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Birds Without Wings

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 4,136 ratings · 586 reviews

In his first novel since Corelli’s Mandolin, Louis de Bernières creates a world, populates it with characters as real as our best friends, and launches it into the maelstrom of twentieth-century history. The setting is a small village in southwestern Anatolia in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. Everyone there speaks Turkish, though they write it in Greek letters. It...more

Paperback, 554 pages

Published June 28th 2005 by Vintage (first published 2004)

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Jan 29, 2013 Chrissie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: hf, text-checked, turkey, audio, favorites, 2012challenge, love

ETA on completion: Chrissie, stoip saying you love the book. Explain why! Everything explained below remains true. Other books are emotionally captivating, intellectually interesting, filled with humor and sorrow, What is it that makes this one different for me? It is that this book has a message. It looks at people and life and it says loud and clear how stupid we human beings are and how wonderful too! Does that make sense to you? Do you see life that way too?

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Twice a Stranger: The M ...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, historical-fiction, all-time-favourites

Tracing the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the modern republic of Turkey, this novel alternates the first and third person narratives of a range of characters from the fictional town of Eskibahçe (meaning Garden of Eden) in southwest Turkey with an account of the life of Mustafa Kemal, later Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first leader of modern Turkey.

At the turn of the 20th century, the inhabitants of Eskibahçe comprise Muslim Turks, Christians of Greek origin and Armenians. They live...more
Tracing the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the birth of the modern republic of Turkey, this novel alternates the first and third person narratives of a range of characters from the fictional town of Eskibahçe (meaning Garden of Eden) in southwest Turkey with an account of the life of Mustafa Kemal, later Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first leader of modern Turkey.

At the turn of the 20th century, the inhabitants of Eskibahçe comprise Muslim Turks, Christians of Greek origin and Armenians. They live together in relative harmony, forming friendships and inter-marrying. Both Christians and Muslims hedge their bets somewhat, with Muslims asking their Christian friends to offer prayers of intercession and Christians having a profound respect for the local imam. The lives of the inhabitants of Eskibahçe are torn apart by World War I and Turkey’s subsequent war with Greece, together with the Armenian genocide and the forced exile of Turkish Christians to Greece and of Muslim Greeks to Turkey.

In beautiful and accessible prose, de Bernières creates a strong sense of time and place. I found the chapters dealing with the Gallipoli campaign particularly powerful. The story of this WWI campaign is well-known to Australians and New Zealanders, who commemorate the landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 as a national day to honour those who have served their country in time of war. It was extremely moving to read an account of the campaign – including an account of the fellowship and respect which grew between the Turkish and the Australian and New Zealand soldiers – from a Turkish point of view. The account of the forced exodus of Armenians in 1915 (and the subsequent Armenian genocide, which in terms of the novel occurs “off-stage”) and that of the expulsion of Greeks from Turkey and of Muslims from Greece after the signing of the “Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations” in 1923 are also powerful and moving.

It took me a while to become completely engaged with the characters and the narrative. This is a long novel and de Bernières introduces his characters and builds tension slowly. While there is plenty of humour – a lot of it sardonic - the work is a serious indictment of extreme nationalism, of religious dogma and of war and its atrocities. However, it also explores human resilience and the type of love and friendship which can survive even the horror of war and ethnic and religious conflict . In a sense, Eskibahçe represents a Turkey in which different religious and ethnic communities could live in harmony before the choice to do so was taken away from them. And the tragic love story of the Muslim boy Ibrahim and the Christian girl Philotei which forms part of the narrative represents the tragedy which befell Greek Christians expelled from Turkey to a land which was not their own. In the process of describing the devastation on which this novel centres, de Bernières does not spare himself in criticising those he considers responsible for what occurred.

