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A review by sockielady
Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières
3.0
This is the second book I've read by Louis de Bernieres, and one of the things I really like about his writing is that it truly gives you a sense of the place about which he's writing. He does this by intertwining the stories of several members of the community rather than focus on just one single character or story arc. I have read a few books where authors tried to do the same and failed miserably, but somehow de Bernieres succeeds. Perhaps he should hold seminars for his fellow authors.
One thing that I did not like about this book, however, is the way the life story of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was woven throughout the stories of the villagers of Eskibahce. These chapters were extremely dry and read not as a story, but as a rather boring history book. And while Ataturk's life, military career, and political career had direct bearing on the story of the villagers, I think it could have been handled more successfully than it was. It got to the point that, whenever an Ataturk chapter came up, I would simply skim it in order to get the necessary info before returning to the main story. If not for that, I probably would have given this book 4 stars.
One thing that I did not like about this book, however, is the way the life story of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was woven throughout the stories of the villagers of Eskibahce. These chapters were extremely dry and read not as a story, but as a rather boring history book. And while Ataturk's life, military career, and political career had direct bearing on the story of the villagers, I think it could have been handled more successfully than it was. It got to the point that, whenever an Ataturk chapter came up, I would simply skim it in order to get the necessary info before returning to the main story. If not for that, I probably would have given this book 4 stars.