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Birds Without Wings

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Birds Without Wings

By: Louis De Bernieres
Narrated by: Christopher Kay
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Birds Without Wings tells of the inhabitants of a small coastal town in South West Anatolia in the dying days of the Ottoman empire: the local Potter and fount of proverbial wisdom; a Christian girl of legendary beauty; childhood friends who play in the hills above the town, and the two holy men of different faiths, who greet each other with the words 'infidel efendi'.

©2004 Louis de Bernières (P)2005 W. F. Howes Ltd Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Inspiring Tear-jerking Heartfelt
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At 28 hours this unabridged edition is something of a marathon albeit a very enjoyable if disturbing one. I had read both the book and also the book of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, the story to which Birds Without Wings is the prequel, a few years earlier so I was revisiting familiar territory. Birds takes us through the confusing muddle that was the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of various Greek and Turkish Ottomans. The threads are woven into a story that is both beautiful and horrifying at one and the same time highlighting the barrenness of nationalism, the folly of war, the stupidity of politicians and how, when measured against the vastness and indifference of time, the efforts of humans, those birds without wings, are ridiculous in their insignificance. The section of the book covering The Gallipoli Campaign, written from the Ottoman side, is most poignant at this time one hundred years later. The narrator is excellent and really brings the story to life.
This is a story that needs to be approached with some thought and at a steady pace but it is very rewarding and one that will live with you for quite some time afterwards. Very highly recommended.

Birds Without Wings

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Loved the narration. I read this book years ago and was delighted to find it on audible.

Excellent listen

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Loved this book.. Well read interesting entertaining and in places so funny that I laughed out loud. The last time I remember laughing out loud at a book is when i was a child. Thoroughly recommend it.

Excellent listen

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Louis De Bernieres has always written such eloquent and descriptive books and this is definitely no exception. His prose, writing style and descriptions in addition to the excellent narration could be compared with gently caressing your ears with the finest silk. The story is intertwined with historical references and events, primarily relating to Mustafa Kemal (the first president of Turkey). If you have zero interest in history, perhaps this is not the book for you but De Bernieres does handhold the reader through the events of the time so ends up being both informative and enjoyable.

The narrator does an excellent job with difficult Turkish and Greek accents and makes it easy to differentiate the characters.

The only negative is that the story does get a little repetitive with facts, quotes and character memories being regularly repeated. With the book being so very long, I can understand why the author has done this but personally found it a bit unnecessary.

All in all, definitely an excellent read. If you enjoyed LDB's South American trilogy, this book is a must!

A lovely story that is simply pleasure to the ears

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Unashamedly I adore Louis De Bernieres. He has an ability to paint pictures in words and create fullsome worlds that make the listener ache for times gone by. Much like Captain Corelli this a gentle, evocative account of broadly unremarkable people going about their daily lives, but wrought in such a way and woven into historical context that you absolutely fall head over heels for them. I can picture almost every character and somehow De Bernieres succeeds in combining complex, multiple characters and plots into an easy to absorb narrative. The detail is superb and despite plenty of traumatic and violent events, the story feels warm and heartening. It’s a huge soft couch of a narrative. I love this story!

Equally there are very significant real events in play, demonstrating the very worst of human ignorance, stupidity and our ability to scapegoat through prejudice. There are lessons from history, not dissimilar to the Third Reich or more recent Balkans War and these are vividly portrayed, not through violent detail but by the individual and collective journeys of key characters.

One criticism I would level is that much like ‘The Dust That Falls From Dreams’ the story is possibly a little drawn out in the final few chapters. But this is a small price to pay for the immersive story provided in both instances.

Just a beautiful and hugely evocative story

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