I loved Correli's Mandolin so I was extremely excited about this novel. Things did not work out and it took me forever to finish listening to it. I still loved the characters and village side stories that Bernieres does so well, but one of the things I disliked about Correli's was magnified to the point of hatred in this book. I do not like long descriptions of war, battles, soldiers or the men who command battles and soldiers. The sections about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk bored me to tears. At least in Correli, the dictators were interesting. Kemal was written in such a flat textbook way, that I never cared about him or his ambitions.

If those chapters were removed or greatly reduced, I could have easily given this book 4 or 5 stars. However, as it is written, a 2.5 rounded down is all I can muster.

This is the second book I read for de Bernières, after enjoying Captain Corelli's Mandolin... and although I promised myself that I needed a break from the author for some time, here I am picking up his other book in less than a year... thanks to Popsugar!

The story is set in Eskibahçe, a little village in southwestern coastal Anatolia, where Muslims, Christians & Jews lived a normal harmonious life of love, friendships & unbreakable neighbor bonds... Narrated by characters that lived in the village: the lovebirds Philothei & Ibrahim, the village's Imam Abdulhamid Hodja & his wife Ayse, Philothei's best-friend Drosoula, the best friends Karatavuk & Mehmetçik, the town's Aga Rustem Bey & his wife Leyla & mistress Leyla.

As you can see, there is plenty of characters in this book, but don't be alarmed, as the simplicity of the writing, and the first-person narration gives you a better perspective of each person's view, how they felt, and what they have gone through... and boy do they go through a lot in that little village!

The first half of the book is filled with charming stories of how they all co-existed, as they were left alone to go on with their lives. Then WWI happened, and the Turkish war of independence forced them to be torn when the Greeks living there were deported to Greece through a massive government-mandated population exchange between the two countries. It was inhuman!

If you are not familiar with that era, then this is a good source for a history lesson, as there were a lot of chapters dedicated to Mustafa Kemal, and the true face of the Battle of Gallipoli, with its ugliness, cruelty, trauma, and violence... It was extremely hard to read and knowing that it happened (and still does in other parts of the world till this day), break you.

And if you are intimidated by the size of the book (625 pages), then I recommend doing the audio along with it, narrated by Christopher Kay... He did an amazing job in making the characters come to life, with his voice & his emotions. There were moments where his voice broke, and that is when your heart skips a beat.

I love this book and consider it as one of the best historical fiction I have read in a long time.

Popsugar 50 - A free book from your TBR list (gifted)

For people who find straight history books too dry, this book is one of the best for understanding the history of the fall of the Ottoman empire and the rise of the modern Turkish state.

Louise de Berniers provides a window into the lives of people caught in the midst of the enormous social, political, and economic change that occurred when Ottoman rule collapsed and was replaced with the modern, democratic, secular Republic of Turkey. With a captivating cast of characters and intricate story line set against the backdrop of calamitous historical events, Birds Without Wings is like a Turkish "Gone with the Wind." It's tragic and sad, but the author draws you into the character's lives, their homes and food, their journeys across the country, and the historical events they experienced. So many things happen and are described in such vivid detail that you can easily become vested if you are a patient reader. Two particularly compelling parts were the accounts of the horrific Battle at Gallipoli and the tragic journey undertaken when the Greek-Turkish population exchange was mandated. For the non-Turkish person, this novel explains the significant events that shaped modern day Turkey and its people.

Like his trilogy, I found this a bit of an exhausting read. There is always so much going on - such mayhem, horrific atrocities committed against so many in the name of war or religion, and a vast array of characters it's often difficult to keep it all straight while reading, but I loved it all the same. The women in this one were particularly both memorable and heartbreaking - Leyla Hamin, Philothei, Tamara - oy! - and Karatavuk the soldier and eventual letter writer was a excellent and thoughtful presence in tying it all together in the end. Wonderful. And now I'm taking a break from the amazing Mr. de Bernieres and reading something fluffy or two before taking on Captain Correlli. :-)

