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Birds Without Wings

By Louis De Bernieres

(26)

| Audio Cassette | 9780739315477

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Birds Without Wings Louis de Bernières 625pp, Secker & Warburg, £17.99 The destruction of the Ottoman empire in the first world war and its aftermath put an end to a tradition of religious and ethnic tolerance in Asia Minor, the Balkans and the Arab ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

Birds without Wings By Louis De Bernieres

This broad historical novel is de Bernieres' first book in more than a decade. His previous release, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, was a national bestseller, and readers of that epic will not be disappointed with his latest offering. Set in an Anatolia ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

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3 Reviews

Eskibahce is a town in which for centuries Christians and Muslims lived peacefully together for hundreds of years. There peaceful life in a beautiful but wild and isolated region is shattered when Greeks and Turks declare war against each others nations. Philothei and Ibrahim a Christian and a Musli ... (continue)

Eskibahce is a town in which for centuries Christians and Muslims lived peacefully together for hundreds of years. There peaceful life in a beautiful but wild and isolated region is shattered when Greeks and Turks declare war against each others nations. Philothei and Ibrahim a Christian and a Muslim, devoted to each other since childhood, are the main protagonists amongst a cast of many, which link the novel together. This is not just the story of their relationship but that of the rest of the community of Eskibahce as well, where Christians and Muslims had lived together quite happily until the so called Holy War disturbs the peace.
The characters and the setting were interesting and the story flowed well, with the various inhabitants of the town telling us stories through their eyes. Rustem Bey, Iskander the Potter and Karatavuk were my favourites, with some heart-wrenching tales to tell.
I think I would have enjoyed it even more with a little less history. I got a bit bogged down at times, especially with the chapters concerning Mustafa Kemal, over twenty of them. Some of the war scenes are horrific and this book has certainly taught me about the history of that part of the world. I also understand I think a little more about the racial problems that still linger there in the 21st century.

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Lindyloumac said on Sep 4, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

The story of a Turkish village from before the first world war to the Greek-Turkish conflict of the 1920's and beyond. Full of idiosyncratic characters and human insight.

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Andy Neads said on Feb 4, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Review

I’m not really sure where to start with this review, because this book covers so much. It is set in a small village in Anatolia, in the finaly few years of the Ottoman Empire, just before the forced seperation of Turks from Greeks, and Muslims from Christian. There are a multitude of characters, som ... (continue)

I’m not really sure where to start with this review, because this book covers so much. It is set in a small village in Anatolia, in the finaly few years of the Ottoman Empire, just before the forced seperation of Turks from Greeks, and Muslims from Christian. There are a multitude of characters, sometimes they tell their own stories in first person narration, other times a third person narrator details their lives as they intertwine and grow apart.
The style of writing is very, very readable. But it isn’t gripping. Insted it is a story that you can read and become engrossed in, but never have the sense that it is a page-turner. You are never racing to find out what happens next. Which is a good thing, as it allows you the chance to pay attention to the beautiful language and descriptions on the page.
De Bernières is probably most famous for his Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and this books deals with the same general part of the world, although it is set slightly before that novel. It also has a shared character, which I didn’t realise until about half way through, other probably figured it out much earlier.
The book is big. An epic, sprawling all over the history of Turkey, and with plenty to saw about people, nationalism and politics, and all the horrors that they can bring. And there is so much in it that I was unfamilar with I almost felt as though I should take out a history book and read that at the same time. But I didn’t, de Bernières makes everything understandable. Well, for a certain value of understandable I suppose, and while you do have to pay attention it is so well written that it isn’t a slog to get through.

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Dee said on Oct 16, 2006 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback