A review by jacobinreads
Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Birds Without Wings is a beautiful book. A reminder of the tragedies of the twentieth century, of nationalism, wars, and love and loss. When I started this book, I felt it begged comparison to A Hundred Years of Solitude in its paradisical descriptions of its characters and setting (though obviously far more on the realism side than the magical). However, by the end, it felt more of a tragic Dante, taking us from to paradise to hell, and dumping the reader in a bitter purgatory. More than once, I wanted to turn back, to freeze the progress of the story for the sake of the characters, but this book, like the events it chronicles, insists on its tragic conclusions.

Splendid. Painful. A definite recommendation.