Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War

This book was good, but not my taste. Through it all, i could tell why ben barnes loved it (the reason i read it in the first place). The ending was nice and made me smile in a sad way

This was a particularly hard book to read, considering it's set in WWI. The news right now is full of Russia attacking Ukraine. Often, when I need to escape from the nightly news, I turn to a novel. This novel wasn't an escape, but more like a leap into the fire. Normally, I don't read a lot of historical fiction. However, [a:Sebastian Faulks 4229 Sebastian Faulks https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1506626382p2/4229.jpg] truly brings the past alive in searing detail from how making love changes you to what it's like to live with lice in the seams of your clothes. I suppose the most heartbreaking aspect of this book is how war changes those who participate because they must and not because they want to.The main character, Stephen Wraysford, had a sad childhood where neglect oddly prepared him for what he would face on the battlefield. What he learned, unfortunately, is still being forgotten today. Apparently, one man's horror can't survive more than a generation. Still, he was a passionate man for his time and his love of Isabelle carried him long after their relationship ended.The transition to the 1970s initially threw me for a loop, where Wraysford's granddaughter developed an obsession about him and his experience. It did lend a little hope that all that was learned was not forgotten. I would like to read this book again in the future, when WWWIII isn't on the news.

In a word: Wow!

The first 50 pages or so didn't grab me. A lesser reader would probably have DNFed it at that point or even sooner, or would have seen it for something else entirely. I plowed on, of course, but I am so glad I did. The rest of the novel gave the beginning the context it needed, and that context was better served to be delayed.

The book follows several timelines before and during WWI and in the late 1970s. It's ultimately a soldier's story and exploration of the human condition and what is truly valuable in this world.

The characters are complex, very well fleshed out, and extremely varied. This is a book for a more mature audience, an audience who has experienced complex relationships and perhaps even horrifying trauma in their lives. A younger less experience reader probably will not understand the relationships and the decision characters have made throughout this novel.

A tremendous novel. A tremendously moving novel. Recommend.