Before I started reading the novel, I was reasonably familiar with the political situation in Turkey since the 1980s. By reading it I learned a lot about the beginnings of modern Turkey and was able to put what I already knew into historical context. This is not an easy novel to read. However, it made me both laugh and cry and for a patient reader with an interest in 20th century international relations, the novel is a rewarding literary experience. Thanks to my GR friend Chrissie for recommending it to me.
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Jan 14, 2008 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

I so wish that the editor had been a bit more stringent with this book so that more people would read it! Even adoring the book as I did, I found I would have preferred it with one or two fewer plot lines. It is an incredibly historically informational novel peopled with (a few too many) warmly flawed and incredibly real characters.
I think the author's ability to provide a variety of viewpoints (via the different Muslim, Catholic, Turkish and Greek characters we meet) on a time period that is h...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Sam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, tbr-before-i-die

4.5/5 stars

The problem I have with this book is the problem I have with beautiful artwork. Often when I’m drawn to a particular image, I can’t say why I am. Others will analyse a piece, commenting on what it is they believe the artist is trying to convey and say that they like it because of the lines that were used, the lighting, shading or colours. And I’ll be there, all like, “yes, I like it too because of um, you know, reasons”.

Likewise, I can’t exactly say why I really like Birds Without Win...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Laura by: Chrissie

Shelves: hf, bam-calendar, atwi80, audible, friend-love, 13-wishes, a-lucky-one, owned, atwi80-read

This, for me, is one of those rare and treasured reads, a book that will stay with me forever. It tells the story of a small village in Smyrna starting about 1900, before it became Turkey. It is divided into many short chapters, and is told mostly in the third person. Sprinkled throughout, though, are chapters told from the point of view of several of the villagers, some of whom we meet as children, while others merely recount events from their young lives from the perspective of mature adults....more This, for me, is one of those rare and treasured reads, a book that will stay with me forever. It tells the story of a small village in Smyrna starting about 1900, before it became Turkey. It is divided into many short chapters, and is told mostly in the third person. Sprinkled throughout, though, are chapters told from the point of view of several of the villagers, some of whom we meet as children, while others merely recount events from their young lives from the perspective of mature adults.

I loved this book because I loved the people who inhabited it, and the author made me feel that I know them. More than that, though, he made me feel he knows me. This was my first experience with Louis de Bernieres, but it won't be my last.

I am no history buff, so the description scared me off a little. I wasn't sure if I would understand it. Then I took a look at the first page, and the writing pulled me in immediately. Here is the start of the second paragraph:

There comes a point in life where each one of us who survives begins to feel like a ghost that has forgotten to die at the right time, and certainly most of us were more amusing when we were young. It seems that age folds the heart in on itself. Some of us walk detached, dreaming on the past, and some of us realize that we have lost the trick of standing in the sun.

How can you not read a book that starts with such wisdom, such truth and eloquence? I couldn't resist. This is a wise book, full of humor. You'll need the humor, because there is also great tragedy here. The characters feel very real. It's about life, the good, bad and ugly. We get to know the village and its people, its customs, superstitions, and traditions. It's about strength and courage and beauty and friendship. It's about community and family, and war's far-reaching, often devastating effects.

I started with a library copy, then bought the book halfway through because I knew I would want to reread this, and I'd want to be able to lend it out. I'd also like to highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by John Lee. He is a gifted narrator. His inflections and delivery, in my opinion, are perfect for the prevailing tongue-in-cheek tone of the story.

I feel as though I should have taken notes as I read, because I don't feel I'm doing this book enough justice here. I would really like to revisit this in a few years, once I have a better understanding of WWI. You really don't need the historical background going in to be able to enjoy the book. Trust me, I had almost none. However, I already want to reread it. Next time, with the background, I know I will appreciate it even more.

I also want to thank my good friend Chrissie for encouraging me to read this, in spite of the fact that I was unfamiliar with the history. What a tremendous book. I feel that it has been stitched into my soul, a rare treasure.

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Feb 25, 2009 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED this book. It's a story of true friendships which are torn apart by superficial definitions of separateness. It covers the topics of beauty, birth, a parent's love, a brothers love, unrequited lovers, addiction, the reality of death of old age and the brutality of untimely death. This book tells the story of Ataturk and the Armenian forced migration in a balanced and objective yet intimate way. It tells the story of the unity of the Greeks and the Turks before Wilson's nationalism had st...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Pearl rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It's now on my list of all-time favorites.

