Toby's room

Toby's Roomis the second novel in Pat Barker's Life Class Trilogy, returning to the First World War in a dark, compelling examination of human desire, wartime horror and the power of friendship

When Toby is reported 'Missing, Believed Killed', another secret casts a lengthening shadow over Elinor's world: how exactly did Toby die - and why? Elinor determines to uncover the truth. Only then can she finally close the door to Toby's room. Moving from the Slade School of Art to Queen Mary's Hospital, where surgery and art intersect in the rebuilding of the shattered faces of the wounded,Toby's Roomis a riveting drama of identity, damage, intimacy and loss - this is Pat Barker's most powerful novel yet.

'Heart-rendering return to the Great War . . . On every level,Toby's Roomanatomises a world where extreme emotion shatters the boundaries of identity, behaviour, gender. Through the mask of Apollo bursts an omnipresent Dionysus'Independent

'Once again Barker skilfully moves between past and present, seamlessly weaving fact and fiction into a gripping narrative'Sunday Telegraph

'A gripping and moving exploration of the lasting effects of war'Woman & Home

'A natural storyteller . . . the reader [will be] torn between wanting to linger over the sheer pleasure of the writing and the desire to rush towards the end to discover how it all pans out'Daily Mail