Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks (1993)
This promised to
be a fantastic war time novel about love and loss – many people urged me on
when I was forty pages in and struggling to cope with Faulk’s monotonous tone.
‘It gets better!’ they promised. ‘It’s brilliant!’
Admittedly, it was the affair that made me
read Birdsong ravenously. So much passion! When the war FINALLY came – it’s a long, dragged out book – the novel
turned in on itself. At last! A fairly good book.
Many people have said that they didn’t
really know anything about World War One and were shocked at the details in Birdsong. I was expecting it from the
start, so wasn’t too upset when people died. It was heart wrenching, of course,
but I didn’t cry. I purposely avoided falling in love with any of the
characters because I knew they were going to die. (Not that there was anything
to connect me to the characters much anyway.)
The most poignant scene for me was when
Stephan and Jack were trapped, seemingly in their last moments, underground. I
liked Jack the most and wanted to see him survive. It seemed all too convenient
that the war ended just as the Germans dug through. The novel should have ended
here, once Stephen was free.
Instead, it reverted back to the other
storyline in 1987, which I really didn’t like. Although this ‘present day’
story line provided breathing space, I found the storyline predictable and not
overly special. I was extremely disappointed with the actual ending. The whole
strand seemed unnecessary.
Birdsong
is a good novel, but not the best. It is overrated. Faulks could have made
it perfect by cutting out 1978 and even some of the dragging war scenes. I feel
as if I should love it, but I don’t.
In fact, war stories written for children,
by Michael Morpurgo, are more impactful. Private
Peaceful and Alone on the Wide, Wide
Sea’ were so much better. But I’ve found that with children’s authors. They
often give you a lot to relate to, and your emotions go completely overboard.
Yes, I’m talking about you, Garth Nix and Philip Reeve.
