Pat Barker: "Toby's Room"

 A QUESTION: HAVE you ever been to wonderful Llanhydrock ( House) in Cornwall? There, you can marvel at its grounds, its stately rooms, its beauty...
BUT, to me, the most memorable part of MYy visit ( some years ago) was seeing the bedroom of a long-ago son of the household...the son who left to fight in the 1st World War...the son who never came home.

AND here's the cover of Pat Barker's intriguing book, her latest: " Toby's room". And this cover is so touchingly reminiscent of what we saw at Llanhydrock, what we saw of a soldier son's room........

"Toby' Room" is Barker's 1st novel for 5 years.... and judging from the reactions of the LitFest  audience last Saturday at The University, it's welcomed warmly.
It's a story of war, its aftermaths, of love, grief and friendship, of secrets,...of incredible injury, of superb doctors, incredible pioneers in a field of medecine we gasp at with stark admiration...

AND Pat Barker talked vividly about writing her book, her characters, some of whom we met in her Regeneration Trilogy...she discussed her research..... and she answered many intriguing queries forming in our minds along the way. AND as Barker says, " Toby's room" can be enjoyed on its own OR as sequel...

Certainly hope we don't wait ANOTHER 5 years for such a treat...........