sad story plumbs depths of human tenacity (Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks)

Member Name: brokenangel

Product:	Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
Date:	06/12/08 (801 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: occasionally moving; well written

Disadvantages: sad; heavy - going

This is a wide ranging novel, whose overall theme would seem to be that there is no end to what men can endure. Throughout the novel, pain and fear are the dominant feelings; mud and blood are the prominent visuals. Although this is typically considered a great novel, I am not convinced that I enjoyed reading this novel, because I, personally, prefer a different style of writing.
Stephen Wraysford is a young man visiting Amiens, France in 1910 at the start of the novel. Soon, he becomes enthralled by the wife of his host, a young woman trapped in a loveless, passionless marriage, and the first part of the novel is concerned with their passionate journey together. The relationship develops so swiftly as to be almost unbelievable and none of the characters comes across as particularly likeable, despite the sad back stories the lovers are given by Faulkes.

Soon the action moves to the trenches in France where Jack Firebrace, a miner, is listening intently to discover whether his men are in imminent danger from an attack underground. Stephen is later discovered as a cold officer, prepared to see a man executed for exhaustion. This is presumably intended to show us how war has hardened him, but the sudden switch between characters and cares makes the novel feel disjointed.
Throughout the rest of the novel, the action moves between the lives of several characters, at different points in their lives, all of whom are connected to Stephen and Isabelle's legacy. The main action takes place in the trenches as Stephen participates in the battle of the Somme, which is strongly evoked through the sparse but telling use of detail. The way men die is told in a straightforward, almost understated manner that emphasises the hideousness of the massacre. The reactions of other men are equally telling: they become, at last, almost indifferent to fear, death and dying.

If you are interested in the First World War then this novel will allow you to experience its horror and reflect on our own generation's near-indifference to history and sacrifice. The descriptions of sex and violence are graphic in places and this could never be classified as a 'light read'; it may move you to tears. It deals with the psychology of the characters far more than plot, so will be more suitable for those who enjoy reading D. H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf.

Summary: A painful life before and after WW1's trenches