| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Book Description
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, sad, absorbing, and a great piece of history,
By
This review is from: Birds Without Wings (Paperback)
This is a truly great novel. It is set in Western Turkey in the early 20th century and concerns the events surrounding the first world war, the break-up and eventual dissolution of the Ottoman empire, and the effect that this has on the everyday inhabitants of a small town. The story opens in Eskibahce and we are drawn into daily life through a series of anecdotes and tales told through the eyes of its various inhabitants. As the book progresses, the scene is cut more frequently to the historical events that are taking place, and as the book reaches its climax, we find ourselves totally engrossed in the war: the geopolitical struggles, the nationalist politics, the struggle between Greeks and Turks, and life in the trenches at Gallipoli. The book achieves a superb balance between its gripping description of the history and politics of the time, and its equally gripping personal dramas being played out in this context. It explains the great tragedy that results ultimately in the deportation of the Turkish Greeks, with its attendant destruction of whole communities, the terrible consequences to individuals, and even the break-up of individual families. To call this an "historical novel" is to understate the quality of the story-telling. There is some wonderful narrative here: the book creates its own folklore, marvellous tales, funny stories, sad stories, shocking stories, all embedded in this steam-rollering march of historical inevitability. We also meet some marvelous characters, who become like old friends as they come back time and again to contribute their little piece of the story. And here is another beautifully-executed technique - the stories overlap, as told by different people and seen from different points of view. In the mind of the reader is built a much richer experience of events when seen from so many different angles. It's one of those books that is satisfying and interesting right from the outset. You know you are not going to be disappointed. It's just as well because it is 625 pages long! However, it's original, it's intelligent, it's informative, and it's one of those books that you must not miss.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This book makes you think,
By A Customer
This review is from: Birds Without Wings (Paperback)
This is a wonderful book. Hard going at times, but ultimately rewarding. If you loved Captain Corelli, this has many of the same ingredients: engrossing characters, minutely-observed village life, and a war that shatters everything. As ever with Louis de Bernieres, you have the sense that the entire book is painstakingly researched. Which makes it fascinating at times and treacle-ish at others. But, give it time. After 100 pages you won't be able to put it down.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Turkish Delight,
By
This review is from: Birds Without Wings (Hardcover)
Birds Without Wings explores further many of the themes of Captain Corelli's Mandolin: the many interwinding lives of a small town in peace and war; the frustration of love; the meshing and conflict of different races and cultures. These de Bernieres draws out with the same fluid empathy that characterised CCM, but chooses here to speak through many of the inhabitants - both Christian and Muslim - of the town of Eskibahce, rather than focussing on the destiny of a single family. Intimate portrayal of the villagers is intermeshed with the events of the wider world - events that the birds without wings cannot fly away and escape. If anything, these are the parts that could have been sacrified to (yet) more character examination, since they're essentially a retelling of history. De Bernieres is masterfully skillful at both drawing characters and telling their stories with endless variety. Each character is unforgetably detailed and multi-faceted, from the Dog, who lives in tombs on the outskirts of the town and terrifies children by smiling, to the 'Circassian' mistress of the local landowner, who yearns to speak her native Greek, to Abdulhamid Hodja, the wise local imam, and his horse. De Bernieres' mosaic of life is constantly sparkling and enthralling. If you liked Captain Corelli, this is the extra large helping with chocolate sprinkles.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
