Predictably, this was Nick's choice. As a lover of History, I must admit that I was quite pleased when he proposed it...until I found out how long it was. That said, I enjoyed it every bit as much - possibly even more - than Captain Corelli's Mandolin. And there is a link. The keeeper of the taverna in Captain Corelli was exiled to Kephalonia in the second decade of 1900s, from a small town in southwest Turkey. As Turkish speaking Greeks, she and her family were caught up in the ethnic cleansings that marked the last days of the Ottoman Empire, and the birth of Turkey as a secular state. A small village rural idyll where Muslims and Christians, Greeks, Armenians and Turks, live side by side in harmony is the centre stage which de Bernieres uses to trace the impact of the dissolution of an empire on these simple and charming characters. If you found Captain Corelli's Mandolin hard going, you'll probably find the same with Birds Without Wings...but for different reasons. Mainly because the vast sweep of history, and the stories of his characters, don't always marry easily together. But I really enjoyed it. Here's what the rest of The Alternatives thought:
"My choice, and I don't regret it. I now understand so much more about the background to the Balkan Wars of this century, and about the ongoing problems in Turkey. And although some of the prose in the historical narrative is a bit stilted, I thought there was real poetry in the passages woven around the lives of the children and villagers of Eskibahce. Shades of Dylan Thomas!" [Nick]
"Much too long. And what was with all the proverbs and the preaching? Just tell it how it is Louis, and let me make my own mind up!" [Jamie.]
"The Decline of the Ottoman Empire; the rise of Kemal Ataturk; Gallipoli and the First World War. Brilliant. A beautiful and sad story of childhood relationships fractured by realpolitic. I loved it." Craig
"To tell you the truth, I skipped most of the historical stuff, but I fell in love -platonic of course -with Philotei The Beautiful, and Ibrahim the Mad - more erotic than platonic I confess - and was captivated by Stamos The Birdman, Mohammed The Leech Gatherer, Ali The Snowbringer, Drousala The Ugly, and the rest of them. And I particularly enjoyed the story of Rustem Bey, his wife and mistress. None of them deserved what the fates had in store. But I suppose that's the whole point? Can't wait for the film...if they can afford to make one on this scale!" [Jerome]