Po pár stránkách jsem si uvědomil, že jsem Ptáky bez křídel před (hodně) lety už četl, a vzpomněl jsem si, jak mě to tenkrát donutilo otevřít a důkladně přečíst Dějiny Řecka abych se líp vyznal v tom galimatyáši řecko-tureckých vztahů. A tahle knížka je vlastně o tomhle - jak vznikalo z Osmanské říše Řecko a Turecko, a jak lidé s překvapením zjistili, že jsou Řekové či Turci. A jakmile to zjistili, začali si přičinlivě vzájemně podřezávat krky.
Většinou budete číst o osudech obyvatel malého pobřežního městečka, kde žijí vedle sebe křesťané a muslimové už tak dlouho, že i ty dvě víry začaly pomalu splývat. Mluví turecky, píší řeckou alfabetou, berou se mezi sebou a vesměs se považují za Osmany. Několik z nich potkáte i v dalším parádním kousku Louise de Bernières, Mandolína kapitána Corelliho.
Druhou linku tvoří první světová válka, která tuhle idylu dost zásadně nabourá. S tím je úzce spojená strmá kariéra Mustafy Kemala Atatürka a vůbec vznik moderního Turecka. Hrůzostrašné jsou pasáže o etnických čistkách (Kurdové vs. Arméni, Řekové vs. Turci, Turci vs. Řekové i Arméni atd.).
Je to velký příběh a výborná kniha, skvěle napsaná i přeložená, chytí vás to za srdce.

[4+] Birds Without Wings is my favorite kind of historical novel. De Bernieres transported me to the fictional village of Eskibahçe in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. His writing is so vivid that the town residents felt alive to me. I also learned quite about about the historical period and the break up of the Ottoman Empire. I listened to the audio version, wonderfully narrated by John Lee.

This, for me, is one of those rare and treasured reads, a book that will stay with me forever. It tells the story of a small village in Smyrna starting about 1900, before it became Turkey. It is divided into many short chapters, and is told mostly in the third person. Sprinkled throughout, though, are chapters told from the point of view of several of the villagers, some of whom we meet as children, while others merely recount events from their young lives from the perspective of mature adults.

I loved this book because I loved the people who inhabited it, and the author made me feel that I know them. More than that, though, he made me feel he knows me. This was my first experience with Louis de Bernieres, but it won't be my last.

I am no history buff, so the description scared me off a little. I wasn't sure if I would understand it. Then I took a look at the first page, and the writing pulled me in immediately. Here is the start of the second paragraph:

n  There comes a point in life where each one of us who survives begins to feel like a ghost that has forgotten to die at the right time, and certainly most of us were more amusing when we were young. It seems that age folds the heart in on itself. Some of us walk detached, dreaming on the past, and some of us realize that we have lost the trick of standing in the sun. n

How can you not read a book that starts with such wisdom, such truth and eloquence? I couldn't resist. This is a wise book, full of humor. You'll need the humor, because there is also great tragedy here. The characters feel very real. It's about life, the good, bad and ugly. We get to know the village and its people, its customs, superstitions, and traditions. It's about strength and courage and beauty and friendship. It's about community and family, and war's far-reaching, often devastating effects.

I started with a library copy, then bought the book halfway through because I knew I would want to reread this, and I'd want to be able to lend it out. I'd also like to highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by John Lee. He is a gifted narrator. His inflections and delivery, in my opinion, are perfect for the prevailing tongue-in-cheek tone of the story.

I feel as though I should have taken notes as I read, because I don't feel I'm doing this book enough justice here. I would really like to revisit this in a few years, once I have a better understanding of WWI. You really don't need the historical background going in to be able to enjoy the book. Trust me, I had almost none. However, I already want to reread it. Next time, with the background, I know I will appreciate it even more.

I also want to thank my good friend Chrissie for encouraging me to read this, in spite of the fact that I was unfamiliar with the history. What a tremendous book. I feel that it has been stitched into my soul, a rare treasure.

A great book. I became utterly engrossed in the lives of the Muslim and Christian villagers in SW Turkey in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. I spent time near where the village was located and the descriptions were spot on and made me miss it. Sometimes funny, frequently tragic and always moving.

