I was delighted to be selected to review the new book by the English author Pat Baker. I had checked the book Life Class and emailed it off without a second thought of possibly being selected to write a review for the book. It was good fortune that the book arrived just as I was leaving for an extended trans-Atlantic cruise---it was an ideal setting to be introduced to an author who was unknown to me. Cruising the seas, allowed me time to devote my undivided attention meeting the life-like fictional characters…Paul and Elinor. I chose the book because of my love for military history and my previous work in the fields of art and medicine. This book captured all three. Although the book was not lengthy---only 248 pages---Ms. Baker was able to weave together real life characters (Mr. Tonks) and fictional ones which gave the reader a wonderful and accurate representation of the upheaval and trauma felt by all in any war----past or present.

The reader will either love or hate the characters-----I came to dislike Elinor…..I painted her as self-centered. Even though the book was short, the characters were, for the most part, multilayered and Ms. Baker was able to capture British society during the WW I . She employed the dry wit of the British that can bring a smile even in a war setting. Her trauma scenes were accurate and the conversations that took place in these settings, although morbid, is the type of humor I have personally witnessed. It is the type of humor that keeps one working and sane. Though sparse and selective in her use of prose, the author was able to paint a vivid picture that made the reader part of the scene. At the end of the book I still had questions about Paul that needed answering - I answered these with a slower and more leisurely reading (it was just as great the second reading). I believe Life Class would be a wonderful book club selection that would lend itself to a lively debate. After reading this one book, I will be sure to search out and read other books by Pat Baker. (Do research Mr Tonks - he was a very interesting man.)