false 6259 16 Readers who are entranced by the sweeping Anglo sagas of <I>Masterpiece Theatre</I> will devour <i>Birdsong</i>, Sebastian Faulks's historical drama. A bestseller in England, there's even a little high-toned erotica thrown into the mix to convince the doubtful. The book's hero, a 20-year-old Englishman named Stephen Wraysford, finds his true love on a trip to Amiens in 1910. Unfortunately, she's already married, the wife of a wealthy textile baron. Wrayford convinces her to leave a life of passionless comfort to be at his side, but things do not turn out according to plan. Wraysford is haunted by this doomed affair and carries it with him into the trenches of World War I. <i>Birdsong</i> derives most of its power from its descriptions of mud and blood, and Wraysford's attempt to retain a scrap of humanity while surrounded by it. There is a simultaneous description of his present-day granddaughter's quest to read his diaries, which is designed to give some sense of perspective; this device is only somewhat successful. Nevertheless, <i>Birdsong</i> is an unflinching war story that is bookended by romances and a rewarding read. 1093016 1993 Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War total:1843|5:636|4:666|3:377|2:114|1:49| 1843 7253 2908 252 5 5 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1997 Fri Feb 08 07:50:41 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 08 17:32:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 04 11:12:54 -0700 2008 Thu Sep 25 10:42:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 1999 Wed Jun 25 15:43:24 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 13:05:50 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 true false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Nov 15 05:46:27 -0800 2007 Tue Nov 20 13:00:31 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jun 17 10:15:40 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 30 23:18:10 -0800 2008 ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Feb 17 13:42:18 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 13 05:37:34 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 13 19:10:20 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 19:11:41 -0700 2009
Like a violent version of love in a time of cholera]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Mar 03 03:25:46 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 03:35:01 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 07 15:04:23 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 15:05:26 -0700 2009
The way that the characters and the atmosphere are built by Sebastian Faulks is just amazing! The reader is taken in to that atmosphere, and shares the feelings of the main character, Stephen. You cannot fail to be totally captivat...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Oct 04 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 03:42:00 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 03:50:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 14:33:26 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 14:45:25 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jul 06 08:57:25 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 10:13:41 -0700 2009 My father took me to Belgium to see the graves of the fallen soldiers and I took this novel with me.
The novel follows Stephen Wraysford, a young soldier, throughout s...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 22:41:06 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 11:46:00 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 1 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 19 16:49:37 -0800 2007 Mon Nov 19 16:51:58 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2 1 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 14:11:15 -0700 2008 Sun Aug 17 14:16:18 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Fri Oct 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 01 09:43:15 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 02 17:11:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Aug 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 04:42:35 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 11:30:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Aug 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 11 18:06:26 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 12 13:04:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Jun 05 07:37:41 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 05 07:38:04 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Tue May 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 02:27:01 -0700 2009 Sun May 24 11:59:36 -0700 2009 Charlotte Gray and really liked it and Birdsong appeared on a list of 100 books everyone should read, so I decided to try it out. The claim is that the novel spans three generations, which I felt was a bit of a misrepresentation. The book is set in 1910-11, 1917-18, and 1978...more...]]>