The writing is lush and gorgeous and witty and empathetic. The many characters come alive and are very compelling. The setting is a little village in southwest Turkey, not too distant from Symrna (Izmir), and the time is the WW I period. The story is mostly told from the point of view of the various villagers and occasionally from the view of Mustafa Kemal (on his way to becoming Ataturk).

We get a fascinating view of Turkish village li...more

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Oct 02, 2008 Rea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well I would like to put three and a half stars for this book.

This book is about the last years of the Ottoman Empire and the author simultaneously contrasts the happenings of the international political world with that of a small cast-away village where Greek Christians and Turkish Muslims lived side by side.

Being from Greece, you are 'taught' that the Ottoman Empire was an evil and repressive empire and hence why Greeks hate Turks and visa versa. What de Bernieres succeeds in doing is not be...more

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Feb 15, 2009 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written and historically accurate. Give it some time.

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Feb 05, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine added it · review of another edition

The ten years since the runaway success of De Berni_

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Dec 13, 2008 Tamir Damari rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book breaks your heart, but in a good way. DeBernieres' has a beautiful, eloquent, lyrical style, the effect of which is augmented by the tragic nature of much of his content. He also imbues his story with much pathos and humor. By doing so, he avoids heavy-handedness.

Birds Without Wings is a marvelously ambitious book. It is a epic about conflict and coexistence between Muslim and Christian Turks, Kurds and Armenians, set over the course of decades.

The book is historically informative, a...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Amanda Rae rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-favorites

"Beautiful" is an accurate word to describe this book that hardly does it justice. As a lover of history, anthropology, good storytelling, and especially Turkish culture, this book satisfied me and then some. It is an exceptional portrayal of the struggles that everyday people underwent during the strange time between the end of the Ottoman Empire and the dawn of Atatürk's republic, when superficial lines were drawn up between people who had lived for centuries comfortably next to and around eac...more

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Nov 04, 2012 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars

For people who find straight history books too dry, this book is one of the best for understanding the history of the fall of the Ottoman empire and the rise of the modern Turkish state.

Louise de Berniers provides a window into the lives of people caught in the midst of the enormous social, political, and economic change that occurred when Ottoman rule collapsed and was replaced with the modern, democratic, secular Republic of Turkey. With a captivating cast of characters and intricate story li...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Mitch Ost rated it 5 of 5 stars

1. De Bernieres, Louis. Bird Without Wings. Through the voices of about a dozen characters, mostly from a small village in southwestern Turkey, De Bernieres tells the story of the fall of the Ottoman Empire (late 19th & early 20th Century) and the painful impact it had on the people of the region. Sons go off to war, poverty strikes the village, families suffer the loss of loved ones and people turn on their ethnic brethren for deeds done by their ethnic kin elsewhere and yet there are under...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Caitriona H rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

The subject of this book is the falling Ottoman Empire, Gallipoli and strife between Turkey and Greece, Christians and Muslims: Yes, it’s another epic work of historical fiction. After the previous, gushy review of Grapes of Wrath I think I should warn you in advance that I LOVE Louis de Bernieres. Apart from his most famous book, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Captain-Corel...) which I’ve never successfully finished…

Birds Without Wings is larger than de Bernieres usual book...more The subject of this book is the falling Ottoman Empire, Gallipoli and strife between Turkey and Greece, Christians and Muslims: Yes, it’s another epic work of historical fiction. After the previous, gushy review of Grapes of Wrath I think I should warn you in advance that I LOVE Louis de Bernieres. Apart from his most famous book, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Captain-Corel...) which I’ve never successfully finished…

