The book under review takes a creative approach to events surrounding the final fall of the Ottoman Empire. It questions whether freedom of speech can justify manipulation, post-truth, and invented history. The key points from the historical context in the book are highly controversial.

English brief overview, на български е по-долу:
The author claims that there was no Armenian genocide, but rather an unfortunate lack of organizational skills by the Ottoman government and low communication networks in some areas. The Armenians are blamed as perpetrators in a conspiracy with the Russians against the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire is presented as a cradle of tolerance, but the reality was more complex, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. The book also contains inaccurate and misleading statements about events such as the Bulgarian uprising in 1876.

The portrayal of women characters in the book is also criticized. They are presented as stupid and superstitious, and the author's message seems to be to accept this as wise and eternal. This is seen as a negative and backward view.

Each work of fiction has a responsibility to shed light and knowledge, but this book fails in this regard. The author's narrow and biased perspective, as well as the inaccurate and misleading historical context, make it a disappointment. It is not a historical fiction, but rather a work of propaganda that distorts the truth.

The original article:

The importance of learning English cannot be overemphasized. It is a global language that is widely used in various fields such as business, education, and technology. Mastering English can open up many opportunities for individuals, including better career prospects and the ability to communicate with people from different countries.

Expanded article:

The importance of learning English simply cannot be overemphasized.

It is truly a global language that holds significant sway in a plethora of diverse fields. In the realm of business, for instance, English is the lingua franca that enables seamless communication between international partners and clients. It is essential for conducting negotiations, signing contracts, and collaborating on projects across borders.

In the field of education, English is the language of many renowned academic institutions and research papers. Students who are proficient in English have access to a wealth of knowledge and resources that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. They can study abroad, participate in international exchange programs, and interact with students and scholars from all over the world.

Moreover, in the age of technology, English is the language of the internet and most software applications. Understanding English is crucial for staying updated with the latest technological advancements and for being able to use various digital tools and platforms effectively.

Mastering English can indeed open up a world of opportunities for individuals. It can enhance their career prospects by making them more competitive in the global job market. It can also enable them to communicate with people from different countries and cultures, thereby broadening their horizons and enriching their lives.

Well, I would like to rate this book three and a half stars.

This book delves into the final years of the Ottoman Empire. The author skillfully contrasts the events in the international political arena with those in a small, isolated village where Greek Christians and Turkish Muslims coexisted.

As a Greek, one is often "taught" that the Ottoman Empire was an evil and oppressive regime, which is why Greeks and Turks have historical animosities. However, de Bernieres manages to avoid belittling the sentiments or hardships of any nation. Instead, he shows how, over the years, boundaries become increasingly blurred. In the village described in the book, everyone speaks Turkish, and religions blend as Muslims ask their Christian friends to place ex-votos on the icon of the Virgin Mary, and Christians pray in the Muslim manner. Many people did not identify as Greek or Turk but rather as Ottoman until the wars of independence. When the two nations "exchanged" their "citizens," many individuals did not feel a sense of belonging in their newly assigned countries.

I have only two criticisms of this book. Firstly, for the sake of authenticity, the author uses numerous Turkish and Greek phrases without providing translations or a glossary. While I could understand the Greek, I had difficulty with the Turkish.

Secondly, I found the characters of Ibrham and Philothei somewhat dull, empty, and uninteresting. I was more intrigued by the stories of other, more vibrant characters, although perhaps this was the author's intention.

Overall, despite these minor flaws, the book offers a unique perspective on the complex history and relationships between different cultures and nations.

Everyday, every single day, there are those heart-breaking stories of people fleeing their countries. They brave the long roads, crossing razor sharp barbed wire fences.

People crowd into flimsy rubber dinghies, only to be caught in fierce storms and powerful waves. Toddlers lose their lives, flung lifeless onto the shores like beautiful but motionless dolls.

It is truly heartbreaking, just heartbreaking...

And then my mind races to the beautiful, beautiful ‘Birds Without Wings’.

My mind moves with anguish to the turn of the Century, to the Ottoman Empire with its freedom of religion and to the tiny Anatolian town of Eskibahçe, known as ‘The Garden of Eden’.

