Join our slow read of Regeneration by Pat Barker

Endnotes #20 • What are you reading? • News • Regeneration • My recent reads

Hello everyone!

It’s Simon Haisell here, the host of Footnotes & Tangents, a website where I write guides to the books I love and invite you all to read with me at a gentle pace.

We’re starting a new slow read next week as we begin seven weeks with Pat Barker’s Regeneration. All the details are below, and I’d love you to join us. But first,

• What have you been reading this month?

This is our monthly thread where we talk about the other books we’ve been reading. Let us know your recent and current reads below. The comments section gets fairly busy, so please put THE BOOK TITLE in capital letters to help fellow readers navigate the discussion. Thank you!

News

If you’re new here – hello! If you haven’t already done so, check out our big welcome post to find out what it is all about.

We’ve just wrapped up a 13-week read-along of Midnight’s Children, revisiting a novel I was infatuated with as a teenager. Has the love worn off? Yeah, a bit. But we had a fascinating time unpicking Salman Rushdie’s bewildering story of time and pickles. And the 13-post guide and discussion are all there on the website for everyone to enjoy.

Meanwhile, our two annual read-alongs continue: War and Peace and Wolf Crawl: a year-long slow read of Hilary Mantel’s Cromwell trilogy. We’ll start the second book, Bring Up the Bodies, in May if you would like to join us then.

Curtis Brown

I started this month with some big news:

It’s been an intense 3 years, writing some 150 posts exploring 9 fabulous books. I’ve loved sharing these with you, reading your comments, and watching these stories and slow reading blossom in people’s lives.

Where do we go from here? I’m now working on what this project might look like in print, and I’m excited to have an agent's support at Curtis Brown to help develop these ideas.

Oh, and you can help too! Last month, I set up an online questionnaire to gather your slow read stories. Thank you to everyone who has shared so far – it really is so incredibly helpful and illuminating!

Going live

I did a few recordings this month, one for Jo Hutton’s new podcast coming out later this year. Another with Claire Venus ✨ which you can watch here.

I had a lovely chat with Sabrina Nesbitt of The Middling Place about read-alongs, literature and the books that made us. She runs a book club on her Substack that has recently read Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Virginia Woolf’s Between the Acts. Watch here:

I also had a good long natter with the lovely Bea Stitches about all things Cromwell, her Stitching Cromwell project and why we will never ever slow-read Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black (even though it is amazing). Watch here:

And Next Tuesday at 8 pm GMT, I’ll be going live with Kristine Benoit de Bykhovetz to discuss the art of slow looking. Check out her Substack, The Reflective Eye. You can tune in on the Substack App, and I’ll upload that video next month.

Watch again: Conversations with Sarah Fay | Sarah Steward Holland | Caroline Donahue

Join our slow read of Regeneration by Pat Barker (April–May 2026)

This is going to be special.

Regeneration (1991) is a historical novel set in a psychiatric hospital during the First World War. The patients were soldiers being treated for shell shock, a condition poorly understood and not widely recognised at the time. Two of the patients were the war poets, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.

Pat Barker’s novel is remarkably complex, exploring themes of memory and trauma, duty and shame, art as resistance and recovery, masculinity, class, and women's roles in war. At its heart is a fascinating portrait of the conflicted and compassionate psychiatrist and anthropologist WHR Rivers.

Regeneration is the first novel in a trilogy, followed by The Eye in the Door and The Ghost Road, which won the Booker Prize in 1995. And deservedly so; it is an astonishing piece of literature. My plan is to run read-alongs of these two books in 2027 and 2028.

I hope you’ll stick around for those.

And here’s a few frequently asked questions about these read-alongs:

1. What is a slow read? And, how does a slow read work?

Every Friday, I publish a discussion post to accompany the reading. This post includes my reflections, additional resources, related imagery and artwork, and interesting links to continue your exploration of the themes, ideas, footnotes and tangents.

I suggest you first read the scheduled section of the book and then come to the post, where you can join other readers for discussion in the comments.

You can read each post in your email inbox, on the Substack app, or on my website. And you can also listen to it as a podcast and download it to your phone.

