Life class

248 pages

English language

Published Nov. 23, 2007 by Hamish Hamilton.

ISBN:
978-0-241-14297-4
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4 stars (2 reviews)

In the Spring of 1914 a group of students at the Slade School of Art have gathered for a life-drawing class. Paul Tarrant is easily distracted by an intriguing fellow student, Elinor Brooke, but when Kit Neville — himself not long out of the Slade but already a well-known painter — makes it clear that he, too, is attracted to Elinor, Paul withdraws into a passionate affair with an artist's model. As spring turns to summer, Paul and Elinor each reach a crisis in their relationships until finally, in the first few days of war, they turn to each other.Paul's new life as a volunteer for the Belgian Red Cross is a world away from his days at the Slade. The longer he remains in Ypres, the greater the distance between himself and home becomes, and by the time he returns, Paul must confront the fact that life, and love, …

12 editions

Review of 'Life class' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I'm getting the idea that while Pat Barker's average work is very, very good (like this one), Regeneration and The Ghost Road were both transcendent. After I read those, I was so swept up that I decided to read everything she's written. Life Class does not dissuade me from that goal, but after it and Union Street and Blow Your House Down, I've realized that Regeneration might be her masterpiece. So maybe I'll pursue the rest more slowly.

Subjects

  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Hospitals -- Fiction
  • World War, 1914-1918 -- Psychological aspects -- Fiction
  • Human figure in art -- Fiction
  • Physicians as artists -- Fiction