Birds Without Wings is larger than de Bernieres usual books (625 pages compared to Captain Correlli’s Mandolin at448 pages). It covers an enormous story, a whole swathe of the Mediterranean and a myriad of characters, although quite a short time period. De Bernieres zooms in on a tiny south-west Anatolian village and its homogenous Christian and Muslim population before spiralling out to the wider political and social movements of the early 1900’s via the life of Mustafa Kemal, Ottoman and Turkish army officer and first President of Turkey. I learnt a huge amount from both the homely and international stories in this book. Although I’ve read about the Balkans and Cyprus before, and the Ottoman Empire in relation to Russia, this area is so complicated and interesting. De Bernieres creates a wonderful sense of place, committing the reader to the village, despite a blunt, not nostalgic tone. There are clashes between nationalities and religious devotees from the beginning of the book, as well as between men and women, rich and poor. Yet all of these stories are fascinating and seem more forgiving in light of what follows. He shows a great appreciation of landscape and relationships and characters of people, a general sense of the wonderful and terrible in ordinary life. This is horrifically exaggerated as the book moves into the disintegration of the little place and people amongst the great international events gathering speed around them. The horror of the stories increases, apparently arbitrarily but irrevocably, and the glory or wonder of the stories fades away, leaving only a dull sense of an inevitable fall. This is partly due to the reflective, diverse narrative voices, all of whom are recalling events from the past. I struggled to find any over-arching sense of a greater message, or purpose in Birds Without Wings, other than that it is educational about the qualities of humanity as well as actual historical facts. This is not a sermon, it does not exactly criticise or blame any one party, but it is very angry. The anger in the book reminded me of de Bernieres’ South American trilogy (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Louis-Bernier...) which I’d highly recommend, although it’s more representative and less directly tied to a certain history.

I found this book really interesting and touching. Although it does demand more effort than his other works I think Birds Without Wings is a rival to the great literature about the World Wars in Western Europe. This is an area we need to hear more about than we do currently in the UK.

This is what some other people said about it:

‘A more ambitious novel than Captain Corelli, and a better one,’ (Financial Times)

‘A mesmerising patchwork of horror, humour and humanity,’ (Independent)

‘His most serious and ambitious achievement to date,’ (Times Literary Supplement)

‘Pleasurable… Like Steinbeck, de Bernières deserves praise for his imaginative sympathy,’ (Independent on Sunday)

978-0099478980 £8.99 Vintage

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birds-Without...(less)

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Sep 25, 2012 Regina Lindsey rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

I often feel my reviews fall short; however, I have never felt my inadequacies as much as I do with this one. This is one of the best books I've read in quite some time. It has everything I look for in a book: history, humor, complex characters, beautiful prose, themes that resonnate, and work that educates. This has it all.

Set in early 20th century Eskibahce, a small community in the Ottoman Empire, whose population is diverse in terms of ethnicity and religion, De Bernieres tells a story of ho...more I often feel my reviews fall short; however, I have never felt my inadequacies as much as I do with this one. This is one of the best books I've read in quite some time. It has everything I look for in a book: history, humor, complex characters, beautiful prose, themes that resonnate, and work that educates. This has it all.

Set in early 20th century Eskibahce, a small community in the Ottoman Empire, whose population is diverse in terms of ethnicity and religion, De Bernieres tells a story of how larger events in the world impact the individual lives of a community's residents and masterfully shows the history of the Ottoman's Empire's fal,l leading the way to the establishment of Turkey. Told through the first person perspective of various, richly developed characters this is a tragic love story, full of paradoxes, and shows how today's events are intrinsically tied to a litany of past events. Dispersed intermittently throughout the story is the third person narrative of Mustafa Kemal's rise to power.

The story is full of paradoxes and is filled with moving moments that illustrate the need to think for yourself and ignore stereotypes by getting to know individuals.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"Fritz (a dog) bit Moritz ( a bear) and Moritz bit the King and the King died, and so there is a new king, who happens to be a previously deposed one who is detested vehemently by all the Allies. The loss of Allied support means the loss of the war.” (pg 437)

“Ibrahim blamed himself, and if I had been one of her brothers or one of her other relatives, I would have come back from exile and killed him. The peculiar thing is, however, that nothing would have happened to Philothei at all, if other things had not been happening in the great world.” (pg5) "

Speaking for myself, I had discovered that infidels are not necessarily devils, which I should have known already because, after all, I grew up in a town among many different kinds of them, except that they weren’t Frankish.” (pg 361)

