Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
250 used & new from £0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Birdsong
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

Birdsong (Paperback)

by Sebastian Faulks (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (268 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
Price: £4.86 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £3.13 (39%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Thursday, July 16? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
33 new from £3.11 217 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover £18.99 £14.49 21 used & new from £7.31
Paperback £6.99 £4.19 5 used & new from £2.46
School & Library Binding 6 used & new from £36.20
Audio CD (Audiobook) £16.63 £9.97 22 used & new from £7.49
Audio CD (Audiobook,Unabridged) Order it used
Show more editions and formats

Frequently Bought Together

Birdsong + Regeneration + All Quiet on the Western Front
Price For All Three: £15.54

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Regeneration

Regeneration

by Pat Barker
4.1 out of 5 stars (49)  £5.89
All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front

by Erich Maria Remarque
4.9 out of 5 stars (46)  £4.79
Strange Meeting

Strange Meeting

by Susan Hill
4.3 out of 5 stars (11)  £5.99
Journey's End (Penguin Modern Classics)

Journey's End (Penguin Modern Classics)

by Robert Cedric Sherriff
4.4 out of 5 stars (9)  £6.29
The Girl at the Lion d'Or

The Girl at the Lion d'Or

by Sebastian Faulks
3.5 out of 5 stars (26)  £5.59
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 528 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (18 Jul 1994)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099387913
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099387916
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (268 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 406 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

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

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

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.

Review
"Ambitious, outrageous, poignant, sleep-disturbing, Birdsong is not a prefect novel--just a great one."--Simon Schama, "New Yorker"
"An amazing book--among the most stirringly erotic I have read for years...I have read it and re-read it and can think of no other novel for many, many years that has so moved me or stimulated in me so much reflection on the human spirit."--Quentin Crewe, "Daily Mail"
"This book is so powerful that as I finished it I turned to the front to start again."--Andrew James, "Sunday Express"
"One of the finest novels of the last 40 years."--Brian Masters, "Mail on Sunday"
"This is literature at its very best: a book with the power to reveal the unimagined, so that one's life is set in a changed context. I urge you to read it."--Nigel Watts, "Time Out"

See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below
(5)
(5)
(4)
(4)
(4)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
See all 13 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Birdsong
92% buy the item featured on this page:
Birdsong 4.2 out of 5 stars (268)
£4.86
All Quiet on the Western Front
3% buy
All Quiet on the Western Front 4.9 out of 5 stars (46)
£4.79
The Book Thief
2% buy
The Book Thief 4.5 out of 5 stars (447)
£3.99
Devil May Care (James Bond)
1% buy
Devil May Care (James Bond) 3.3 out of 5 stars (96)
£3.86
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

268 Reviews
5 star:
 (169)
4 star:
 (44)
3 star:
 (21)
2 star:
 (18)
1 star:
 (16)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (268 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
30 of 31 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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Over-whelming, 30 Jan 2006
By A Customer
Undoubtedly the most over-whelming book I have ever picked up. I found the book hard to read at first and wondered what the hype was about. This was perhaps due to its almost perverse detail and apparently random plot. However, as the novel progressed I found myself growing both increasingly affectionate and simultaneously angry at the main character of Stephen. I found it harder and harder to put down as more elements of the plot fitted into place. As I finished the book I felt exhausted, as if I had been there too. It is the most convincing and engulfing story that I have read. A book with the ability to draw you in and force you to observe the hopelessness and tragedy of the war, and one man's inexplicable urge for survival. Faulks has the astounding ability to describe minute observations and express the nature of men. A book so unlike to any other I have read that I am left not knowing what to pick up next.
Comment Comments (2) | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply moving from the first page, 11 Aug 2003
I read this book over a year ago in preparation for an A level English Literature exam - it came very highly recommended from everyone who had read it, and they were right. This book opens with a beautifully poignant love story, which some have called trite, but which I found breathtaking. The erotic scenes are passionate but not crude, and the emotion aroused in the reader by the attraction between the pair is incredible. The painfully sad ending to this section (if you're a hopeless romantic, like me) leads perfectly into the next section, where we see Stephen in the war. I have never read literature that touched my heart as much as the descriptions of war in this book. The account of the battle of the Somme was heartrending and terrifying, as was the story of the tunnelers, and Robert Weir's trip home was extremely poignant and painful to read. However, for me it was the ending that really made the book the masterpiece that it is - it truly did take my breath away (it's the hopeless romantic thing again) and I cried for a good few minutes before turning back to the start of the book and beginning again. I love this book. It's literature, not a historical account, so if there are a few mistakes in accuracy, who cares? Suspend reality and throw yourself into this book - become a romantic and feel as the characters feel. I promise you that you will not be disappointed.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

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 27 days 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 28 days 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 1 month 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 1 month 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 1 month ago by Road Rocket

1.0 out of 5 stars Non delivery
I tried to buy this book on Amazon for a present.I waited 3 weeks before asking questions.I then found out the supplier had not got it and had not sent it,despite taking the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Roger F. Whitehead

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!
This book is one of the most inspirational and thought-provoking books I have ever read. It is heart wrenching and brought me to tears! Read more
Published 2 months ago by Katherine Robertson

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding
I started this book not knowing much about it or any of the hype around it which added greatly to the awaiting treat. Read more
Published 2 months ago by E. H.

3.0 out of 5 stars Claustrophobic in the extreme
After all of the hype, I wasn't sure what to expect. In the end I have to say it is superb descriptive writing but just to wordy, at times I was aching to get on with the meat of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Vicky Martin

5.0 out of 5 stars If you liked this, then check this out
If you enjoyed Birdsong, then have a look at Goodbye To All That by Robert Graves. This is his autobiography and has a lot of description of his time serving in the trenches in... Read more
Published 3 months ago by C. L. Hayes

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Feedback

Health & Beauty at Amazon.co.uk

Elemis Resurface and Renew Skin Care Gift Set of 4 Products
From soap to shavers, massagers to mascara, stock up on your daily essentials or truly pamper yourself.

›Discover Health & Beauty

  

More From S. Faulks

Devil May Care

Devil May Care (James Bond)

A variety of authors have written 007 novels since the death of Bond's... Read more
£7.99 £3.86

 

Train Hard...Play Hard

Nike, Gola, Converse, and more
Gear up with up to 60% off athletic and outdoor shoes.

›Shop now

  

Treat Someone

Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificates--available in any amount from £5 to £500 With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

  
Ad

Where's My Stuff?

Delivery and Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.
Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

amazon.co.uk Amazon Home
International Sites:  United States  |  Germany  |  France  |  Japan  |  Canada  |  China
Business Programs: Sell on Amazon  |  Fulfilment by Amazon  |  Join Associates  |  Join Advantage
Customer Service  |  Help  |  View Basket  |  Your Account
About Amazon.co.uk  |  Careers at Amazon
Conditions of Use & Sale |  Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates