Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

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History, and by default, warfare, is part of my life. As a history teacher I have read so many books about the Great War including fictional accounts and so I really looked forward to this for this one by esteemed writer Sebastian Faulks. The cover was haunting too, with the lone soldier standing by a grave. (The original cover is the one above).

The story follows a young English man who spent some time in France before the start of the war. He stayed with a family and fell in love with the host, who was a married woman and mother. The timeline moves to a time when he is a senior officer during the war, afterwards and also from the perspective of his granddaughter who uncovers his diaries and tries to find out about his experiences of war, mostly at the Battle of the Somme. 

The book graphically details conditions of the trenches and the suffering of the men who had to endure life there. There are also graphic details of the sexual aspects of the relationship between the protagonist and his host, as well as an unsavoury event between him and his lover's stepdaughter. Despite the details, there is no empathy and the affair seems to be based on infatuation and compensation for some kind of void in his life.

Faulks has a skill in writing that allows him to be both poetic and realistic, with the flavour of a Victorian writer, strangely sedate. Although at times, particularly during the relationship saga, there are phrases that are awkward and a tad embarrassing. The sections that take place during the war are definitely the strength of this book. The lack of empathy could be as a result of the trauma which leaves a numbness. However, in leaving me unmoved after reading a long book about indescribable horrors leads to an unsatisfied experience.

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Published by Hutchinson on 16 September 1993. Many other editions available.

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