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rachbh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tba_95's review against another edition
5.0
On one hand you could say that the book is cliché. It's bittersweet and if you're paying attention you know what is going to happen. Faulks does a fantastic job of not giving away information too early, so you cannot predict everything from the start.
It's brutal. It's quite long, but I don't think its bloated. There are "boring" parts but you need a pause from the devastating war scenes. I never felt that anything was out of place or unnecessary, that sentences were drawn out or overblown. In comparison to less-well received books, Birdsong stays stylistically and thematically consistent. There are no inappropriate jokes, there is no long-winded descriptions for no apparent reason. Dialogue is sensible and believable, characters make sense. It all fits.
Towards the beginning there are some graphic sex scenes and I was concerned about the book being suggested reading for A-level. Should 17/18 year olds be reading this? Well, given that the main focus of the book is WW1 with 18/19 year olds marching into death or worse I guess...why not?
It's brutal. It's quite long, but I don't think its bloated. There are "boring" parts but you need a pause from the devastating war scenes. I never felt that anything was out of place or unnecessary, that sentences were drawn out or overblown. In comparison to less-well received books, Birdsong stays stylistically and thematically consistent. There are no inappropriate jokes, there is no long-winded descriptions for no apparent reason. Dialogue is sensible and believable, characters make sense. It all fits.
Towards the beginning there are some graphic sex scenes and I was concerned about the book being suggested reading for A-level. Should 17/18 year olds be reading this? Well, given that the main focus of the book is WW1 with 18/19 year olds marching into death or worse I guess...why not?
spirocealus54's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Amazing book- 16 and upwards tho as quite mature content
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War and Sexual content
sincerelysanne's review against another edition
4.0
This is by far one of my favorite Sebastian Faulks books. The story takes place in different periods, including the First World War, which is so well described that it effortlessly projects images onto your retina.
A gripping tale of love and war, but despite the touching love story it is not a typical novel for women.
A gripping tale of love and war, but despite the touching love story it is not a typical novel for women.
mes91's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Did not shy away from the harsh realities of World War 1. But I struggled to warm to the characters.
abickersreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
avasantaana's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
emilyfairbs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
bookbirder's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Did this book really need to be 500 pages? Enough plot happened to fill the pages, but it could easily have been cut down or split into multiple books.
I did find Birdsong to contain a lot of information about the first world war, and to do a good job of painting the picture of some of the things that soldiers experienced and were exposed to (not that I have actually been a soldier to compare this to reality). However, there seemed to be things the author was alluding to without ever explicitly stating, and the first part of the book at was very clearly written by a man, including the section from the woman's perspective. Probably a 2.5 more than a 2, but I don't like to give half stars!
I did find Birdsong to contain a lot of information about the first world war, and to do a good job of painting the picture of some of the things that soldiers experienced and were exposed to (not that I have actually been a soldier to compare this to reality). However, there seemed to be things the author was alluding to without ever explicitly stating, and the first part of the book at was very clearly written by a man, including the section from the woman's perspective. Probably a 2.5 more than a 2, but I don't like to give half stars!
donnaadouglas's review against another edition
2.0
When I started reading Birdsong, I had high expectations - I thought it may be one of those clasically poignant novels which leaves me wanting to read it again. I was disappointed. I saw nothing special within it - it didn't stand out as a great war novel for me. I found it average - nothing distinguished it from other novels of the same genre, and in parts I found it boring. It was by no means badly written, but it most certainly wasn't brilliantly written.
QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
Jack looked up at the rim of the world that was appearing through the grey light: the burned and blasted trees, the once-green fields now uniformly brown where all the earth had been turned by shells. He was reconciled to leaving it."
"'Think of the words on that memorial, Wraysford. Think of those stinking towns and villages whose names will be turned into some bogus glory by fat-arsed historians who have sat in London. We were there.'"
QUOTATIONS I LIKED:
Jack looked up at the rim of the world that was appearing through the grey light: the burned and blasted trees, the once-green fields now uniformly brown where all the earth had been turned by shells. He was reconciled to leaving it."
"'Think of the words on that memorial, Wraysford. Think of those stinking towns and villages whose names will be turned into some bogus glory by fat-arsed historians who have sat in London. We were there.'"