and had to live in misery the last few weeks of his life.
Throughout the story while grandad is suffering from his troubled past and side-effects of the stroke, Nick and his family are being all butts and selfish. I just didn't care about Nick and his little family of drama-kings and drama-queens.
After reading some other reviews, I guess the struggles of the family was suppose to somehow connect with grandad's WWI past. I guess I missed it. I have no idea. I really wished that the story was revolved around grandad more.
Don't get me wrong...I loved Pat Barker's writing and I can't wait to read another of her books, but this was not the tale for me. I wouldn't really recommend this book to others, but I would suggest reading one of her other books. She's a wonderful author! She has great potential! There isn't much else to say and I feel bad that my review is relatively short. Oh well. Out of five stars I grant this one 1 star. :(
Favorite Character(s): Gordie/Grandad
Not-so Favorite Character(s): everyone else.
January 18, 2009
This book started off terribly. It took till about page 50 for it to start to flow and once it did I really enjoyed it. The relationships of a blended family were well written and you could see your own family relationships at some stage with most of the characters. Nicks relationship with his grandfather was endearing and also at points heartbreaking. It’s something that you don’t tend to see much but there was real love between the two of them without it being a overdone drama. I’m not sure about the end of the second last chapter or the way Nick thinks about it in the final chapter and in some ways I didn’t see the need for it to take that direction, perhaps it was to signify that Nick isn’t so “perfect”. Nicks wife’s character never grew on me, each time she was brought into the story she was winging about something or other.
The only reason I read this book was because it was on my bookshelf at home (I have no idea where it came from) and I wanted a short read for the work trip I was taking. The author is meant to have a trilogy that is her more popular books and I might at one stage try to find them in the library. If I had read any of the comments from other authors and book reviewers I would have been very disappointed because I either didn’t get the parts they were talking about or they didn’t read the book. I recommend reading it especially if you want a short easy to read book with the components of a modern family (without the teary parts).
The only reason I read this book was because it was on my bookshelf at home (I have no idea where it came from) and I wanted a short read for the work trip I was taking. The author is meant to have a trilogy that is her more popular books and I might at one stage try to find them in the library. If I had read any of the comments from other authors and book reviewers I would have been very disappointed because I either didn’t get the parts they were talking about or they didn’t read the book. I recommend reading it especially if you want a short easy to read book with the components of a modern family (without the teary parts).
July 12, 2008
Alrightish, but nothing special. I really loved Barker's 'Regeneration', but wasn't too keen on 'The Eye in the Door' since main character Billy Prior didn't interest me as much as Sassoon and Owen. I thought I'd pick this one up since it seemed to be dealing with trauma, memory, things like that. While those themes are brought into the narrative, they aren't explored as much as in the Regeneration-books. There are some other interesting themes here (moving forward, bullying, family relationships), but as some other reviewers pointed out the story just doesn't seem to add up. The different things going on aren't really connected (besides all happening in the vicinity of the main character) and the ending felt a bit unsatisfying.
Still, it's a nice enough book. It's well-written, has some good characters (Geordie in particular) and is entertaining enough. However, I feel it would've been better if a few things, most notably the character development of Gareth and the ghostly girl, had been woven more tightly into the story.
Still, it's a nice enough book. It's well-written, has some good characters (Geordie in particular) and is entertaining enough. However, I feel it would've been better if a few things, most notably the character development of Gareth and the ghostly girl, had been woven more tightly into the story.
July 22, 2017
Pat Barker's writing is spare, there's nothing florid in her books. She creates intense atmosphere, emotion and empathy with carefully honed use of words, all excess is cut away.
'Another World' goes partly back to the atmosphere of her superb 'Regeneration Trilogy', plumbing the depths of horror and despair generated by the First World War. In 'Another World' this is viewed, darkly, through the combined glasses of the grandson of a dying war veteran and his family.
The most gripping chapter is when the family, having moved into an old house, uncover a drawing of the original owners, while stripping wallpaper. The image is foreboding, mirroring family relationships and family losses.
In dealing with the death of the war veteran, the empathy with all the characters is so intense, I had to stop reading for a couple of days.
Brilliantly written. Not sure I have the emotional stamina to re-read it for a while.
'Another World' goes partly back to the atmosphere of her superb 'Regeneration Trilogy', plumbing the depths of horror and despair generated by the First World War. In 'Another World' this is viewed, darkly, through the combined glasses of the grandson of a dying war veteran and his family.
The most gripping chapter is when the family, having moved into an old house, uncover a drawing of the original owners, while stripping wallpaper. The image is foreboding, mirroring family relationships and family losses.
In dealing with the death of the war veteran, the empathy with all the characters is so intense, I had to stop reading for a couple of days.
Brilliantly written. Not sure I have the emotional stamina to re-read it for a while.
