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"I cannot live without books."
Birdsong
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Birdsong
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This Book is Currently in the Wild!
12 journalers for this copy...
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This is the story of Stephen Wraysford, a young Englishman who in 1910 goes to Picardy, France, to learn the textile business. While there, he falls deeply in love with the young wife of his host. Several years later, at the outbreak of WWI, Stephen once again finds himself in Picardy, this time as a soldier. He struggles through the bloody battles of the Marne, Verdun, and the Somme (in which thirty thousand British soldiers were killed in the first half hour alone), camps in the vermin-infested trenches, and hunkers in underground tunnels where he watches many of his friends die. In spite of everything, Stephen manages to find hope and meaning in his life, and in the world. Birdsong leaves the reader with images of life and war that are graphic and unforgettable (particularly memorable: the scene in which the contemporary -- 1970s -- character begins to comprehend the enormity of the sacrifice of human life during WWI). This book, along with Timothy Findley's The Wars, is the best novel on WWI I have read. Sebastian Faulks' first novel, A Trick of Light, was published in 1984. It was followed by The Girl at the Lion d'Or in 1989, and A Fool's Alphabet in 1992. In 1993 he published Birdsong to huge critical acclaim. Faulks (left) was named Author of the Year in the British Book Awards of 1995. You can read an article on Faulks' work on the BBC World Service's website here. INTERNATIONAL BOOKRAY 1. This is an international bookray -- if you join, please be willing to ship anywhere. 2. Please journal the book when you receive it, and again when you mail it out -- that way, everyone will know the book's approximate location. 3. If you don't think you'll be able to read this book within a reasonable time of receipt, please let me know before it's sent to you by the previous reader, and I will be happy to move your name further down the list. 4. Whether you have read the book or not, please do not keep it longer than eight weeks. Participants: 1. itsmejudy - Mt. Evelyn, Victoria, Australia - rec'd June 23, 04. 2. tantan - Gympie, Queensland, Australia - rec'd August 4, 04; mailed August 27, 04. 3. Ada2 - North Avoca, New South Wales, Australia - rec'd September 2, 04; mailed September 27, 04. 4. deadsteen - Cortlandt Manor, New York, USA - rec'd October 13, 04; mailed October 30, 04. 5. jenvince - Sherman Oaks, California, USA - rec'd November 13, 04; mailed December 6, 04. 6. morpha - Astoria, Oregon, USA - rec'd December 18, 04; mailed late December. 7. dododumpling - St Neot's, Cambridgeshire, UK - rec'd February 1, 05; mailed February 16, 2005. 8. madhamster - Derby, England, UK - rec'd February 18, 05; mailed April 29, 04. 9. Mymlan - Helsinki, Finland - rec'd May 3, 05. |
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Birdsong will be leaving New Westminster, British Columbia en route to itsmejudy in Mt Evelyn, Australia on April 26, 2004. Photo at left is the Fraser River, as seen from the top of my street in New Westminster.
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This arrived in the mail today. Like everyone else on this ring it seems I have another bookring book in front of it, but I will get to it promptly. Very much looking forward to reading it - never encountered this author before. Thanks goatgrrl and tan tan....
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Just an update: been a bit slow with this because of a few unexpected things in life. Almost finished, so I'll be sending it on by the end of the week. Sorry to slow the ring down!
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Have sent this on to deadsteen (september 27th by economy airmail). Will journal tomorrow.
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This was a book well worth reading in many respects. It certainly gives an uncompromising insight into the experiences of soldiers during the World War1 conflict and the types of incredible horrors that they lived through. One particularly gruelling moment was in the hospital with the boy who had been burned in the fire: the reader feels the boy's experience, as well as that of Stephen and the other soldiers nearby, and the nurse and then the doctor. Beautifully written and heart-wrenching scene. I think this World War1 component is the book's real strength.The love stories didn't work so well for me. I'm not sure whether it's because they're a bit of a disappointment all round, or because communication between the central characters never properly gets opened up, or because the 'happy' endings all seem a bit of a compromise - anyway, they were all a bit unsatisfying for me - which could say more about me than the book! On the other hand, the relationships between the soldiers - the friendships between men in battle, worked very well. I also felt that the book laboured its points many many times - that it was sometimes over-written. The imagery of war, of the horrors of trench warfare, the isolation and emotional and physical deprivation, the fears, the comradeship, the deep dark of the night in the fields of battle - all these elements were excellent, but then it went on and on - and rather than this aspect of the writing becoming relentless (which is a great device), it became tedious till I felt like saying to the writer, 'I do get it!'. The book was obviously critically well-received: all the reviews on the cover and inside are outstanding. Maybe this sets the bar a bit too high and the reader expects too much, rather than just enter the book unencumbered. Anyway, I liked it very much, connected with the WW1 experience and was deeply touched and enriched by that, but felt finally that the human (romantic) relationships left me disappointed. Thanks goatgrrl for the opportunity to read this. I have never read this author before, nor seen this work anywhere. Glad to have read it. M. |
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Whew, where do I start? I think first of all I should say that I thought this was an amazing book that affected me immensely. I finished it last week but have spent a few days thinking about what I want to write in this journal entry. I’m not sure that I’ll be able to do my feelings justice, but here goes. I think one of the things that struck me most was that "life goes on". I’d never really thought about the logistics of the First World War but the realisation that life carried on a few miles behind the trenches surprised me for some reason. Even worse was the apparent indifference on the home front – the reactions of Weir’s family when he went home on leave was shocking, likewise the reactions of the shopkeepers to Stephen when he was on leave in London. Over the weekend I was in my favourite charity shop looking at the bookshelves and found Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth, which I am hoping will give me further background. The descriptions of the tunnels (about which I had no idea), the mud, the lice, the rats, the canaries, the camaraderie … all of these were, as morpha has said, were gut-wrenching. But it was often the almost incidental details which really hit me hard: The letters written home – the way the soldiers tried to reassure their wives and parents that all was well. In particular those letters written before the battle of the Somme – those men were just waiting to die. The agony and tension must have been unbearable. The fact that in the first part of the book, places which have such historical resonance – Thiepval, Somme – are mentioned in passing as ordinary places, places with nice tearooms or pretty views. You forget that these places existed before the war. The fact that an exhausted, terrified soldier could be faced with court martial for falling asleep at his post. The fact that whole communities signed up (for instance the entire Heart of Midlothian football team) and so few returned. Here are some links which I hope will be of interest: The Thiepval memorial arch And another about the arch The Battle of the Somme A map of the Somme Thanks for sharing this book, goatgrrl. I'm pleased to have read it. |
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Journal Entry 19 by
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Released 6 yrs ago (6/17/2005 UTC) at Kallion kirjasto in Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland WILD RELEASE NOTES:
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Journal Entry 25 by
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Journal Entry 26 by
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Journal Entry 27 by
Released 5 mos ago (12/4/2011 UTC) at Stockmann in Helsinki, Uusimaa Finland WILD RELEASE NOTES:
This book is a part of my BookCrossing Advent Calendar. Every day before Christmas in December I release a book from my bookshelf. This is the fourth book and the fourth window of my 2011 Advent calendar. It can be found in Stockmann's Department Store, Helsinki Center at 3.00 pm, in a flower department.
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