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Birdsong (Paperback)

by Sebastian Faulks (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (283 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Birdsong + Regeneration + All Quiet on the Western Front
Total RRP: £23.97
Price For All Three: £14.53

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Product details

  • Paperback: 528 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (18 July 1994)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099387913
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099387916
  • Product Dimensions: 19 x 13 x 3.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (283 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 902 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Faulks, Sebastian
    #2 in  Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction: 1970 Onwards > Popular Fiction

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Readers who are entranced by sweeping historical sagas will devour Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks' drama set during the first world war. There's even a little high-toned erotica thrown into the mix to convince the doubtful. The book's hero, a 20-year-old Englishman named Stephen Wraysford, finds his true love on a trip to Amiens in 1910. Unfortunately, she's already married, the wife of a wealthy textile baron. Wrayford convinces her to leave a life of passionless comfort to be at his side, but things do not turn out according to plan. Wraysford is haunted by this doomed affair and carries it with him into the trenches of the war. Birdsong derives most of its power from its descriptions of mud and blood, and Wraysford's attempt to retain a scrap of humanity while surrounded by it. There is a simultaneous description of his present-day granddaughter's quest to read his diaries, which is designed to give some sense of perspective; this device is only somewhat successful. Nevertheless, Birdsong is a rewarding read, an unflinching war story and a touching romance.

Product Description

Set before and during the great war, "Birdsong" captures the drama of that era on both a national and a personal scale. It is the story of Stephen, a young Englishman, who arrives in Amiens in 1910. His life goes through a series of traumatic experiences, from the clandestine love affair that tears apart the family with whom he lives, to the unprecedented experiences of the war itself.
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94% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

283 Reviews
5 star:
 (178)
4 star:
 (45)
3 star:
 (23)
2 star:
 (19)
1 star:
 (18)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (283 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
44 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely stunning....., 26 Sep 1999
By A Customer
Without doubt, Birdsong is by far and away the best book that I have read all year and is up against some some stiff competition. I was recommended it by a close friend of mine whose taste in books is seldom wrong, and she was right once again. The book is simply stunning. The harrowing narrative about trench life is starkly drawn, and leaves little to the imagination. Faulks portrays the soldiers' lives as hellish because, well, they were. It takes books like this to bring it all home to you about what those millions of people did for us all those years ago and is a living testimony to why the world wars should never be forgotten.

Now I am no historian, and I know that this book has been criticised by some people for its accuracy. Well who cares? If you do, go and read a textbook! The fact of the matter is that this book is not about where and when it happened, but what it was like to live in the worst possible conditions imaginable in a hopeless and unreal existence. Moreover, it shows a true definition of determination and survival. It points out how completely abysmal war really was, and so does it really matter if the occasional date might be incorrect or if the author used the wrong spelling of a French town? I think not.

The book is a breathtaking read from start to finish. You feel the intensity of the love scenes between Stephen and Isabelle and you begin to appreciate really what love could be like. You feel claustrophobic when you read about Jack and the tunnelers, and you feel the anguish when you see various characters watching their comrades being torn apart by sniper fire.

The book is quite amazing and I strongly suggest that you read it. A work of literary brilliance.

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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Birdsong - the best book I have ever read!, 2 July 2004
By Ms. Heather K. Jones "Heather" (Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Birdsong (Hardcover)
I have now read this book 4 times. Each time I read it, I find something new, and I feel a sense of sadness every time I reach the end.
This book has everything - romance and passion at the start, contrasting with the horrors of the Somme battlefield, and a link with the present day.
I learnt a great deal about how WW1 was fought - the descriptions of how both sides dug tunnels underground and lay mines under enemy lines was a revelation to me. Inspired by this book, I have since visited the Somme area and seen the remnants of some of the huge craters created by these explosions, and the thought of what it must have been like to live in a world where they were frequent occurrences is terrifying.
Faulks's writing style is beautiful yet highly readable, and the power of the story is what really carries this book along and makes one unable to put it down. Even if you are not particularly enthralled by WW1 history, read this book as a fine piece of modern literature and a darn good story...
Persevere through the first section to reach the part about the war - the brilliance of the book lies in the way it conveys what life was like for the men who suffered in WW1.
Please read this book - you will not regret it and you may, like me, find a book which changes your outlook on life.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Heartbreaking throughout, 10 Jun 2004
By N. D. Maidment "butchmaidment" - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
I won't waste time with an overall run through of the book's plot, but will simply say no book I've ever read has had the same emotional affect on me.
I must admit I wasn't at all taken or gripped by the 1970s storyline where a lady was searching for information on her grandfather - the book's central character Wraysford - but the wartime scenarios from Wraysford's view point must rank among the most moving in modern literature.
Sometimes it's impossible to believe Falk didn't witness the scenes himself, such are the vivid descriptions of carnage, the heart-stopping scenarios Wraysford and his companions are put through and the extreme sadness and hollowness that come to typify the central character.
Some have written they don't find Wraysford wholly likeable, but no character has ever had such an affect on me, or made me care so deeply for his situation, which is to Falk's eternal credit.
This book will deservedly take its place in the pantheons of greatness in due course and anyone with a glimmer of interest in the Great War will find much to stimulate them.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight to the point
There are lots of reveiws regarding this book, mostly good some negative, all I would say is that I found it, without doubt, one of the best books I have ever read. Read more
Published 19 days ago by M. E. Williams

5.0 out of 5 stars Searing
Birdsong ranks in my top 20 books. I usually read a paperback once, then send it to the local charity shop. Not this one (I'm keeping it). Read more
Published 22 days ago by IntensiveCareNurse

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has stood the test of time
I first read this book when it was published and recently had the desire to re-read it. I'm glad I did as this must rank as one of the best books ever written about the First... Read more
Published 27 days ago by Janice Shortland

5.0 out of 5 stars Birdsong CD Book
Looked great, arrived on time and good price but as it was a gift I cannot comment on the actual CD itself.
Published 27 days ago by Lenny Lynn

5.0 out of 5 stars birdsong
Without question, this is the best book I have ever read. You must experience this read!
Published 29 days ago by Debs

4.0 out of 5 stars A man's non existance
I was not sure about this book. I had high expectations as I had been told 'its a book you MUST read before you die!'. Read more
Published 1 month ago by T. Jackson

1.0 out of 5 stars How the hell did this book garner so much praise?
'To the left of the entrance was a formal garden with three oval patches of grass at various angles which unhinged the balanced vista that should have greeted passengers... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Phil O'Sofa

5.0 out of 5 stars Will leave a lasting impression
Birdsong, where do I start ? A novel of love and war the book begins in France 1910 when Stephen is young carefree and falls in love with a married women and embarks on a... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dr Phibes

1.0 out of 5 stars not realistic
My daughter bought me this book , wish she hadn't.For me it was totally unrealistic. The sex scenes belong to 2009 pornography and certainly not the early 20th century , or even... Read more
Published 2 months ago by M. M. Christophe

2.0 out of 5 stars Clunky jarring prose just grates and grinds
I couldn't believe I went straight from reading (suffering) Winter in Madrid to this equally annoying clunker. It was a serious case of deja vu. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Christopher D. Wood

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