Birds Without Wings is a novel by Louis de Bernier, well known as the writer of the best selling Captain Correlli’s Mandolin. The film adapted from the novel did not do it justice and it would be a mistake to judge de Berniere by this flawed production. I think however that this present novel ... Read review
Birds without Wings tells of the inhabitants of a small coastal town in South West ... more
Anatolia in the dying days of the Ottoman empire: Iskander the Potter and fount of proverbial wisdom; Philothei a Christian girl of legendary beauty who is courted almo...
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Advantages: An epic novel with wonderful characters Disadvantages: Slightly too long.
Birds Without Wings is a novel by Louis de Bernier, well known as the writer of the best selling Captain Correlli’s Mandolin. The film adapted from the novel did not do it justice and it would be a mistake to judge de Berniere by this flawed production. I think however that this present novel which appears to be a prequel to Captain Correlli is deeper and more mature.
In Birds without Wings he has written a wonderful human story. He ... ...very young. These poor people wish to live in peace with their neighbours with enough food on the table and a roof over their head. Their plight is to be worn down by events outside their control and to be persecuted by the powerful.
What’s it about?
The novel takes place in a small town on the coast of Southwest Anatolia. It is an all too familiar tale with a resonance for our modern world. Greek Christians and Turkish Moslems ... more
Birds Without Wings is a novel by Louis de Bernier, well known as the writer of the best selling Captain Correlli’s Mandolin. The film adapted from the novel did not do it justice and it would be a mistake to judge de Berniere by this flawed production. I think however that this present novel which appears to be a prequel to Captain Correlli is deeper and more mature.
In Birds without Wings he has written a wonderful human story. He champions the poor and the dispossessed the old and the very young. These poor people wish to live in peace with their neighbours with enough food on the table and a roof over their head. Their plight is to be worn down by events outside their control and to be persecuted by the powerful.
What’s it about? The novel takes place in a small town on the coast of Southwest Anatolia. It is an all too familiar tale with a resonance for our modern world. Greek Christians and Turkish Moslems are living happily together having found an accommodation and a mutual respect. Then war or Jihad is declared against the Allies and this results in the horror of Gallipoli. Religion and nationalism divides a village that does not wish to be divided and causes untold horror and deprivation. Iskander The Potter so adequately sums it up when he says of the local fanatic “That schoolmaster was like so many at that time, the kind who toss water into a pan of smoking fat, so others ,as well as themselves, are burned.”
The characters There are many wonderful characters that are finely drawn by de Bernieres and you become deeply concerned for their weaknesses and frailties and admiration for their strength and determination. The novel unfolds by means of each character telling his story at various times in their life. To give you a flavour of the language and endearing quality of the book I quote from the chapter on the birth of the beautiful but rather dull Philothei described by Iskander ,as he mentions the village birthing chair. “The chair had strong arms, for a woman is as strong as a man is when she suffers the pain of birth, and she proves a surprising knowledge of obscenities. ” I am sure there are many mothers who would recognise those sentiments. Philothei and her one love Ibrahim is a continuing thread woven through the story that has tragic consequences for them of loss and madness. Drosoula is Philothei’s best friend and is exiled to Cephalonia and considers herself ugly. Comparing herself to Philothei she says “She was like the evening star, when I was like a bug” She was a very loyal friend however and remembers her fondly. Woven into the fiction is the real life tale of the well-educated Mustafa Kemel otherwise known as Attaturk who becomes disenchanted with the Muslim religion, feeling it is holding back his people. His leadership and military brilliance founded the Turkish Republic but sent many Greeks into exile and Turkey into economic ruin. Rustem Bey the local landlord of the village and a very rich man and a wonderfully strong character is central to the story and seeks a Circassian mistress after disposing of his adulterous wife in a harsh and brutal way. The episode where he seeks a mistress is disturbing to our modern sensibilities but also humorous. The eventual seduction of Rustem Bey by Leyla his mistress who calls him “My Lion” is a wonderful and magical moment in the book.
The prologue by Iskander The Potter is worth reading for it’s proverbs it’s insight and the love of his people. Karatavuk who was Iskander the Potter’s son and Mehmetcik son of Charitos are firm friends. The title of the book comes from Iskander the Potter who makes clay bird whistles for the two boys. The two friends are delighted and run around whistling and flapping their arms wondering if it might be possible to fly. “Man is a bird without wings” Iskander told them ”and a bird is a man without sorrows” Karatavuk graphically describes the terrible experiences in Gallipoli. The foolish battles, horror and deprivation that was the First World War were interesting and horrifying. Just the mention of corpse flies is enough to make you shudder. The only criticism I have is that this section was longer than it needed to be and could have been edited.