"there are many who say we are better off without the Christians who used to live here, but as for me, I miss the old life of my town, and I miss the Christians. Without them our life has less variety, and we are forgetting how to look at others and see ourselves.” (pg 7)

"Yusuf the Tall loved all his children equally, with a passionate adoration that, when he thought about it sometimes made him lachrymose. If his life were like a garden, then his daughters would be like the roses growing alongside it walls, and his sons would be like young trees that formed a palisade against the world.” (pg 137)(less)

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Aug 28, 2012 Ernie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was recommended by my friend Chris. The story is set in a small, poor town in the Anatolia part of Turkey, before, during and after WWI and including the Turkish war for independence. I do not know much about the time or region. The author provided a lot of historical narrative, which was both annoying and helpful. Basically, there were chapters that consisted of descriptions of government actions, troop movements, wars, death-marches, etc that were occuring all around the region durin...more This book was recommended by my friend Chris. The story is set in a small, poor town in the Anatolia part of Turkey, before, during and after WWI and including the Turkish war for independence. I do not know much about the time or region. The author provided a lot of historical narrative, which was both annoying and helpful. Basically, there were chapters that consisted of descriptions of government actions, troop movements, wars, death-marches, etc that were occuring all around the region during the time. Meanwhile the story was about the inhabitants of this community... what they did,... how they interacted,.. describing their aspirations... and showing the catastrophe that occured when the Ottoman Empire disappeared. The book is about labels that people apply for personal life and their consequences...... A man was asked what would happen to his Christian daughter when she married a muslim.... answer: she will become a Christian-Muslim. At the same time they were aware and wary of the differences among them. The differences were long standing. The Christians were descendents of Greeks who had settled there. They no longer knew Greek but spoke Turkish. The curious aspect of this town was that the people who could write, did so using Greek letters but they wrote in Turkish. People in other areas were perplexed by this contradiction.

But the differences had grave consequences outside the town --- the story described children as they grew up then followed their duty as citizens of the Ottoman empire to join the holy war that was WWI. Numerous contradictions appeared..... The loyal Chrisian Ottomans wanted to fight but were rejected because it was a holy war against Christians. The Muslim boys who joined this Muslim fatwa discovered their major ally was Germany... Christian. --- Meanwhile, the Christian boys who were turned down as soldiers were taken into labor battalions to support the troops. But it turned out that these were slave labor camps. ---- Basically, these were the horrors that preceeded the horror of WWII. When Hitler justified his treatment of Jews, Gypsys and Slavs, he did so by pointing out that no one remembered the holocausts of WWI.... Turks on Armenians, Greeks on Turks, Turks on Greek Christians. People were uprooted and sent to new villages based on their religions. Communities lost their skilled people. Christians speaking Turkish were taken to Greece. Muslims speaking Greek were taken to Turkey. Walking. Some of them made it.

I know this is rattling. I liked the writing. I liked the descriptions of the people. I know Australians who have told me about Gllipoli and this book tells the other side. If anything, this telling is worse because this describes the insanity of trench warfare on the penninsula. It was much more than idiotic charges, ordered by British officers to ANZAC troops, into machine guns.

I am still thinking about the book. The story is sad and profound. A side story is told about Mustafa, the creator of the Turkish State. He came up through the military. He wanted to create a secular Turkish/Muslim state. The Ottoman Empire was fading. To replace it he used nationalism and religion. Those seemed the most effective tools. --- And the counterpoint is this village that was in the process of evolving away from those narrow views. Couldn't it have been done some other way? Maybe not. The last chapter of the book describes a modern village in Anatolia... very civil. But there are no Greek descendents... just as there are no Muslim descendents in Greece. People are happy. But.... It is not really restoration... it is loss.

In the beginning of the book, one of the villagers makes up... or remembers a proverb.... "A man without a soul is like a bird without wings". Birds come up throughout the book in various uses. But at the end of the book, one of the characters ponders the birds... as he had done as a child with his pals..... how nice it would be to be a bird and fly. To be free, to soar, to see everything from the sky. He thinks that birds without wings would be sorry creatures.. colorful but hopping on the ground, going nowhere, vulnerable.

At the same time the birds in the book have sorry fates. They are admired but in admiration they are caged, tamed, hunted, copied imperfectly through whistles or airplanes.

Clearly, I am not done thinking about the book. It is a time and place I do not know. Unfortunately the story is a familiar one in history. But the charming description of the people and town will stay in my memory a long time. I recommend the book. The people are charming. There are friendships. Romances. Quirky people. A fair amount of historical fiction. But it is not a light read.(less)

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Jul 10, 2012 Jud Barry rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was very fortunate to be able to read this book while on vacation in Turkey. The central story is a star-crossed romance between a Greek (Christian) girl and a Turkish (Islamic) boy, growing up in the same town and expected to marry despite their religious differences, but history intervenes in the form of World War I and its aftermath. The geopolitical realities of the founding of the modern Turkish nation destroy the lovers and their town.

The fictional story is counterpointed with a historic...more

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May 30, 2012 Belinda rated it 3 of 5 stars

War ruins everything. Louis de Bernieres’ characters warn you in the opening pages of "Birds Without Wings" that their village was different before the war, before their Turkish Christian neighbors were herded off to Greece, and before their boys went off to savage WWI battlefields, and if they returned, they were wounded and damaged.

This mirrors some of the themes from Berniere’s earlier book, “Corelli’s Mandolin,” which was filled with charm, personality, grace and fluidity, despite the grim o...more

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Apr 25, 2012 Ron rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book should come with a warning. It will sadden you beyond measure. Set in a coastal village at the end of the Ottoman empire in what is now Turkey, it follows the fortunes and misfortunes of a large cast of characters. As Christians and Muslims, they have lived together peaceably for generations, and would continue to have done so without the virulent rise of nationalism in the "great world" around them. So the author argues, as the entire village is swept up in the wars and civil wars eru...more This book should come with a warning. It will sadden you beyond measure. Set in a coastal village at the end of the Ottoman empire in what is now Turkey, it follows the fortunes and misfortunes of a large cast of characters. As Christians and Muslims, they have lived together peaceably for generations, and would continue to have done so without the virulent rise of nationalism in the "great world" around them. So the author argues, as the entire village is swept up in the wars and civil wars erupting at the start of the last century, and the lawlessness and ethnic cleansing that accompanied them.

At 550+ pages, it is a long novel, its many stories told in a variety of voices and at a leisurely pace. Richly detailed, it also fills a broad canvas as the specifics of village life alternate with accounts of political movements abroad, following in particular the career and ambitions of the man who became Atatürk, first leader of modern-day Turkey. Readers may contest de Bernière's accounts of historical events - for example, the Armenian genocide - but his overall argument remains consistent, that nationalism has been a scourge that brought misery and suffering to millions and continues to do so. While life for his Ottoman villagers is not without its cruelties and injustices, it was edenic by comparison with the horrors that befall them as the nation-state of Turkey is born - including the agonies of trench warfare, forced marches of whole populations, and unspeakable brutalities suffered by noncombatants caught in the firestorm of military conquest.

Finally, by the end of the novel, the reader is left with an almost unutterable sense of sadness, loss and waste. Its saving grace is surely de Bernière's rapturous use of language, a gift for storytelling, and an attitude toward his characters that envelops them with both a loving and ironic embrace. He gives them what the "great world" has been unable to - a respectful concern for their welfare and a wish that they be remembered and not utterly forgotten. Readers may also find Orhan Pamuk's novel "Snow" illuminating. (less)

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Nov 27, 2011 Carinya Kappler rated it 2 of 5 stars

It is necessary because of time constraints to begin this book review after reading 59 of a total of 95 chapters and none of the Epilogue.
As I am not a keen or knowledgeable student of History I quickly became lost and confused by the rich detailed descriptions of various ethnic and cultural groups within these middle eastern communities. Long foreign sounding character names also detracted from my comprehension of the total picture and left me wondering whether I needed to re-read several chapt...more

