Play Audiobook Sample
The Eye in the Door Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(4.00) - 2,646 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
In this haunting second installment of the Regeneration Trilogy, a World War I officer grapples with the complex realities of PTSD, identity, sexuality, and society’s perceptions of mental illness.
It is the spring of 1918, and Britain is faced with the possibility of defeat by Germany. A beleaguered government and a vengeful public target two groups as scapegoats: pacifists and homosexuals. Many are jailed, others lead dangerous double lives, the “the eye in the door” becomes a symbol of the paranoia that threatens to destroy the very fabric of British society.
Central to this novel are such compelling, richly imagined characters as the brilliant and compassionate Dr. William Rivers; his most famous patient, the poet Siegfried Sassoon; and Lieutenant Billy Prior, who plays a central role as a domestic intelligence agent. With compelling, realistic dialogue and a keen eye for the social issues that have gone overlooked in mainstream media, The Eye in the Door is a triumph that equals Regeneration and the third novel in the trilogy, the 1995 Booker Prize-winning The Ghost Road, establishing Pat Barker's place in the very forefront of contemporary novelists.
Download and start listening now!
"This was the only English language book in the only book shop open in Hikkaduwa on my trip there. So bought it without much thought, and any knowledge of a prequel. Stressful, because I don't know many of the real life personalities this book uses. And also because it's about PTSD and dissociation. Definitely not light holiday reading but brilliant for war insights and World War I. Love Prior, the guy most central to the book I think. An officer of the British army now employed with the Ministry of Munitions, struggling with PTSD and a sex addiction maybe. Now that I have a warning I will read Regeneration in isolation probably so people around me won't be worried about why I am so distressed. Brilliant book. Will definitely read Sassoon now. He's important to this book and his narratives are maybe the most interesting of all in the book."
— Kiran (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
-
An impressive work, illuminating with compassion and insight the toll the war exacted from Britain's combatants and their world... Perhaps the book's greatest achievement is the lucid sense it provides of that maddening and heartbreaking species of absurdity one character calls 'a certain kind of Englishness.'
— The New York Times -
Quietly powerful... As haunting as its predecessor, this moving antiwar novel is also a cautionary tale about the price of cultural conformity.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
There seems to be absolutely no skepticism about this process in Barker's fictional make-up—and this perhaps is what gives her work its undeniable integrity... By highlighting the war's persecuted sexual and political dissenters, The Eye In the Door, like all of Barker's work, shows her commitment to the process of reclaiming silenced voices.
— The Guardian
The Eye in the Door Listener Reviews
-
" My favorite of the Regeneration trilogy "
— Frances, 2/19/2014 -
" Meh... confusing story (actually a continuation of the story) of WWI through the eyes of gay English soldiers hospitalized back home for battle fatigue. Tries to tie together (much less successfully than book #1) themes of conscientious objectors, witch hunts for homosexuals, and "shall shock." "
— Yak, 1/12/2014 -
" My second favourite in the trilogy. The spying story is thrilling. "
— Marie, 1/11/2014 -
" The second book in the Regeneration trilogy, but I read it last. Probably my second favorite of the three, with first best and last least enjoyable. Once again the theme of war and its profound physical but even more psychic impact on young men's minds and bodies. "
— Eric, 1/6/2014 -
" Not as good as the first book in the trilogy but still a good story about the struggles with the mind post war. Will have to read the final instalment. "
— Kaz, 1/6/2014 -
" The second book in a great trilogy - Eye in the Door is the weakest of the three books. However, it is still worth reading. "
— Laura, 12/29/2013 -
" Had some excellent moments as when Prior speaks as his second self but not my favourite of the trilogy. Hard-hitting and memorable however. "
— Jude, 12/26/2013 -
" Good continuation of casualties of WW1. Great description of impact on mental health of men in the trenches. "
— Brooks, 12/21/2013 -
" My favorite of the Regeneration trilogy. Billy Prior is a fabulous, real, vivid, character. "
— Sara, 11/24/2013 -
" A worthy followup to Regeneration, and further proof that Barker can tackle huge themes and existential problems without losing her audience for lack of interest. Her prose shines and her characters are rich and complex. "
— Jessica, 9/24/2013 -
" The second book in a great trilogy! A must read for lovers of history!! "
— Katie, 8/27/2013 -
" Gripping reading, hard to put down. "
— Rachel, 8/2/2013 -
" I'm not sure I really 'enjoyed' reading this book though it is well written and subject matter is really interesting! it's not a page turner and took me a while to get through it. I am looking forward to 3rd one but might give it a while. "
— Jo, 7/13/2013 -
" A book about domestic spying during World War I with the same cast of characters that can be found in other books by the author. The writing is of uniformly high quality. "
— Jeffrey, 6/7/2013 -
" This second part of the Regeneration trilogy was a bit harder to get into. In this one we are following Billy the most, while still getting glimpese of the others' lives. His character is so much more difficult to get a hold of, to have sympathy for. "
— Tricia, 2/5/2013 -
" Pretty much everyone should read her "Regeneration" series. It's tough going (WW I, poets, psychiatry, morality of war) but worth it entirely. "
— Sarah, 1/14/2012 -
" Sequel to Regeneration, interesting follow-up that continues to deal with impact of 1st World War on a variety of equally interesting characters. The author portrays well the feelings and thoughts of the pacifist / anti war movement of that period. "
— Joe, 12/5/2011 -
" Very different than Regeneration, and not quite as good. I felt like it was something I had to read after Regeneration, but I'm not sure if I'll read the third - this one touched on very different subjects that just didn't hit home for me. "
— Zach, 7/17/2011 -
" Continuation of Pat Barker's trilogy of the futility of war and its negative effects. "
— Jamie, 5/14/2011 -
" After reading the 2nd volume, I'm thinking that the war wounds were so profound that they must exist as scars even in our generation. "
— Tudor, 3/19/2011 -
" More war, more madness. A good follow-up to Regeneration, but not quite as powerful. Still, well worth the read. "
— Jennifer, 2/14/2011 -
" all gets a tad bleak and pointless in this thankfully short volume "
— Sandyboy, 12/10/2010 -
" So not for me. It started off soo good, just like the other ones... "
— Angelique, 12/6/2010 -
" Back to Rivers, the psychologist in WWI, and his insights into the damage war does to men. The author, again, peels away the surface of propriety, English propriety, and lets us see the real people. Feels a lot like Regeneration #1, not sure if I'll go for the third book in Regeneration or not. "
— pacjennifer, 6/22/2010
About Pat Barker
Pat Barker is an English novelist who has won the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Booker Prize. In 2000 she was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
About Simon Russell Beale
Simon Russell Beale is a British actor, author, and music historian. A multiaward-winning actor of stage and television, he was described in the London Independent as “the greatest stage actor of his generation.” He has won eight AudioFile Earphones Awards for his narrations.