The Ghost
Road
is a war novel unlike many others. Set in England and France at the end of
World War I, it borrows the viewpoints of the often overlooked: men being
treated for mental illness. One of these is bisexual; homosexuality was
considered both an illness and a crime at the time.
In
a style similar to Tim O'Brien's in its thoughtfulness and attention to detail, Barker explores the aftereffects of war with
compassion, but not sentiment. One of her most interesting methods is the flashbacks
of Dr. Rivers. An anthropologist turned psychologist, Rivers intersperses
narration about treating current trauma cases with memories of his research in
Melanesia. There, he studied a tribe that was dying out because their warlike
way of life was being suppressed; in the present, he treats men going mad due to
their tribe’s latest war. The parallels allow the reader to compare both
cultures from a more objective point of view.
The Ghost
Road
is a quick but moving read that reminds us that we take our neuroses and our
passions everywhere, even to war. Perhaps even especially to war.
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