The Museum of Lost Love

"...these interconnected stories are both achingly affecting and archly realistic...A moving book about young survivors of armed--and especially unarmed--conflict." --Kirkus Reviews

"Gary Barker writes as beautifully and efficiently as any writer I've read―not an unnecessary sentence in the entire book. He is Hemingway without the false macho energy, and The Museum of Lost Love is an extraordinary testament to the enduring power of our pasts." --Richard Reyes-Gavilan, Executive Director, Washington DC Public Libraries

"Inspired by an actual museum in Croatia, in his The Museum of Lost Love Gary Barker brings to life an ensemble of characters striving to express love, kindness, bravery and integrity in a world where war, genocide, rape, torture and trauma prevail. At a time when ugliness and despair threaten the most resolute faith, Barker brings us a moral tale that contrasts the high and the low roads. In the end, as he follows several men and women to stirring resolutions, we are, somehow, both gripped by their tragedies and uplifted by their humanity." --Michael Reichert, PhD, author of How to Raise a Boy: The Power of Connection to Build Good Men

"War and love are eternal subjects of literature. Therefore, writing about it requires not only a brave, but also skillful writer. Using The Museum of Lost Love as his frame an mixing documents and stories, Gary Barker found an interesting way to connect his lovers over time and continents, telling about their moving, hopeless, tragic but also fulfilling struggle for love." --Slavenka Drakulic

"The emotional heft of The Museum of Lost Love is obvious from the first page and never lets up. The characters breathe, they love, they mourn. They stay with you." --Jennifer Fox, Writer/Director/Producer of the award-winning film The Tale

"This is a compassionate, thoughtful and layered book that makes for an intriguing read." --Jude Kelly, OBE, Director, Women of the World Foundation

for Mary of Kivu

"Mary of Kivu is the story of the Great African War, told with grace and passion. Drawing on his own experience in Congo and Rwanda, Barker depicts the horrors of war (including the sexual brutality that turned this beautiful land into the 'worst place in the world to be a woman') in an intriguing story that shows humanity's gift to forgive is greater than its genius to destroy." --Shereen El Feki, author of Sex and the Citadel

"Barker writes with a simple, raw honesty that is captivating. No one is untouched by suffering in this novel. But the hope of healing and redemption, even in the darkest times, shines through. Mary of Kivu has an enduring, yet timely message: that forgiveness has the power to heal the deepest wounds--and create miracles in the process." --Kuwana Haulsey, author of The Red Moon and Angel of Harlem

for The Afghan Vampires Book Club

"A riveting story of love and war. A marriage of American Sniper and Heart of Darkness. I read it straight through in one sitting." --Jane Fonda

"Partly a satirical broadside against the insanity of war by two writers who have spent years campaigning against violence, The Afghan Vampires Book Club also works as conspiracy thriller, speculative fiction, and full-on descent into hell." --The Herald Scotland

for Luisa's Last Words

"Luisa's Last Words is like a Le Carré novel with heart: you can't put it down." --Jonathan Nossiter, filmmaker

"Offers a chilling evocation of the emotional impact of violence in South America. This rich contemporary, political novel is written in a vivid cinematic style." --Liemers Bibliotheken

"Based on his personal experiences, Barker offers a frank, honest glimpse at the people behind the human rights field. A strong debut. It raises challenging questions about peace negotiations, a theme we rarely read about in fiction." --Cutting Edge, Belgium