In Eskibahçe, Turks, Greeks and Armenians live in relative peace. If the Imam’s wife has problems, she runs to Philotei’s Mother, a Greek.

‘Please pray to the Panagia for me...’ and without hesitation Philotei’s Mother says

‘Yes of course Sister’, rushing to make a small offering to the Panagia.

Like any other small town, Eskibahçe has all types of people, in addition to the multifarious races and creeds.

We have Iskander the Potter, who fashions bird-whistles, filling them with water so that they gurgle and warble when played.

Iskander the Potter not only loves quotations but makes up his own too, such as 'Man is a bird without wings, and a bird is a man without sorrows'.

The two little friends, Karatavuk the Turk and Mehmetcik the Greek, go about in red and black waistcoats, gurgling and warbling like birds, inseparable until war breaks out.

They are now, even as teenagers, conscripted to fight this ‘Holy War’.

Karatavuk participates in the battle of Gallipoli in the name of Allah. Mehmetcik, is forced into a labour battalion because although an Ottoman, he cannot fight for his Motherland simply because he is a Greek Christian. Sick to the pit of his stomach, he defects and becomes a notorious bandit.

From the day Philothei was born, everyone marvels at her beauty. But Beauty always comes at a price as Philothei realises when as a teenager, every man, old or young, cannot take his eyes off her and she has to wear a scarf to cover her face.

Philothei however, has eyes only for Ibrahim who, even as a young boy, follows Philotei everywhere. They are engaged to be married, with no impediment from either family as such marriages were common in Eskibahçe.

The War however, takes away their Joy...

Rustem Bey, the exceedingly handsome and rich landlord and town protector, tolerates his adulterous wife, Tamara Hanim, for a long time and then casts her out to be stoned enthusiastically by both Muslims and Christians.

Feeling a certain loneliness, he takes up a mistress, Layla who, as time moves on, loves him dearly. She later flees to Greece, her homeland that she had left such a long time ago.

Oh to speak in Greek, she exclaims, but weeps inconsolably when she writes Rustom Bey a farewell letter. These little round circles on her letter are tear drops, Rustom Bey realises.

Abdulhamid Hodja, the Imam, who loves his horse Niloufer, talks to her, dresses her mane with little braids, ribbons and little bells. When the army takes Nilofer away, Abdulhamid Hodja dies slowly and sadly of a broken heart.

Father Kristoforos depends on his meager congregation for sustenance. Both holy men call each other infidel, yet are good friends.

The various cultures and habits blend with each other and life in Eskibahçe is quite peaceful until the

War comes...

War, the great Interrupter.

Just when things are going on quietly and peacefully, the lives of the inhabitants of Eskibahçe are torn apart by World War I, Turkey’s subsequent war with Greece, the Armenian genocide and the forced exile of Turkish Christians to Greece and of Muslim Greeks to Turkey.

War and carnage go hand in hand. The utter waste of lives, the brutality of the troops towards civilians in the name of religion and ethnic superiority is unbearable. It is summed up as:

“In the long years of those wars there were too many who learned how to make their hearts boil with hatred, how to betray their neighbours, how to violate women, how to steal and dispossess, how to call upon God when they did the Devil’s work, how to enrage and embitter themselves, and how to commit outrages even against children. Much of what was done was simply in revenge for identical atrocities...”

In the end, who was the better?

The Christians? The Muslims? They were just people in a barbaric war.

They went one better in committing atrocities; Christians butchered, maimed, raped and pillaged the Muslims.

The Muslims butchered, maimed, raped and pillaged the Christians, forever repeating the vicious cycle that is history repeating itself.

The Gallipoli campaign, commemorated by the ANZAC Day on 25 April 1915, as a national day to honour those who have served their country in World War I.

Strangely, although bitter enemies, after some time the Turkish troops and the ANZACS share a strange comradeship. After all, they share the same appalling hardships too, trenches filled with water, lice on every part of their bodies, hiding in every crevice, food gone bad and the thousands of soldiers dying not from war injuries but from diarrhea.

Strangely, there is a growing fellowship and respect between the Turkish and the ANZACS. They start playing games, they tease each other, and as with all prolonged battles, bond with each other as well.

