Synopsis
Another World by Pat Barker is based on a man named Nick, who lives with his very pregnant wife, the young rambunctious son that they share, his angry teenage stepson, and his quiet teenage daughter who spends a few weeks with them. He also takes care of his dying grandfather, Geordie, a war veteran who has frequent flashbacks and unsettling guilt about his older brother who died in the war. Nick juggles his ever increasingly tense family, his grandfather, and uncovers a dark, haunting secret about the home where his family resides - where a family parallel to his lived (and died) in the distant past. This novel is one of many different emotions, most being horrible, gut-wrenching emotions. Guilt, fear, knowledge of impending doom, sacrifice, and loss play key roles in this novel. Read on for a review!
Review
Another World was, quite literally, a book that I closed my eyes and picked off my bookshelf. This novel by Pat Barker is one that rides almost solely on heartbreaking emotion, with a little bit of love sprinkled in. Another World is almost a ghost story, almost a war story, almost a murder mystery - but it's most certainly a story about family and how the past can come back to haunt you. I thought that the characters in this story resembled real people - Nick, a struggling family man who is trying to find some sort of balance with his family; his miserable, pregnant wife who has to stay home to take care of herself and unborn child as well as a hard to handle toddler, her own son who is coming into his own and is beginning to rebel, and Nick's daughter, who is staying with their family while her mother recovers from a mental illness. Mix that Nick's sick and dying guilt drenched grandfather, whom he helps his elderly aunt tend to because his flashbacks and wandering are getting to be too much for her. There are many different levels of emotion from each character in this story.
I'm almost inclined to read this novel again, just in case I missed anything. I thought it was beautifully written. I breezed right though it, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. I would give this book FOUR STARS. It's great for just about any adult. If you've ever felt guilt, burden, loss, fear, or overwhelmed, read this book! Only one phrase can describe this story - organized chaos!
