Blow Your House Down
Pat Barker
 The novel is divided into three parts. Part 1, which is centred on Brenda, starts off by showing Brenda in the role of a mother of three children; she is shown putting them to sleep before she goes out for the evening. Most of Part 1 sees Brenda (in conjunction with Audrey) walking the street; episodes/encounters with customers are juxtaposed with passages telling Brenda’s history of becoming a prostitute. In the final section of part 1 the focus switches to Kath, an ‘old’, experienced, but ruined prostitute whose three kids were taken into communal care and whose luck has steadily deteriorated since that time. On leaving Palmerston (a pub where the prostitutes have their drinks before starting their work) Kath is approached by a client. He turns out to be the killer. Kath in her highly intoxicated state is unable to proffer any resistance to the man and he kills her. Part 2 shows the intensifying of the fear among the prostitutes. It also further elaborates on the motherly part of the prostitutes’ lives; Elaine is expecting a baby but continues in her job - she starts working in a pair with Jean who seems to have a plan of some sort to trap and find the killer. The focus of the narrative gradually switches to Jean. Part 3 is the climax of the novel as it leads to Jean’s identification and killing of the serial killer. It is narrated by Jean who tells the story of her friendship, teamwork, and love-relationship with Carol, a young and vulnerable fellow prostitute who one day disappeared under dramatic circumstances. After Carol’s corpse has been found on a heap of rubbish the strength of Jean’s love for Carol makes her determined to track down the murderer. From the clues given to her by her instinct and the murderer’s ‘handwriting’ she chooses a spot where she thinks she is most likely to meet him. Her waiting finally bears fruit and she manages to stab the man with a knife. Though in the end she herself is left to wonder whether she has killed the real murderer the reader – from the description of the murderer’s encounter with Kath – suspects that she has killed the right person (although this is never made clear). In the final chapter the news is told that Elaine has given birth to a boy.