Life Class: Pat Barker

Interesting title to this novel since it was the name of an art class he was taking and summed up how he had grown by the end of the book. The main character Paul admires a classmate, but then when he realizes she is unattainable he falls for her married friend. After that fiasco WWI breaks out and he volunteers for the Belgium red cross. Through letters between him and the unattainable woman we see how he changes and tries to share his life and experiences with her and she remains trapped in an unrealistic world. She admits she is selfish and I don't know if that makes her character more interesting or more unbearable, but in the end Paul still claims to love her even after seeing all her faults. A very deep and moving story that exposes both sides of war, those fighting and those still at home.