Bird Song by Sebastian Faulks

I felt this book was simply one of the finest pieces of literature constructed in the last 20 years. Faulks truly captivates the feelings of his characters but also I beleive shows the feelings of the reader in at least one of the characters. The vulnerable Weir can be found in all of us and Faulks' realistic view of true love and friendship makes me re-read the book in the hope that one day that bullet will miss Weir. The constant discussion of the vast erotic nature of the book also overshadow's the horror of the war and in my opinion the underlying metaphor of flesh and blood from start to end helps truly bring the war to life. This book brings many questions about faith, life, death, forbidden love and most obviously war to the forefront's of our mind and the massive loss of life is made more poignant by the graphic description of the war. To me personally this book seemed more like a diary of an officer called Stephen Wraysford who endured greatly through a time when men did the bidding of monsters. Faulks' book is a triumph and its messages are moving and questionable, which simply adds to its brilliance. Fantastic.

Birdsong is a truely magnifcant novel of love and loss. It is the most powerful novel i have ever read and truely shocked me to the core. It was original and moving and slaps peoples arrogance of war in the face. The way in which faulks not only portrays the horrific events of the war, he shows us the emotional side of the men who faught for our contry in a way we might of been oblivious to imagine. Faulks style of writing never fails to impress and i urge anyone to read birdsong asap.

This book is absolutely fantastic. I was hooked and loved reading it from beginning to end. I was really hoping to tell sebastian faulks himself was an amazing job he has done but I dont think I can so I just want to tell everyone who reads this that it is a must read. At the end I cried. It deals with a lot of aspects of the human spirit, be it bravery, hope watever this book touches the heart. I have always had a keen interest in the war and learning more about it but this book has put not just the war but everything into a complete different perspective for me. If your thinking I cant be bothered reading this because its a boring book about the war then don't its worth it.