Book Review - Double Vision by Pat Barker

Date: August 24, 2007
Author: Pat Barker
Title: Double Vision
Rating: 8/10
How I got a hold of this book: I borrowed it from Montgomery County Library - Silver Spring
Have I returned it yet: No
Where I read this book: Metro stop, home

This book made me feel: Her writing is why I learned to read.
Why I like it: The writing. Insight into people's feelings at a moment
Why I don't like it: Don't know why Justine had to be 19. Some characters had more vibrancy than others.
The plot in five words: war/marriage/children/violence/creativity

This book made me think of who: The former owner of Fremont Place Book Company who first introduced me to Pat Barker's writing.
Memorable Character: Stephen Sharkey
Memorable Quote: She would never, never, never be able to accept his death, and she didn't try. This wasn't an illness she would recover from; it was an amputation she had to learn to live with. There was great and surprising peace in acknowledging this.
Something memorable that happened in my life during the time it took to read the book: I saw Becoming Jane multiple times. I started to write a short story.
If I could recommend this book to one person it would be to: Linda, who used to work where I work. A big reader.
How this book changed my life: The writing is so beautiful and accessible it inspires me to have my writing reach that level.
Will I read it again: Most Likely

Notes: There are foreground and background characters. A lot of violence, and movements, but not much tenderness. Duty to family or a profession, but a profession could be duty to heart more than family. Always some form of saving going on from the obvious stop in a buglary to a distraction from creative wealth of the past which leads to more focused adjustments in future. However, not many changes in temperament, and that's not the point.