March 20, 2014
I've not read anything by Pat Baker before and overall found it an interesting read. The story between Nick and his Granddad stood out the most for me and was dealt with very well, I also liked the way that Geordie kept having flashbacks to his time in the war, and at one point was found on his front up the road on patrol whilst sleepwalking. I also found the jealousy aspect interesting between the two sons, but felt we never got to an end with this story and felt it could have been explored more. The one big question though was the ghost story line which seemed to get dropped and never really went anywhere - I'm not sure what the whole point of it was to be honest. It was a fairly quick read and I have regeneration on my shelf at home which appears to get better reviews, so am looking forward to reading it.
October 3, 2013
I really enjoyed this contemporary novel by Pat Barker. There are memories of The Great War but the action all takes place in the modern era. Nick shares recollections of the trenches with his grandfather during his dying days but also discovers evidence of a 1904 murder in the house he shares with his second wife. There is tension between the offspring of previous marriages and the new marriage which make us focus on sibling rivalry which at times is quite shocking. This prompted my thinking on the fundamentals of human nature and just how thin the veneer of civilisation really might be. The book held my attention throughout and I found it combined depth of character with action. A great read.
December 12, 2020
I am a great fan of Pat Barker's writing. I thought I had read her complete works until I discovered this title. I wish I hadn't. This feels contrived and forced to conclusions unlike the depth of artistry in all her other novels.
The protagonist, Nick, his blended (or not so blended) family and his dying grandfather, Geordie form the pivot of the narrative. I somehow found the frustrations of domestic life more engaging than a rather bizarre stretching of the imagination that their family mirrored the house's previous occupants. Geordie's dying and his vivid First World War PTSD felt more thought through and character led but, for me, could not redeem the clunkiness of the over-populated story
The protagonist, Nick, his blended (or not so blended) family and his dying grandfather, Geordie form the pivot of the narrative. I somehow found the frustrations of domestic life more engaging than a rather bizarre stretching of the imagination that their family mirrored the house's previous occupants. Geordie's dying and his vivid First World War PTSD felt more thought through and character led but, for me, could not redeem the clunkiness of the over-populated story
April 24, 2012
Pat Barker again raises questions of how memory continues to impact war veterans, this time it is Geordie, a 101 veteran of the Somme. Finishing the book on the eve of Anzac Day was rather poignant, and somehow added depth to the story for me. Geordie has avoided all memorials of the war, until he meets someone he trusts with his memories, and to her he tells all, and documents his story on tape.
Interwoven with Geordie's story is that of his grandson Nick, whose family life is disintegrating around him, whilst he helps with the care of his dying grandad.
Lots to think about in this book, but I did not enjoy it as much as the Regeneration trilogy.
Interwoven with Geordie's story is that of his grandson Nick, whose family life is disintegrating around him, whilst he helps with the care of his dying grandad.
Lots to think about in this book, but I did not enjoy it as much as the Regeneration trilogy.
September 4, 2022
There's a lot going on in this book, so it's not easy to describe. Main character Nick has the sort of marriage where you wonder how and why they ever bothered. He has a daughter by his first marriage, a stepson, and a toddler of this new marriage plus one on the way. Their house seems to be haunted by an unhappy and similarly structured family who lived there 100 years earlier. And Nick's grandfather is dying, and Nick is heavily involved in his care.
This was full of characters I pitied but couldn't like. I found the ending unsatisfying, but perhaps there was more significance to the Fanshawes' epitaphs than I realised (though I did try).
This was full of characters I pitied but couldn't like. I found the ending unsatisfying, but perhaps there was more significance to the Fanshawes' epitaphs than I realised (though I did try).
September 17, 2021
Although Barker is one of my favorite authors (especially the Regeneration trilogy), this is not my favorite book of hers. At times I regretted reading this -- the sibling rivalries, a troubled blended family with angry stepchildren and an unruly toddler make the everyday life of a family almost more than they (or I) could handle. The memories of the dying great-grandfather, a 101-year-old veteran of WW1 who had plenty of his own bad memories, not only of the war in which his brother died but the aftermath, when his mother often regrets that the wrong brother was killed tied it all together and made the reading worthwhile and memorable.
June 5, 2013
I like Pat Barker's books a lot, generally. Regeneration is terrific (though I'm less fond of the 2 sequels), and II really enjoyed Life Class and Toby's Room. So when I found this book at a library book sale, I grabbed it. Unfortunately, I could barely finish it. I skimmed the last 1/4 of the book because it didn't hold my interest. I cared little for Nick's family--Gareth the 11 year old son could be the most unpleasant pre-pubescent in my literary memory--and the WWI aspect repeated much of what I've read elsewhere (including in Barker's books). Very disappointing.
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