My opinion The book has been described variously as reminiscent of Dickens or Tolstoy. I felt it was more in tune with Gabriel Garcia Marques and his depiction of the lives of ordinary people and the effects of authority. I enjoyed the great humanity expressed by de Berniere, the historical background to Gallipoli and the role of The Young Turks led by Mustafa Kemel. Rustem Bey was a favourite character for me although he seemed cruel, he was strong and a product of his time. I think de Berniere has written a novel with great resonance for the present. It expresses the feelings of helplessness when a country goes to war and the consequences of enforced repatriation to a foreign country. When politicians declare they know what is best for the country they should be made to read this book and maybe they would realise their foolishness.
Published by Secker & Warburg Hardback £17.99 Amazon £12.59 New and used £6.85 625 pages ISBN 0-436-20549-1
Advantages: One of those books that make you think. Disadvantages: Some people may be put off by the theme.
...but Iskander makes wonderful pottery birds that when filled with water make a whistling sound similar to a birds call, from these individual whistles come the longer names that are used throughout the story, to describe the characters of both boys.
Rustem Bey is another character that features in many of the stories; he is the principle landowner, a rich Muslim, who is kind and generous to all his tenants. His wife Tamara, has an adulteress relationship, ... ...time they played at being birds when they were children. The final paragraph is a joy to read and sums up the lessons to be learnt by war. It would be fitting to end with this, but the title is summed up more concisely in the words of Iskander, the potter, “man is a bird without wings” and “a bird is a man without sorrows”
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Summary.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, even with the historic ...
Elffriend 05.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Birds Withought Wings - Louis De Bernieres
Advantages: De Bernieres still writes with spirit... Disadvantages: Not as convincing as past attempts...
...Birdsong) and unfortunately, that’s what Birds Without Wings is - a disappointment. This isn't because it’s not as good as Corelli, but because it’s fraught with problems.
Based on the setting for the story (or lack there of) it initially appears that the village in which Birds... is set, is an attempt to replicate Cephallonia in the Ottoman Empire. Luckily, that is not the case, and Birds... does go on to establish its own identity. The main problem ... ...books plot, is Bernieres obsession with the eventual leader of the Empire, Mustafa Kemal. Overall a sizeable twenty two out of one hundred and six chapters are devoted to him, roughly about a fifth of the book. These chapters are written in the clearly intentional style of something approaching a historical paper, not a novel. This being said, de Bernieres way of detailing the accomplishments of Mustafa are laced with irony, and it appears as if ...
BurntheWitch 25.08.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Birds Withought Wings - Louis De Bernieres
Advantages: a damn fine read, a rollercoaster of emotion Disadvantages: it's a heavy book!
Part fiction, part history, I would heartily recommend this book. It tells the tale of the inhabitants of a small multicultural Turkish community a drift in the outside world at the beginning of the 20th century through the eyes of it's inhabitants. De Bernieres builds brilliant scenes and his style leads you on an emotional. At times I laughed, at the description of two close friends, an Imam and A Priest sneaking disguised through the town to talk ... ...times I neary cried, at the cold hard descriptions of young men thrown into the horrors of Gallipoli.
It is also a history book - it tells of wars, outrages and massacres that we don't here about in school and points at the roots of modern Turkish and Balkan politics. As well as enjoying I learnt a few things I didn't know.
In summary, highly recommended. ...
vipper_of_vip 23.08.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Birds Withought Wings - Louis De Bernieres
Advantages: Emotive storytellling which draws you in Disadvantages: Too many history lectures
As usual Louis de Bernierers' storytelling is masterful and his depiction of the village where the story is set is so effective you can almost hear and smell the atmosphere whilst reading.
This book can easily be split into two parts, the 'real' story and the 'history lectures'. The 'real' story is about the search for love and the effect that unrequited love can have on people's behaviour. This is not constrained to romantic love between a man ... ...The other part of the story deals with the ongoing disputes and religious animosity between the Turks, Greeks, Armenians and the rest of Europe. To be perfectly honest I found most of these chapters either dull or too graphic in their descriptions of the suffering during wartime and ended up skimming these to make sure that I wasn't missing any plot developments in the story that I was really interested in. ...
siocled 21.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Birds Withought Wings - Louis De Bernieres
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