The rest is up to you! This is your slow read, and you should make it your own. You can chat with other readers or even arrange to meet up, online or offline. You can keep a private journal of reflections or share your thoughts with us in your own posts. Some readers are inspired to create: to draw, paint or knit their way through the book.

Be inspired. There is no right way to read a book.

2. How much reading is there each week?

I have assigned four chapters for the first and last weeks of the read-along. The rest have three chapters. Each is between 10 and 20 pages.

3. Can I read at my own pace?

Of course! The reading schedule is a guide only.

The schedule gives me time to research and write my posts. But don’t let it cramp your style. We’re not at school, and this is not homework.

Find your rhythm. If you want to race ahead or saunter behind, if life gets in the way, or your curiosity gets the better of you, do what works for you. My posts and our discussion will always be here when you want them.

4. Can I listen instead of read?

Yes! There is no reading snobbery here, and these slow reads are designed to be accessible to those with visual impairments or who prefer to listen instead of reading.

All my posts are released as podcasts. You can listen to these on the Footnotes & Tangents website, on the Substack App, or download and listen to them on your favourite podcast app.

5. How do I join?

It’s a two-step process:

1. Subscribe to Footnotes & Tangents, and

2. Turn on notifications for “2026 Regeneration” in the subscription settings.

If you are not sure how to do this, I have included a tutorial video below.

6. How much does it cost?

The first post of every read-along is always free. For example, here are the first posts for War and Peace, Wolf Hall, and Midnight’s Children. After that, you’ll need a paid subscription to Footnotes & Tangents for £5/month or £50/year. This includes:

• A weekly post with discussion, resources, artwork, videos and further links

• A friendly, insightful and inclusive discussion space in the comments

• A podcast version of my posts to download and listen to on your favourite app

• Access to all my book guides

7. Is there a discount for group subscriptions?

Yes. Two or more people can get 20% off an annual subscription here.

8. Can I gift a subscription?

Definitely, you can give someone a monthly or annual subscription here. You can also schedule a gift so they receive it at the perfect time.

9. Is there support for readers on a low income?

Yes! This is my day job, and I work full-time to put these guides together, so I am grateful for everyone who can afford to make this happen.

However, I do not want your circumstances to be a barrier to enjoying great literature. So if you are an engaged reader with low or no income, please get in touch so I can support your reading with a complimentary subscription.

10. What is Substack? How do I use it? Help!

If you are new to Substack, don’t panic!

You don’t need the Substack App to read my posts or participate in the read-along. In fact, I recommend avoiding the app if you are not already familiar with it. It may confuse and complicate an otherwise straightforward experience!

Substack is the platform that runs the Footnotes & Tangents website, delivers the emails and manages subscriptions. Don’t think about it as another social media platform, but the behind-the-scenes stuff that makes things go.

Here is a video tutorial for using the website, managing your subscription settings, and finding all the slow-read resources.

11. Any further questions?

If you have a question that I haven’t answered here, please leave a comment, hit reply, or send me a message on Substack. And if you know someone who might love one or more of these slow reads, please share this post with them. Thank you!

My recent reads

This month’s reading included a first foray into the world of Proust (oh, master of similies! I’ll be back), a whole lot of Russell Hoban, some CS Lewis and William Golding, and Alan Garner’s memoir in anticipation of our slow read of Treacle Walker in July. Here’s the full list:

• SWANN’S WAY by Marcel Proust (1913, tr. Scott Moncrieff, 1922)

• TILL WE HAVE FACES by CS Lewis (1956)

• PINCHER MARTIN by William Golding (1956)

• KLEINZEIT by Russell Hoban (1974)

• TURTLE DIARY by Russell Hoban (1975)

• PILGERMANN by Russell Hoban (1983)

• THE MEDUSA FREQUENCY by Russell Hoban (1987)

• MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie (1981)

• WHERE SHALL WE RUN TO? A MEMOIR by Alan Garner (2018)

What have you been reading?

Now it’s over to you. Let us know what you’re reading in the comments.

And if you can put THE BOOK TITLE in capital letters, it will help others find books they love or may be interested in.

All the best and happy, adventurous reading,

Simon