Pat Barker: Toby's Room

There was a time, a fair while ago I think, when I was on something of a Pat Barker ‘binge’. I cannot recall what first set me off but I do know that I rapidly sought out as many of her books as I could find.

I particularly loved this one as while fascinatingly drawn social settings were, as ever a strength - here the Slade School of Art - an even more important aspect was the depiction of relationships and love, in and between family members and friends in a powerful and well-informed picture of a social grouping in the Uk at the time of the First World War. As ever, when writing about this time - and are there any other current writers who can deal with this time so powerfully and thoughtfully? - her sensitive illumination of her characters thoughts and feelings really do allow one to feel ‘yes, this must have been what it was like’. Ideally any good writer should be able to do this with the time period about which they write but this is not always the case, is it?

In many respects, but particularly the wonderfully handled closeted love affair, it recalled Mary Renault - the Mary Renault of The Charioteer, a seminally influential and wonderful book that was a vitally imprtant part of my coming-out. Must get a copy and re-read and write about I think.