"Those heroes that shed their blood

And lost their lives.

You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.

Therefore rest in peace.

There is no difference between the Johnnies

And the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side

Here in this country of ours.

You, the mothers,

Who sent their sons from far away countries

Wipe away your tears,

Your sons are now lying in our bosom

And are in peace

After having lost their lives on this land they have

Become our sons as well."

The warm sentiments between Turkish and Australian nations were best voiced in the message of the Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which was sent to the Australian and New Zealander mothers in 1934.

Taken from Wikipedia.

The Forced exodus of Armenians in 1915...

The subsequent Armenian genocide...

The expulsion of Greeks from Turkey and of Muslims from Greece after the signing of the “Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations” in 1923...

Is the History of Politicians, safely ensconced in their plush offices, drinking champagne, smoking cigars, huge maps on their walls with red flags indicating enemy positions, arbitrary treaties for the betterment of Nations, for ethnic cleansing.

The long marches with people displaced from their homes and countries where they had lived for centuries, leaving behind their comfortable homes, their gardens, their pets, their dead in cemeteries, for some unknown land where they would live with people of the same ethnic origin, and who supposedly would speak their language.

People, women even pregnant ones, children, babies, marching in all types of weather, thousands upon thousands dying on the way, sometimes brutally murdered, raped, the carnage, the atrocities executed upon women and children, these are stories of common people in a War.

Who should we mourn for then?

Shouldn't we mourn the brutality that Men of all faiths are capable of inflicting on their fellow Human beings?

For this is what War does...

A great book indeed!

I found myself completely and utterly engrossed in the lives of the Muslim and Christian villagers in SW Turkey during the waning years of the Ottoman Empire. It was as if I was transported to that very place, experiencing their joys, sorrows, and daily struggles along with them.

I had the privilege of spending time near where the village was located, and the author's descriptions were so incredibly accurate and detailed that they truly brought the place to life. It made me long for that village, even though I had only visited it through the pages of the book.

The story was a beautiful blend of humor and tragedy, with moments that made me laugh out loud and others that brought tears to my eyes. But above all, it was always moving, touching my heart and leaving a lasting impression. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in history, culture, or simply a good story.

Yes, yes, yes I finished it. Clap for me. Truly after my most unproductive summer of reading due to work reasons, to finally complete a book, especially one that is so difficult and voluminous and is written as a historical event.

So an extra point to Louis de Bernières.

“For the birds that have wings, nothing changes. They fly where they want and they know no bounds and their cages don't hold them. But we are tied to the earth, no matter how high we jump, no matter how much we strive to reach with our hands. We cannot fly and we are condemned to do things that don't suit us. We don't have wings and we are forced to take part in acts of violence and savagery that we didn't want. And then, after all this, the years pass, the mountains are leveled, the valleys rise, the rivers dry up and the deserts sink into the sea.”

A hard and yet honest book, a message against all kinds of fanaticism. It is not recommended for "Greek" readers.

This book offers a profound exploration of the human condition and the limitations we face. The author's vivid descriptions and powerful language bring the story to life, making it a thought-provoking read. It challenges our assumptions and forces us to consider the consequences of our actions. Despite its difficulty, it is a rewarding experience that leaves a lasting impression.

Although I truly enjoyed the rich historical context that this novel presented, there is an unrelenting and blatant sexism within its pages that I found extremely off-putting.

Each female character in the book seems to be defined solely by the way she looks and/or her relationship with her husband. For instance, Philothei is ridiculously two-dimensional. Not only do the men in the town, but also her best friend and even she herself, can identify no other quality in her apart from her good looks.

The male characters, without a single exception, feel no sense of shame in their feelings of superiority over the women in the community. They seemingly continuously offer disparaging and offensive remarks.

The violence towards women in this novel makes for uncomfortable reading. It is disheartening to see how women are treated and portrayed.

If this book were not so unnecessarily long, I would seriously consider re-reading it with a highlighter pen to mark every negative representation of women. I am quite sure that my pens would repeatedly run out of ink, given the abundance of such instances.

