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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
It's one of those books you want to devour, but has you slow down because you need to savour it. A beautiful, heartwrenching, powerful story that follows Stephen Wraysford from 1910 on. Impossible, love, complicated relationships, how the horrors of war affect your emotions... It's a book that kept me captivated from page 1 until the very end.
This was a beautiful and poignant book. I don't usually opt for stories set on the front during wartime, as I find that many writers can over-describe to the extent that the horror and truth of war stories become extrapolated (therefore making me feel removed/ desensitized). This was written with skill, moving cleanly between each narrative and time period and encapsulating the story in a swift, smooth book. I was gripped.
I agree so whole-heartedly with the forward written in this edition by Faulks- it's really easy in our age to hear so much about periods such as the first world war yet feel entirely removed. It felt incredible how Faulks managed to really convey the feelings Stephen experienced during his time at the front, truly bringing the reader into the time and the situation, no matter how horrifying that may be. Lacing his wartime story with the romance of before and the legacy of after acted as a strong method of humanizing the account and individualizing a period of history that can often feel so large and daunting that it's difficult to approach.
I agree so whole-heartedly with the forward written in this edition by Faulks- it's really easy in our age to hear so much about periods such as the first world war yet feel entirely removed. It felt incredible how Faulks managed to really convey the feelings Stephen experienced during his time at the front, truly bringing the reader into the time and the situation, no matter how horrifying that may be. Lacing his wartime story with the romance of before and the legacy of after acted as a strong method of humanizing the account and individualizing a period of history that can often feel so large and daunting that it's difficult to approach.
This is such a hard-breaking read which follows Stephen from his time in France before the First World War. He’s a character that grows on you slowly. He makes choices which have repercussions and he finds himself without what he wanted.
We then move into the trenches of France and are introduced to some special characters. The trench life is horrendous and so well described and it pulls at all your heart strings. The relentless nature of warfare brings with it dangers and horrors for the men fighting.
As we move through the book the beautiful writing and captivating characters can reduce you to tears. The last part of the book was so emotional and left me without words.
I adored this one and loved reading it along with a small group of buddy readers which added so much more to the reading experience. Thanks to all of them. I’ve ordered Charlotte Gray from this author to read at a later date.
If you haven’t read this, I would recommend it, it’s a beautiful read but heartbreaking
We then move into the trenches of France and are introduced to some special characters. The trench life is horrendous and so well described and it pulls at all your heart strings. The relentless nature of warfare brings with it dangers and horrors for the men fighting.
As we move through the book the beautiful writing and captivating characters can reduce you to tears. The last part of the book was so emotional and left me without words.
I adored this one and loved reading it along with a small group of buddy readers which added so much more to the reading experience. Thanks to all of them. I’ve ordered Charlotte Gray from this author to read at a later date.
If you haven’t read this, I would recommend it, it’s a beautiful read but heartbreaking
I find myself having a hard time rating this book. While I wasn’t in love with it, I feel like that may not be indicative of the quality of the book itself.
First off I was surprised by the multiple, fairly intense sex scenes. Not because I’m against them, it just felt over the top for what I was expecting. I found myself checking to be sure I had the correct book!
Next, while I know it is praised for the vividness with which it depicts the trials of a war in the trenches, it was definitely hard to read.
I listened to the audiobook and I felt like it was one of FDRs fireside chats in the sense that the audio felt and sounded very old timely. Plus the narration felt slow and sort of laissez-faire.
First off I was surprised by the multiple, fairly intense sex scenes. Not because I’m against them, it just felt over the top for what I was expecting. I found myself checking to be sure I had the correct book!
Next, while I know it is praised for the vividness with which it depicts the trials of a war in the trenches, it was definitely hard to read.
I listened to the audiobook and I felt like it was one of FDRs fireside chats in the sense that the audio felt and sounded very old timely. Plus the narration felt slow and sort of laissez-faire.
This book is more like a 3.5 stars. I was entranced by the devastating war story and learned a lot about the horrors of trench warfare. The love story was not very believable and some aspects of the more contemporary frame story were downright lame.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You know when Joey on Friends puts The Shining in the freezer cuz it was too scary? I've never had an impulse like that in my life until just now when I got up and put this book in the other room to get its gross misogyny away from me.
I don't like abandoning books. I really don't. And I have been looking forward to reading this for a long time. The reviews are so great.
This book is about a man who objectifies women left and right and thinks his evaluation of them is what does or doesn't give them value.
