Book of the Week

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Recommended byTim Sullivan

Birdsong is a world-renowned war novel by Sebastian Faulks. It follows the story of a British man, Stephen Wraysford, and his traumatic experiences in World War I, as well as his granddaughter, Elizabeth Benson, and her endeavours to gain a better understanding of her grandfather sixty years later.

The novel is split into seven sections which move between three periods of time - before, during and after the war.
The story takes place in the French town of Amiens, the trenches of World War 1 and London in the late 1970’s. The novel was published in 1993 and has since been adapted for television in 2012.

The novel begins in pre-war Amiens, when 20 year old Stephen Wraysford is sent to live with René Azaire, and his wife Isabelle and two children Lisette and Grégoire, to learn about the textile industry. But Stephen soon falls madly in love with Isabelle and the two have an affair. When Monsieur Azaire finds out, Isabelle and Stephen run away to Southern France. But Isabelle soon becomes pregnant and begins to lose faith in their relationship. One day she leaves Stephen without telling him and returns to her family's home, without ever telling Stephen about their child.

We then re-join Stephen’s story 6 years later when he is a lieutenant in France during World War I. Stephen becomes friends with Captain Michael Weir and Jack Firebrace, both miners in the tunnels on the Front. He refuses all offers of leave, even after he is wounded and nearly dies. Stephen takes part in many dangerous expeditions underground as well as fighting in the calamitous Battle of the Somme, where his true character is tested to the limit.

Faulks also gives the reader an insight into the life of Stephen’s granddaughter, Elizabeth, who lives in London in 1978. Elizabeth becomes interested in learning about her grandfather's life and the war. She travels to France and is struck by the scale of the war memorials, and this increases her determination to find out more about Stephen, by deciphering his journals and visiting other war veterans.

Stephen is quite an interesting man as his character is greatly affected and changed throughout his life. He starts off as a lively young man with an exciting career ahead of him, yet he becomes angry and depressed and no longer sees the point of living. He becomes much more reserved and struggles to form bonds with others and express his feelings. The only person he ever loved was Isabelle.

Isabelle is a fragile and quiet woman and she is greatly impacted by her insecure childhood. She rarely speaks her mind in fear of hurting those around her. She is abused by her husband and she leaves him; yet in the end she returns to him, showing her weakened personality. Elizabeth is a very lost character. She finds herself pregnant by her married lover, and wants him to leave his family for her. She is unsure about what she wants to do with her life so she looks to find out more about her grandfather. She reads through his journal and discovers the truth of the war, and she begins to attempt to rebuild her own life. It changes her perspective and causes her to want more out of life.

Birdsong tackles many fragile issues and events and is a very emotional read. Some sections contain a few too many longeurs however largely it is a fascinating and well written book which gives a superb account of life in the trenches. It is certainly a very poignant story and will change your perspective on many aspects of your life.