It is a pity that such a potentially great novel is marred by this pervasive sexism.

This is an amazingly touching story.

It takes us to a village in Asia Minor at the end of the Ottoman Empire. We witness the rise of Ataturk and how war transforms young people. The previously wonderful, multicultural city of Smyrna is now in destruction and vicious devastation.

The author writes beautifully. The folks, even the fictitious ones, seem so real that one can feel their pain and confusion.

It also shows how Turkey, one of the most progressive Islamic countries, especially around Istanbul, came into being. They won against the Allies at Gallipoli, thus avoiding being divided among the remaining colonial powers. Sadly, it also reveals how genocide began here, with Armenians and Greeks suffering at the hands of Turks and vice versa.

This story is not just a tale of the past but a reminder of the consequences of war and the importance of peace and understanding.

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. This profound thought sets the tone for the exploration that lies within the pages of this remarkable book. Birds Without Wings is not just any ordinary book. It is a beautiful piece of literature that offers a unique perspective. In this era of rising nationalism and calls for a 'white ethnostate', it is especially poignant to read this book and witness how similar ideologies have played out in the past. The book is a complex tapestry of emotions, being both funny and horrible at the same time. It is filled with a deep appreciation for the regular, poor people who often bear the brunt of the actions and decisions of those in power. On the other hand, it is also full of animosity towards the head honchos with their grand ideas that ultimately lead to the destruction of the most beautiful things. It makes us reflect on the consequences of our beliefs and actions and serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of empathy and understanding.

"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"

This book was recommended to me as the best one available for understanding 20th-century Turkey.

It zeroes in on the first two decades of the 20th century, a time when the Ottoman Empire was disintegrating and Turkey was being formed.

It presents an interesting blend of history and fiction. The background scenarios are historical, while the main characters hail from a fictitious small village.

It is both engaging and thought-provoking to read. The book is a series of narratives told by different characters, which is appropriate for an oral culture.

One character, Mustafa Kemal, the first president of Turkey, is historical, and the rest are the people around this rural village. The character portrayal is captivating and endearing, although most often tragic.

The larger political scenarios involving numerous European and Asian countries become extremely complex and at times difficult to follow, even for me, who has a good grasp of world history.

The middle third of the book depicts the lives of soldiers during war (WW1 and its aftermath), perhaps the most harrowing portrayal of war life that I have ever come across. It is truly sickening at times, and I had to stop reading.

It is not an easy read, but it is most rewarding in terms of providing a background for understanding a country that is often overlooked in contemporary news media.

I really enjoyed it.

It was a great experience that brought me a lot of pleasure.

However, I have to admit that it was not quite as good as "Mandolin".

"Mandolin" had a certain charm and quality that this one lacked.

Perhaps it was the unique style, the captivating story, or the outstanding performances.

Nevertheless, I still found this to be an enjoyable piece.

It had its own merits and亮点.

The music was pleasant, the visuals were appealing, and the overall atmosphere was engaging.

It just didn't quite reach the same level of excellence as "Mandolin".

But that's okay, as each work has its own strengths and weaknesses.

I'm sure there are many people who would still love this as much as I did.

And I look forward to seeing more works from the same artist or in the same genre.

Maybe one day, they will create something that surpasses "Mandolin" and leaves me even more impressed.

An epic historical novel that delves into the life of a village in the Ottoman Empire during the tumultuous era of the First World War.

The author masterfully weaves together the experiences of the diverse villagers - Muslims, Orthodox Christians, and Armenians - to paint a broader picture of the tragedies that ensued with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of modern Turkey.

Vivid scenes bring to life the Ottoman experience at Gallipoli and the untimely death of King Alexander of Greece. The characters are presented in a folkloric style, such as "Iksander the Potter" and "Philothei the Beautiful."

Perhaps the most captivating figure is Leyla, a Circassian concubine who seizes the opportunity for freedom and an unexpected return home.

Although the novel is engaging and beautifully written, it doesn't have the page-turning quality that keeps you glued to the book. The multiple perspectives make it easy to set the book aside and pick it up again the next day. Nevertheless, it is well worth reading for its rich historical backdrop and engaging characters.