Whether it be another man's wife who he starts randomly touching and grabbing. Then when he finally ramps up to more fully forcing himself on her and she flees, the book says, "The force that drove him could not be stopped. The part of his mind that remained calm accepted this; if the necessity could not be denied, then the question was only whether it could be achieved with her consent."
Faulks was full out stating that his protagonist would rape this woman if she didn't consent, but then she does. So its apparently okay and romantic?
Or whether it is how this character describes the physique of that same woman's step daughter. How he gropes her (even if she was consenting in the moment, she was too young and immediately clearly felt so uncomfortable and upset that he allowed it to get that far - statutory rape y'all, she was too young).
Or now, when he tries to peer pressure his friend into sleeping with a whore when he clearly doesn't want to, and he, of course, wants the whore's daughter for himself - her mother is just too old (gasp! 40!?). Then he threatens the daughter with his knife because she isn't the lady he groped and wanted to rape at the beginning of the book?
I just reached page 200 of 480 and he may die soon and the book will get better, who knows, but... honestly, enough. He is a womanizer and none of this is romantic. This book belongs in the trash.
I don't like abandoning books. I really don't. And I have been looking forward to reading this for a long time. The reviews are so great.
This book is about a man who objectifies women left and right and thinks his evaluation of them is what does or doesn't give them value.
Whether it be another man's wife who he starts randomly touching and grabbing. Then when he finally ramps up to more fully forcing himself on her and she flees, the book says, "The force that drove him could not be stopped. The part of his mind that remained calm accepted this; if the necessity could not be denied, then the question was only whether it could be achieved with her consent."
Faulks was full out stating that his protagonist would rape this woman if she didn't consent, but then she does. So its apparently okay and romantic?
Or whether it is how this character describes the physique of that same woman's step daughter. How he gropes her (even if she was consenting in the moment, she was too young and immediately clearly felt so uncomfortable and upset that he allowed it to get that far - statutory rape y'all, she was too young).
Or now, when he tries to peer pressure his friend into sleeping with a whore when he clearly doesn't want to, and he, of course, wants the whore's daughter for himself - her mother is just too old (gasp! 40!?). Then he threatens the daughter with his knife because she isn't the lady he groped and wanted to rape at the beginning of the book?
I just reached page 200 of 480 and he may die soon and the book will get better, who knows, but... honestly, enough. He is a womanizer and none of this is romantic. This book belongs in the trash.
When I finished this I was in a towel, laying on a bed in Porto Santo. The fan was whirring and my brother was in the shower. It was one of those times when you feel so oppressed by the heat that you don't want to move and I figured as long as I was in a towel and still wet, I would be cooler, to some degree. So, I picked up Birdsong and finished it.
It was my dad who recommended it to me, and all the way through the book I was wondering why he loved it so much. It was good, well written and War has always interested me as a subject but I wasn't as mind-blown as I was expecting. But then, lying on the bed in a towel under the fan and listening to the shower pouring into the tub, I put it down and felt crushed. Physically crushed as if a great weight was suddenly dropped onto my shoulders, like I was swinging a bag full of rocks onto my back and it was the first time I felt like I had to stay still and silent for a moment to recover from the power of a book. That's why it has my five stars.
It was my dad who recommended it to me, and all the way through the book I was wondering why he loved it so much. It was good, well written and War has always interested me as a subject but I wasn't as mind-blown as I was expecting. But then, lying on the bed in a towel under the fan and listening to the shower pouring into the tub, I put it down and felt crushed. Physically crushed as if a great weight was suddenly dropped onto my shoulders, like I was swinging a bag full of rocks onto my back and it was the first time I felt like I had to stay still and silent for a moment to recover from the power of a book. That's why it has my five stars.
Overall, I enjoyed reading of Sebastian Faulks' "Birdsong." This is a really ambitious book -- a mishmash of romance and war stories.
Set in World War I, the sprawling book follows Stephen Wraysford, as he and Englishman who falls in love in France and eventually finds himself fighting with the English during World War I. The book spans the generations and comes together nicely in the end.
The book does have some failings-- Faulks' pacing is off.... nothing happens for a while and then everything rolls to a conclusion a little too quickly. But I found the story was compelling enough that I had a hard time putting it down.
Set in World War I, the sprawling book follows Stephen Wraysford, as he and Englishman who falls in love in France and eventually finds himself fighting with the English during World War I. The book spans the generations and comes together nicely in the end.
The book does have some failings-- Faulks' pacing is off.... nothing happens for a while and then everything rolls to a conclusion a little too quickly. But I found the story was compelling enough that I had a hard time putting it down.