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Birdsong (Hardcover)

by Sebastian Faulks (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (273 customer reviews)

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Hardcover £18.99 £12.29 24 used & new from £6.91
Paperback (New edition) £7.99 £4.78 259 used & new from £0.01
School & Library Binding 6 used & new from £35.76
Audio CD (Audiobook) £16.63 £11.13 13 used & new from £9.57
Audio Cassette (Abridged,Audiobook) 9 used & new from £3.39
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 402 pages
  • Publisher: Random House Inc (T) (Feb 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 067943545X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0679435457
  • Product Dimensions: 25.4 x 17.1 x 4.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (273 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 728,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #46 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > F > Faulks, Sebastian

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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. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.


From the Publisher

Powerful and moving bestselling fiction from one of today's greatest living writers. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Customer Reviews

273 Reviews
5 star:
 (172)
4 star:
 (44)
3 star:
 (23)
2 star:
 (18)
1 star:
 (16)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (273 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely stunning....., 26 Sep 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Birdsong (Paperback)
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 Jul 2004
By Heather (Wales) - See all my reviews
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)   
This review is from: Birdsong (Paperback)
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 Wonderful, wonderful
This is quite possibly the most beautiful, heartbreaking book I have ever read. Faulks paints a vast picture of the First World War and its effects on one man. It is breathtaking.
Published 10 days ago by Ms Raoul Duke

3.0 out of 5 stars Overrated - I'm sorry to say
I had such high hopes for this book having seen it mentioned in magazines, on reading lists and after reading the reviews here. Read more
Published 1 month ago by L. George

5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern Classic
Birdsong is a long novel about the first world war and life and death in the trenches, seen from the point of view of a young officer, Stephen Wraysford. Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Shaw

3.0 out of 5 stars fair
not as good as charlotte gray, though a classic? it requires reading. a bit slow in parts, not emotive enough but a steady read.
Published 3 months ago by itchybeard

5.0 out of 5 stars Deep, tender and gripping
I didn't want this book to end. The central character, Stephen, is tortured by his loyalty, love and spirit throuhgout the book. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Slimbird

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have ever read!
I have bought this book so many times, as each time I recommend it and lend it to a friend I never seem to get it back. Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Massey

1.0 out of 5 stars Boring
I have tried to read this on 2 seperate occasions the 1st time a few years ago and again more recently, on each occasion I found myself bored, going back to the book was a chore... Read more
Published 4 months ago by edzshed

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable and Unputdownable
This is without doubt the greatest book I have ever read. I have read other works about the first world war such as Journey's End, but the harrowing description which Faulks uses... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. O. Selfridge

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read this book!
I was forced to read this book for English A-Level and I moaned endlessly to my teacher that it was a 'boy's book' and that it would be 'so boring'. Read more
Published 5 months ago by C. Rucroft

1.0 out of 5 stars Why?
Why would anybody want to read fiction about WW1? There are numerous excellent books written by those who were present. There are the poems of Sassoon and Owen. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Road Rocket

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