Customer Reviews

Birds without Wings

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't get me wrong; I loved Captain Corelli's Mandolin, but Birds without Wings is even better. Louis de Bernieres reminds me of Rohinton Mistry. Both authors take a long time between novels, but the results are so well crafted that I can't complain about the wait. I was just pleased that this book was 625 pages long, so that a good read lasted a long time.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin was really the love story between Antonio Corelli and Pelagia with some of the novel devoted to other villagers and political figures of the time. Although from the opening of Bird without Wings it would appear to be the love story of Philothei and Ibrahim, their story is just one strand of many that make up the story of their village, Eskibahce. The village is the main character of the novel and the story tells of the villagers who live harmoniously despite differences in religion and ethnic origins until the events of WWI and the ensuing war for Turkish independence disrupt their Utopian lives. Probably no one living in Eskibahce felt that they were living in a perfect world until the enforced emigrations took place.

One area that de Bernieres has really improved over Captain Corelli's Mandolin is in the integration of the outside historical detail with the main story of Eskibahce. Although I found no difficulty beginning Captain Corelli, I have heard from other readers that they grew confused with the multiple narratives and were unable to reconcile the interior monologue of the Greek Prime Minister with the other early narratives. In Birds without Wings, the story of Mustafa Kemel, the leader of the independent Turkish movement, is told from his birth and is related intermittantly throughout the novel. Although these chapters were of the least interest to me and they were often the point where I would stop reading, they were essential to convey the larger historical context of the novel. Without this information, the reader would have been as perplexed as the villagers were about the governmental decisions that affected their lives so drastically.

De Bernieres' best trait is his ability to present both sides of the story fairly and equitibly. In the end both the Greek and the Turkish sides are equally to blame as are the Allies who interfere for their own motives. The ones who come out most blameless are the Italians and the friendship between Lieutenant Granitola and Rustem Bey, the Muslim aga of Eskibahce, was reminiscent of the situation in Captain Corelli's Mandolin where the Italians were jovial and gentle occupiers.

I have visited both Greece and Turkey, yet I learned more about the history and geography of both countries from this novel than I did from my travels. Another novel that I enjoyed earlier this year is Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. It began with the exhile of the Greeks from Smyrna, the same event that occurs near the end of Birds without Wings. However, it was only by reading de Bernieres' novel that I discovered the location of Smyrna, which I had supposed to be somewhere in northern Greece when I read Eugenides' book since the characters always spoke of themselves as Greek.

Prior to reading Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I had read de Bernieres' South American magic realism trilogy. I just think he is getting better as he writes more. In Birds without Wings, Drosoula, Pelagia's intended mother-in-law and friend from Captain Corelli's Mandolin, is depicted as a young child and woman and remembers her past in Turkey from her old age in Cephalonia. She is the only one of the Greek exiles whose fate we learn of. I hope that de Bernieres plans a subsequent novel that might help us to learn what happened to some of the others, like Mehmetcik, the boy who imitated a robin and grew up to be a bandit or Leyla, Rustem Bey's mistress who pretended to be from Eastern Turkey who was really Ionna from Ithaca.

Actually I am looking forward to the next Louis de Bernieres novel, no matter what its topic may be.

Wonderful, moving book about the effects of the twin evils of religion and nationalism on a small Anatoliam village at the start of the 2oth centuty - the writing is perfect. 5 stars and then some. Read tis if you want to join an army!

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres was worth the wait. At first glance it may not seem like a book to bring to the cottage but de Bernieres ability to create a whole village of interesting characters is a perfect book to sit back in an Adirondack chair and let the day slide by. I found myself wanting to learn more about the actual events of the novel's time-frame and I was satisfied that the book was not Captain Corelli's Mandolin but another showcase for de Bernieres' immense talent.

This is a great book. The author has a wonderful way with words (although I sometimes think he is showing off his lexicon skills). I felt anger, compassion, and frustration at the antics of the participants in this novel. Any book that can manipulate emotions like this one deserves high praise. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.