Birds Without Wings
"Man is a bird without wings and a bird is a man without sorrows."
From Birds Without Wings
By Louis De Bernieres
To attempt a review of "Birds Without Wings" and actually do justice to it is probably sheer folly. The book encompasses a whole range of subjects both fictional and non-fictional that I do not really know where and how to start. The story of a small insignificant town called Eskibache is told amidst the historical backdrop of the rise of modern-day Turkey.
Let me state now that I am very biased in my opinion of Louis De Bernieres. I was one of those people who fell in love with "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" many years ago the first time I read it. Subsequently, I discovered his earlier trilogy on Colombia. I've always been a very big fan of his so the moment I saw the book here in Borders, I grabbed it at once without thinking.
If you are going to attempt to read this book, make sure you are in the proper frame of mind because you will have to work out many storylines and see how all the characters are linked up together. The bonus is, you also get a history lesson on modern-day Turkey and its founder Mustafa Kemal Attaturk. At the same time, he discusses how Christians and Muslims have always been pitted against each other throughout history by megalomaniacs fueled by unending ambition. It's an ironic situation considering that at thier very core, these two religions are actually similar.
Since we have already made it clear that I am not going to give you an objective review of this book, I will just list down the 5 things that I really liked about "Birds Without Wings":
1) With Louis De Bernieres, the words just flow so naturally on the page. You might initially get confused by the details in the beginning, but once you get his rhythm, it's such a rewarding experience. Once I start reading his books, I can't really put them down. In fact, last Saturday I refused to leave the house because I just had to finish the book.
2) He's one of the very rare authors who can make me cry. He can describe death, war, and the loss of innocence in such vivid detail that he makes you feel like you are actually there.
3) He's a man after my own heart. He speaks out against all forms of fundamentalism whether it is based on ideology, religion or nationalism. De Bernieres exposes how ridiculous a belief system can be when the desire for orthodoxy is carried too far.
4) He always features cats in his books.:) He understands the relationship between cats and their owners.
5) He can be a little pessimistic about love, but I like him because he's very realistic. He doesn't indulge in too much sentimentality.
However, what will probably be his greatest acheivement for this major work is that he managed to bring divergent storylines together and make them coherent. He successfully combines fact and fiction so that we have a full understanding of the historical context of his characters. I think this book is immensely better than Corelli's Mandolin because he takes his writing style one step further. I just hope no one ever makes this into a film because I can tell them now that they are going to fail miserably. This is a story best left on the printed page to be enjoyed on a lazy Saturday afternoon, while drinking coffee and eating brownies.
From Birds Without Wings
By Louis De Bernieres
To attempt a review of "Birds Without Wings" and actually do justice to it is probably sheer folly. The book encompasses a whole range of subjects both fictional and non-fictional that I do not really know where and how to start. The story of a small insignificant town called Eskibache is told amidst the historical backdrop of the rise of modern-day Turkey.
Let me state now that I am very biased in my opinion of Louis De Bernieres. I was one of those people who fell in love with "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" many years ago the first time I read it. Subsequently, I discovered his earlier trilogy on Colombia. I've always been a very big fan of his so the moment I saw the book here in Borders, I grabbed it at once without thinking.
If you are going to attempt to read this book, make sure you are in the proper frame of mind because you will have to work out many storylines and see how all the characters are linked up together. The bonus is, you also get a history lesson on modern-day Turkey and its founder Mustafa Kemal Attaturk. At the same time, he discusses how Christians and Muslims have always been pitted against each other throughout history by megalomaniacs fueled by unending ambition. It's an ironic situation considering that at thier very core, these two religions are actually similar.
Since we have already made it clear that I am not going to give you an objective review of this book, I will just list down the 5 things that I really liked about "Birds Without Wings":
1) With Louis De Bernieres, the words just flow so naturally on the page. You might initially get confused by the details in the beginning, but once you get his rhythm, it's such a rewarding experience. Once I start reading his books, I can't really put them down. In fact, last Saturday I refused to leave the house because I just had to finish the book.
2) He's one of the very rare authors who can make me cry. He can describe death, war, and the loss of innocence in such vivid detail that he makes you feel like you are actually there.
3) He's a man after my own heart. He speaks out against all forms of fundamentalism whether it is based on ideology, religion or nationalism. De Bernieres exposes how ridiculous a belief system can be when the desire for orthodoxy is carried too far.
4) He always features cats in his books.:) He understands the relationship between cats and their owners.
5) He can be a little pessimistic about love, but I like him because he's very realistic. He doesn't indulge in too much sentimentality.
However, what will probably be his greatest acheivement for this major work is that he managed to bring divergent storylines together and make them coherent. He successfully combines fact and fiction so that we have a full understanding of the historical context of his characters. I think this book is immensely better than Corelli's Mandolin because he takes his writing style one step further. I just hope no one ever makes this into a film because I can tell them now that they are going to fail miserably. This is a story best left on the printed page to be enjoyed on a lazy Saturday afternoon, while drinking coffee and eating brownies.
posted by wilgefortis @ 10:36 AM
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