2.5*

This was such a long book! I was dying to finish and get over this. The subject matter wasn't bad - it's about the last days of the Ottoman empire, focusing on a tiny village along the Aegean coast in southwestern Turkey that was heavily populated with Greeks, while also recounting the story of Mustafa Kemal's rise. But the execution of the story was terrible. The story is told in vignettes - short chapters narrated by different characters. This was a way for the author to present a wide variety of experiences - villager vs. agha, Turkish (Muslim) vs. minority Greek and Armenian (Christian), male vs. female, young vs. old. There are some characters that stay with us throughout the book, others which only appear once or twice to tell their side of the story and that's it. However, some of the characters' stories just went on and on, bordering insignificant territory to fill the pages and have the characters say at least something. I thought this tactic was used to make us spend a lot of time with certain characters and then manipulate us into caring for them. But the characters were mostly one-dimensional and boring, so I wasn't interested. Also, this story is set in a very tumultuous time in history - the Ottoman Empire is falling apart, there's a war between Greece and Turkey, a lot of hate crimes are committed between different ethnic and religious groups. Unfortunately, I thought that the author didn't handle this too well. He goes into graphic detail about how the Greeks tortured the Turkish people and then literally ends the paragraph with a sentence saying that the Turkish people did the same to the Greeks. The scene of the Armenian death march and how Rustem Bey saved the day was simply unbelievable and, in my view, trivialized the suffering and injustice experienced by the Armenian people. There are several reviewers who have pointed out that the village Eskibahce could not have been Turkish-speaking. Many of the villages along the Aegean coast spoke Greek in fact, which the author completely denies in this novel. What a pity. It's a very sensitive subject and the author didn't succeed in giving us a well-written, well-researched story of that time.

I only enjoyed reading this story because it was set in a time and place of which I wanted to learn more about. The village is called Eskibahce and is inspired by the ghost village outside of Fethiye called Kayakoy. War and the forced migration of Muslim and Christian people between Greece and Turkey has resulted in an abandoned village. I have heard that the relationship between these two countries is very complicated but I didn't know that in 1923 they came up with this horrific idea of uprooting and moving people around simply because of their faith. The first few chapters on Mustafa Kemal were fascinating. However, too bad that the later chapters on Mustafa Kemal started to sound like a history book and felt out of place compared to the rest of the novel. I have one question though. At the beginning of the book there's this ceremony where Polyxeni wants to show to the rest of the village that her dead mother was indeed innocent. They dig her grave and look at her bones. If anyone can please tell me what that is about?

L'impossibile volo è la traduzione impropria ma comunque abbastanza azzeccata dal titolo originale Birds without wings: gli uccelli sono sempre presenti lungo tutto il racconto e costituiscono un filo conduttore attraverso una vicenda lunga anni, e le riflessioni ispirate da questo filo conduttore non mancano di grande attualità. Il canto degli uccelli accompagna i protagonisti dall’alba al tramonto e dal tramonto all’alba, sottolinea gli eventi cruciali, fa da controcanto agli eventi di guerra; uccellini di ogni specie vengono donati e ricevuti in dono; i personaggi sono spesso paragonati a uccelli, o ne prendono il nome o ad un uccello devono il loro soprannome, per tramite dei volatili essi tentano di comunicare con i morti, comunicare con Dio e comprendere il significato della propria esistenza. Il racconto si apre con due dei protagonisti che, da bambini, sono convinti di poter volare come uccellini; e si conclude sull’anno 1923 con la cittadina di Telmessos che cambia nome in Fethiye in onore di un aviatore ottomano (dunque a suo modo un volatile). Quando si osserva il cielo con i suoi pochi occupanti – gli uccelli o i pochi aerei – è sempre per rimpiangere la sua immensa distanza dalla terra e dal mondo terreno. Il desiderio di volo pervade tutta la lettura.

“Gli uomini sono strani uccelli, di un tipo che non vola un granché.”

