Border Crossing

So glad you liked this as much as I did Emily - Pat Barker is an outstanding writer and I must seek out those of hers I haven't read (and pass the least bleak on to you). Maybe when your hormones return to normal you'll want to have a go at the Regeneration trilogy, now you know the quality. If anyone else wants to borrow, just let me know. I enjoyed it much more than Vickers because it drew me in from the start (Vickers not till half way), but i'm not sure I can really answer your question about satisfyingness, except to say that the only marks Barker loses, for me, are those concerned with context - ie telling me about things I know little or nothing about but want to (The Congo, India's state of Emergency, Slavery etc) - there is nothing really in that category for me.