I am a 48 year old married man with two children aged 18(boy) and 16(girl).I enjoy reading, buying a...
I am a 48 year old married man with two children aged 18(boy) and 16(girl).I enjoy reading, buying and selling(anything) films,food and music, especially soul/Motown. I also have a long haired Chihuahua who is my shadow
Member since:29.01.2001
Reviews:67
Members who trust:10
Strangely I was first attracted to this book by the picture on the cover.It shows a soldier standing over a grave.As someone with an interest in military history, especially twentieth Century, I thought It may be of interest to me, I later read a review of it in one of the national newspapers and having liked what I read, decided that I would give it a try. I had not even heard of Sebastian Faulks before ,let alone read any of his other books. I was expecting a First World War story, full of action and tales of bravery-what I got was so much more. The books main character is Stephen Wrayford.The story begins in France 1910.A young man, Stephen is sent by his factory owning employer from England to France in order to try and learn some modern working practises that would help improve his employers companies prospects.He lodges with the owner of a French factory and his Family. After a while Stephen and the wife of the factory owner embark on an affair which eventually leads them to leave so that they can start a new life together.However events overtake them and send them on a course that would become littered with emotion and heartbreak. The war begins and Stephen joins up to fight for his country.The book then moves into the most graphic yet realistic detail of war and of all the horror that this entails. The storyline takes you through several battles that fully capture the madness, heroism and misplaced loyalty of war and the men it describes. Eventually the book moves forward two generations to modern day England.Here the truth about Stephen is revealed and at the same time the full sacrifice and suffering of those who took part in the great war is made clear. As I said earlier, what I expected was a war story full of action and tales of bravery. What I got was so much more. The author has created a love story which in itself manages to capture the imigination.It is both erotic yet full of sensitivity and eventually sadness.It brings characters to life and recreates the time period perfectly. It is a war story of the highest order.Reading it, I was there at the front line.It shows war,world war one in particular, for what it really was.Men enduring the most appalling conditions.Men being ordered to attack, when death was a likely consequence.A war with no direction.A war of futility, misery and eventually death, madness or injury.And if none of those three, a life scarred forever. Yet through all of this the author manages to write in a way that is moving and truly beautiful. I warn you, it will effect the way you think about war and all that goes with it. It goes without saying that it comes with me highest recommendation and is one of the best books I have had the pleasure to read.
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A book of real beauty and very real agonies, well reviewed and understood.
My favourite book.
Mike
jonwhite 03.02.2001 10:07
Great review and well written, it makes you want to go out and buy the book.
One observation though, if you put a blank line between paragraphs it makes the whole thing much easier to read and allows the reader to focus better on certain points.
aprose 03.02.2001 00:21
Great opinion. I love to read comments on authors that I have never read and this has just the right amount of plot detail and personal feelings. Thanks.
Readers who are entranced by sweeping historical sagas will devourBirdsong, Sebastian ... more
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 En...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Readers who are entranced by sweeping historical sagas will devour Birdsong, Sebastian ... more
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 E...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Readers who are entranced by sweeping historical sagas will devour Birdsong, Sebastian ... more
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 E...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Readers who are entranced by sweeping historical sagas will devourBirdsong, Sebastian ... more
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 En...
Postage & Packaging: £2.75 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Feb 3rd, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