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Nov 15, 2011 Mark Bowman rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was recommended to me as the best book available on understanding 20th-century Turkey. It focuses on the first two decades of the 20th century--when the Ottoman Empire was breaking apart and Turkey is formed. Interesting mix of history and fiction--background scenarios are historical while the main characters are from a fictitious small village. Both engaging and ponderous to read. Book is series of narratives told by the different characters--appropriate for an oral culture. One (Must...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Al rated it 4 of 5 stars

Four and a half stars, really. A beautifully done pastiche of Turkey in the early 20th century, in flux from the Ottoman Empire to Ataturk's independent secular nation, before during and after WW I. De Bernieres creates a village on the Mediterranean Coast, and uses the lives and adventures of its inhabitants to illuminate the cultural, religious and political conflicts of the time. His characters are memorable, his history well-informed, and his style immaculate. Full disclosure: I've been to...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Laurie added it

This is a sprawling historical novel with all the strengths and weaknesses of the genre. Even the reader who races through books will have to pause occasionally, taking sips rather than gulps of the heady liquor that pours out of it. Reading "Snow" made me want to know more about Kemal Ataturk and about the expulsion of Greeks and Armenians from Turkey, and this book satisfies on that account. If one has seen Mel Gibson's star turn in "Gallipoli," Bernieres provides a moving account not only of...more

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Jun 21, 2011 Lynne Norman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This multi-faceted novel has many layers and themes and can be read in several different ways, not least as a prequel to de Bernieres' classic, 'Captain Correlli's Mandolin'. As with 'Correlli', this is a story of immense historical and emotional scope and features many different characters that demand our attention and sympathy. By not simply focussing on one main protagonist, the author better communicates the scale of the tragedy that befalls the inhabitants of the village and those others on...more

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Aug 09, 2010 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Once again De Bernieres delivers a beautiful novel about, quite simply, humanity. As the world is poised for war, the innocently ignorant people of a small town in Anatolia are blissfully unaware, Christian and Muslim co-exist as neighbours as they had done previously for centuries.They are soon plunged into the greater world; their animals confiscated, their friends deported and their faiths questioned. De Bernieres excels at highlighting the loss, desperation, waste and grief of death, from te...more

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May 04, 2010 Nick rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel lacks the narrative drive of Captain Corelli's Mandolin (the one that was made into that awful movie starring Nicolas Cage), but it has the same extraordinarily beautiful turn of phrase that makes Bernieres' books such wonderful reading. Birds Without Wings is the story of a Turkish town through the first part of the 20th C and the wars that gradually dismembered the Ottoman Empire. The history is enlightening and the fiction heartbreaking as the endless cycle of revenge killings grad...more

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Jan 01, 2010 Mommalibrarian rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a very complex story with many characters developed in short chapters. The characters are mixed as is the time line but I did not find it too difficult to follow.

"Destiny caresses the few, but molests the many, and finally every sheep will hang by its own foot on the butcher's hook, just as every grain of wheat arrives at the millstone, no matter where it grew." p.6

The time period is end of the great European empires, the beginning of WWI, the beginning of the Turkish nation. The life...more This was a very complex story with many characters developed in short chapters. The characters are mixed as is the time line but I did not find it too difficult to follow.

"Destiny caresses the few, but molests the many, and finally every sheep will hang by its own foot on the butcher's hook, just as every grain of wheat arrives at the millstone, no matter where it grew." p.6

The time period is end of the great European empires, the beginning of WWI, the beginning of the Turkish nation. The life of a simple village is battered by events and persons beyond its control. It was a cataclysmic time in history.

"This was the age when everyone wanted an empire and felt entitled to one, days of innocence perhaps, before the world realized, if it yet has, that empires are pointless and expensive, and their subject peoples rancorous and ungrateful." p.256

The lives of the villagers express the swirl of emotions, ideas and to a lesser extent ethnic and religious feelings. The main villein, I think, is mob psychology; the failure of people to take personal responsibility for their actions but instead to hide behind religion, ethnicity, nation and in the name of these act wrongly.

"The triple contagions of nationalism, utopianism and religious absolutism effervesce together into an acid that corrodes the moral metal of a race, and it shamelessly and even proudly performs deeds that it would deem vile if they were done by any other."

