Hungry Ghosts, a multi-generational family saga set against the backdrop of World War II and the late 1960s, was inspired by author Chris Barker’s parents’ experience of the war and the subsequent impact of PTSD on the family.
The book, published by The Book Guild Ltd on 28 March, is partially set in Cambridge. Chris was born and raised in the city and his mother also lived in Cambridge throughout the war.
Hungry Ghosts is not just a war story, it is a timeless exploration of family bonds and the indelible scars left by war.
Chris, who now lives in Australia, says: “I was inspired to write the book by my parents’ experience of World War II in England and its subsequent impact on my family and myself.
“As a child and teenager, I did not have a good relationship with my father (who became an alcoholic), but later, as an adult, I came to understand that he was a victim of war, suffering what we would now call PTSD.
“I believe that my parents were both traumatised by the war – my mother for example lost a fiancé – and that this impacted on me. I was both a rebellious teenager and later suffered depression.”
He adds: “The novel is in some ways a letter of understanding and forgiveness to my (now deceased) parents.
“I was also influenced by the social movements of the late 1960s and I hint in the book that in some ways those rebellions were a revolt against the wartime parental generation.”
