A.S. Bryatt (2001, p.302) asserts that 'the historical novel has been frowned on, and disapproved of, both by critics and by reviewers'. If we accept this, we must recognise that Barker's text came to the table …show more content…
Barker also used fictional characters on the periphery of actual recorded history, and this is compounded by her intelligent employment of real people and actual historical records. It is the way in which Barker weaves these together that is so impressive. She found new ways of exploiting fact in order to create fascinating fiction. Indeed, Bryatt goes as far as to say that Barker is 'startling and formally inventive' in the way in which she uses Prior to 'explore the enormous shifts and rifts in the structure of society, sexuality, and the psyche brought about by the war' (2001, …show more content…
Perhaps this is most evident in the Rivers Melanesian passages. Indeed, Barker tells us explicitly that he had to 'dredge' up memories (1995, p.63) about his time abroad in much the same way that Barker researched his writing to discover truths, 'Dazzled by the sudden light, he followed Njiru up the slope, towards a knot of shadows, and then one of the shadows moved, resolving itself into the shape of Nareti, the blind mortuary priest who squatted there, all pointed knees and elbows, snail trails of pus running from the corners of his eyes' (Ibid.). Barker's use of flashbacks and time shifts are at odds with a realistic, chronological sequence and we are allowed, perhaps encouraged to slip between the then and the now. In this respect of the two novels chosen, The Ghost Road is perhaps more sophisticated in terms of narrative strategy, what Rodd terms the 'welding of real and imagined' (Reader, 51,