The worst part of the book was the textbook like chapters on the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the gratuitous, negative comments about Lloyd George. Ataturk was a semi-developed character but I did not feel any investment in his life. These chapters felt like little chunks of undigested non-fiction. Lloyd George was just a name dropped without context. There was also some repetition which a good editor could have removed.

The overall effect of the book however was massive to me. Big ideas made concrete through the events in the lives of characters I could identify and care about. I knew nothing about these peoples, their history or their way of life before this reading. I would be interested in reading something similar on the Balkan nations and other nations in the Middle East. My life and education have been terribly Anglo-centered.

I leave you with a sentiment that should find great currency in the world today. Georgio P. Theodorou, a Greek merchant from Turkish Smyrna said, "If I ever get to meet God In Person I shall suggest quite forcefully that He impartially abolish their" [Greek Christian and Turkish Mulsim:] "religions, and then they shall be friends forever." p. 454(less)

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Nov 15, 2009 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

de Bernieres, Louis. BIRDS WITHOUT WINGS. (2004). ****. I somehow missed this novel when it came out, but, luckily, have managed to get it from the library. De Bernieres is a marvelously inventive writer, which you soon discover upon reading any of his novels. I have read three of his earlier ones, the most famous of which is “Corelli’s Mandolin.” Although part of a trilogy, it is a stand-alone novel that will both charm and impress you and remain long in your memory. In this novel, the author t...more

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Jun 28, 2009 Matthew Klobucher rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book shares much in common with the author's earlier masterpiece, "Corelli's Mandolin:" the fluid and often amusing prose, the deep compassion for his characters' struggles, and the satisfyingly righteous recounting of both the horror of war and the bravery of those who fight. It is, however, a sadder, more serious tale, describing the violent upheavals caused by nationalism and the first World War which upended the equable and tranquil mixed society of pre-war Turkey and caused whole popul...more

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About Louis de Bernières

Novelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.

Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motor...more Novelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.

Before writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motorcycle messenger and car mechanic. He also taught English in Colombia, an experience which determined the style and setting of his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), each of which was heavily influenced by South American literature, particularly 'magic realism'.

In 1993, he was selected as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists 2' promotion in Granta magazine. His fourth novel, Corelli's Mandolin, was published in the following year, winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Best Book). It was also shortlisted for the Sunday Express Book of the Year. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Second World War, the novel tells the story of a love affair between the daughter of a local doctor and an Italian soldier. It has become a worldwide bestseller and has now been translated into over 30 languages. A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2001, and the novel has also been adapted for the stage. In 2001, Red Dog was published - a collection of stories inspired by a statue of a dog encountered on a trip to a writers' festival in Australia in 1998.

Prizes and awards
1991 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best First Book) The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts
1992 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord
1994 Sunday Express Book of the Year (shortlist) Corelli's Mandolin
1995 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) Corelli's Mandolin
1995 Lannan Literary Award (Fiction)
1997 British Book Awards Author of the Year
2004 Whitbread Novel Award (shortlist) Birds Without Wings
2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) (shortlist) Birds Without Wings

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Quotes from Birds Without Wings

“Where does it all begin? History has no beginnings, for everything that happens becomes the cause or pretext for what occurs afterwards, and this chain of cause and pretext stretches back to the Palaeolithic age, when the first Cain of one tribe murdered the first Abel of another. All war is fratricide, and there is therefore an infinite chain of blame that winds its circuitous route back and forth across the path and under the feet of every people and every nation, so that a people who are the victims of one time become the victimisers a generation later, and newly liberated nations resort immediately to the means of their former oppressors. The triple contagions of nationalism, utopianism and religious absolutism effervesce together into an acid that corrodes the moral metal of a race, and it shamelessly and even proudly performs deeds that it would deem vile if they were done by any other.” — 34 people liked it

“Your lips are like sugar
And your cheeks an apple
Your breasts are paradise
And your body a lily.

O, to kiss the sugar
To bite the apple
To reveal paradise
And open the lily.” — 20 people liked it

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