Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks

I bought this book mainly because I am keen on warfare and its effect on people etc etc. This is the first novel I'd read on the first world war having read a couple of historical accounts etc which were good from a battle point of view and knowing what went on but were short on emotional impact I thought. The first 100 pages were not what I was expecting and is set in France in 1910 when an Englishman by the name of Stephen is sent by his textile factory to come to France and learn new things about the business. He is housed by the family of a factory owner and falls in love with the owners wife. The story follows the twists and turns of Stephen's ...

There are some books, where after I have read them, I am compelled to consult my bookshelves and re-read another book that echoes the plot or style of the one I have just read. After reading ‘Birdsong’, I re-read ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. One of these, I concluded, is a great novel and the other I’m afraid, just falls short of greatness. It is 1910, and Stephen Wraysford is visiting a small town in France on business. He stays with a local textile entrepreneur and his family, the Azaires’. During his stay he falls in love with Madam Azaire, and she reciprocates the feeling. They elope, but ...

The legacy of the First World War continues to inspire literature and the arts after eighty years, with its powerful messages of unnecessary slaughter, ineffective leaders and the relevance of women in society among other things. Sebastian Faulks’ interest in the conflict and its effects is clear from his bibliography and 1993’s ‘Birdsong’ has been awarded various accolades for its impact and relevance even to modern society, even coming in at lucky thirteenth place in the BBC’s Big Read, surely the most important literary prize as it’s on the telly. Birdsong’s presentation of what is remembered infamously as a futile battle in the trenches of France is very ...