“Per gli uccelli con le ali niente cambia; essi volano dove vogliono, incuranti dei confini, i loro bisticci sono cose da nulla. Noi, invece, siamo costretti in terra, non importa quanto in alto ci arrampichiamo e quanto agitiamo le braccia. Non potendo volare, siamo condannati a fare cose che non ci appartengono. Non avendo ali, siamo sospinti verso infamie e battaglie che non cerchiamo…”

Il racconto si svolge in una antica cittadina nei pressi delle coste dell'Anatolia, tra la fine del XIX e l'inizio del XX. La narrazione è corale, i narratori sono gli stessi protagonisti le cui voci si alternano a quella del narratore onnisciente. Queste due caratteristiche messe insieme ne fanno un romanzo dal respiro amplissimo: il crollo dell’impero ottomano, la Grande Guerra, la nascita di uno stato indipendente turco, e l’intersecarsi di questi eventi con i fatti di vita dei singoli protagonisti sono un intreccio di grande impegno. Impegno sia per lo scrittore, che ha dovuto abbracciare con lo sguardo un qualcosa di enorme, e impegno anche per il lettore perché comunque non è solo lettura di intrattenimento ma anche istruttiva. Per quanto mi riguarda, su Mustafa Kemal Ataturk sapevo poco e niente, mentre ora un’idea me la sono fatta, anche se devo ammettere che le parti di racconto dedicate specificamente a lui sono un po’ meno incisive del resto. Superlative invece le descrizioni di Istanbul e di Smirne di inizio secolo scorso.

La narrazione parte a rilento perché deve introdurre numerosi personaggi, ciascuno con la sua presentazione e la sua storia, nessuno di essi è inutile rispetto l’intreccio complessivo della storia, anche se subito risulta difficile intendere dove l'autore va a parare: la storia che racconta stavolta è molto più imponente rispetto Il mandolino.

Quel che a suo tempo mi aspettavo di trovare ne L’imbroglio del turbante di Serena Vitale, l’ho invece trovato qui, a distanza di diversi anni. La dolcezza dei paesaggi e delle atmosfere tra le vie della piccola cittadina rurale e tra le antiche rovine Licie e in seguito il crollo dell’impero ottomano, il crollo di tradizioni e certezze che duravano da secoli, e l’irrompere dell’orrore della guerra. Sul finale non manca nemmeno una certa emozione assistendo alla nascita di una nuova nazione e, da parte dei suoi cittadini, nonostante tutte le tribolazioni patite e gli orrori che sono stati commessi, un certo orgoglio per la presa di coscienza di questa nuova cittadinanza.
Tutto il libro è estremamente denso di temi e ricco di significati che si intersecano: oltre la storia, la geografia, la religione, ci sono ovviamente i temi della guerra, della tolleranza e della convivenza pur nelle diversità, l’amore per la terra natìa, il rapporto con la natura e la vita agreste della cittadina all’inizio del XX secolo, la condizione di fragilità dell’essere umano e della sua quotidianità. C’è l’intento molto tolstojano di dimostrare in modo pratico e concreto, raccontando tutta la concatenazione degli eventi, come la storia fatta dai generali e capi di stato coinvolge e travolge i semplici cittadini e comuni mortali, e come a loro volta generali e capi di stato in realtà non fanno la storia ma sono anch’essi influenzati da piccoli e apparentemente insignificanti eventi. Non manca nemmeno un collegamento diretto con l’altro romanzo di De Bernières, Il mandolino del Capitano Corelli, per stuzzicare la curiosità di chi ancora non l’ha letto e per strappare un sorriso a chi già conosce la storia e così può estendere gli intrecci tra i due romanzi. Un ottimo inizio per le letture del 2015.

Follows a Turkish village through the early 20th century wars that devastate its community - the perfect blend of history, sorrow, moments of humour, and profound observations on the way things are.

I so wish that the editor had been a bit more stringent with this book so that more people would read it! Even adoring the book as I did, I found I would have preferred it with one or two fewer plot lines. It is an incredibly historically informational novel peopled with (a few too many) warmly flawed and incredibly real characters.
I think the author's ability to provide a variety of viewpoints (via the different Muslim, Catholic, Turkish and Greek characters we meet) on a time period that is hotly debated even today makes this a book that should be required reading for all Americans.