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BIRDSONG by FAULKS
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BIRDSONG (original 1993; edition 1993)

by FAULKS

Series: French Trilogy (2)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
6,0761561,608 (3.97)1 / 502
Rootless and heartbroken Stephen Wraysford joins the army at the outbreak of World War I. He and his men are given the assignment to tunnel under the German lines and set off bombs. The comaraderie, love, and loyalty of the soldiers contrasts with the horrors of the underground, air, and trench warfare.… (more)
Member:ktd3
Title:BIRDSONG
Authors:FAULKS
Info:VINTAGE (1993), Paperback
Collections:Your library
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Tags:None

Work Information

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks (1993)

  1. 50
    Atonement by Ian McEwan (rrravenita)
  2. 21
    The Absolutist by John Boyne (NeilDalley)
  3. 10
    War Underground by Alexander Barrie (mabith)
    mabith: The true story of the tunnelers working during WWI, a little dated in tone but an excellent read.
  4. 10
    A Very Long Engagement by Sébastien Japrisot (Cecilturtle)
  5. 00
    A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin (PLReader)
  6. 00
    Between the Sword and the Wall: a novel of World War I by Thomas De Angelo (Jan6767)
  7. 00
    Gifts of War by Mackenzie Ford (pdebolt)
  8. 11
    If This Is a Man / The Truce by Primo Levi (sombrio)
  9. 00
    The First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook (Polaris-)
    Polaris-: For anyone interested in an expertly told history of the background, preparation, and execution of the Battle of the Somme, as well as the aftermath, this will certainly flesh out a lot of the detail behind the central battle featured in Faulks' novel.
  10. 00
    The Passing Bells by Phillip Rock (aliklein)
  11. 00
    My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young (MissBrangwen)
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» See also 502 mentions

English (153)  Dutch (3)  All languages (156)
Showing 1-5 of 153 (next | show all)
This was a terrific love story, of love unrequited, about war and bravery, about fear and honour, and it is has something of a happy ending. ( )
  MylesKesten | Jan 23, 2024 |
A long work of historical fiction set in World War I Europe. Highly acclaimed, but a little to much soap opera content for my tastes. Solid images of trench warfare, and of the contrasts between the front lines and life in areas where no fighting was in progress. ( )
  maryelisa | Jan 16, 2024 |
Haunting story of love and war. Harrowing images of WWI and what the unimaginable horror the troops endured. ( )
  Suem330 | Dec 28, 2023 |
Oy vey. Sebastian Faulks is the Leonard Cohen of romance novels--in the you-want-to-slit-your-wrists-after-reading-him sense. The problem is he takes you there, too effectively.

Usually I'd give him 5 stars, which is unquestionably what the quality of his writing deserves. But in this case there was so much graphic violence and (gratuitous in many cases IMHO) and horrors of war (WWI nonetheless) I skipped large passages describing brains leaking out of skulls etc...

So 5 stars for quality of writing and taking me there. 3 stars for subject matter I found too gory for my taste. ( )
1 vote stickersthatmatter | May 29, 2023 |
BIRDSONG was a book that i found to be a little confusing in places, however the overall story was intriguing and rather moving, giving an excellent alternative perspective of the great war. Whilst it was a lengthy, and sometimes slow read, I am looking forward to studying it and exploring its themes further. ( )
  Detective-Stories | Nov 6, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 153 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (17 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Sebastian Faulksprimary authorall editionscalculated
Davids, TinkeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Modick, KlausTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Perria, LidiaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
West, SamuelNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
'When I go from hence, let this be my parting word, that what I have seen is unsurpassable.' Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali
Dedication
For Edward
First words
The boulevard du cange was a broad, quiet street that marked the eastern flank of the city of Amiens.
Quotations
Madame Azaire had not fully engaged Stephen's eye
I am driven by a greater force than I can resist. I believe that force has its own reason and its own morality even if they may never be clear to me while I( am alive
A few yards further on they disinterred Wilkinson. His dark profile looked promisingly composed as Stephen approached. ...but as they lifted him, they turned his body and Stephen saw that his head was cut away in section , so that the smooth skin and the handsome face remained on one side , but on the other were the ragged edges of a skull from which the remains of his brain were dropping onto his scorched uniform.
It was like a resurrection in a cemetery twelve miles long. @Bent agonised shapes loomed in multitudes on the churned earth, limping and dragging back to reclaim their life.
He seemed a man removed to some new existence where he was dug in and forified by his lack of naturak feeling or response
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Rootless and heartbroken Stephen Wraysford joins the army at the outbreak of World War I. He and his men are given the assignment to tunnel under the German lines and set off bombs. The comaraderie, love, and loyalty of the soldiers contrasts with the horrors of the underground, air, and trench warfare.

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Book description
Published to international critical and popular acclaim, this intensely romantic yet stunningly realistic novel spans three generations and the unimaginable gulf between the First World War and the present. As the young Englishman Stephen Wraysford passes through a tempestuous love affair with Isabelle Azaire in France and enters the dark, surreal world beneath the trenches of No Man's Land. (0-679-77681-8)
Haiku summary
Brave soldiers digging
claustrophobic tunnels. Trench
warfare on both sides.
(passion4reading)

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Average: (3.97)
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1 22
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4 493
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