The
programme of events commemorating the centenary of World War 1 has triggered
interest and heightened awareness of what is often referred to as “the
forgotten war”, and
we all wish to extend our
appreciation of such momentous events. “Birdsong” (1993) is, of course, a work
of fiction, but it is the product of extensive, detailed and original research.
Faulks immersed himself in the time and the events that characterise it. In so
doing he has been able to bring insights that seem authentic to a story line
that compares and contrasts the vagaries of human nature when confronted with
horror. Above all it gives you a sense of what it must have felt like to fight in the trenches.
It
follows that this was an ideal choice for our book group.
The
proposer of the book provided a brief introduction, outlining the author’s
background. Born in Berkshire on 20th April 1953, Faulks has said
that he had a very happy childhood. His mother introduced him and his elder
brother to books, theatre and music at an early age. He was educated at Elstree
School near Reading; Wellington College, Berkshire; and Emmanuel College,
Cambridge where he read English. He graduated in 1974, and was elected an
Honorary Fellow in 2007.
He decided
that he wanted to be a writer while still at school, and after graduating he
eked out a living by teaching at a private school. Then he joined the staff of
the Daily Telegraph, firstly as a junior reporter and later as a feature writer
for the Sunday Telegraph. He wrote books in his spare time and later reviewed
books for the Sunday Times and The Spectator. In 1984 his first book titled “A
Trick of Light” was published. In 1986
he joined the Independent as Literary Editor and he stayed with the Independent,
becoming deputy editor of the Sunday paper. He left in 1991 and subsequently
wrote columns for the Guardian and Evening Standard, before the success of
“Birdsong” enabled him to focus his skills on writing books.
He has
published 15 novels. The best known is the trilogy set in France: “The Girl at
the Lion D’Or”, “Birdsong” and “Charlotte Gray”. “Engelby” was published in
2007 to mixed reviews. It represented a departure for Faulks in terms of the
near-contemporary setting and in the decision to use a first person narrator.
In 2008 he was commissioned to write a new James Bond novel by Ian Fleming’s
estate to celebrate the centenary of Fleming’s death. “Devil May Care” became
an immediate best seller.
He has
been the recipient of many literary awards. He is a fellow of the Royal Society
of Literature and received a CBE for services to literature in 2002. He married
in 1989 and has three children.
The
proposer explained that, as part of the WW1 commemorations, he had been
involved in research into members of his golf club who had died in the
conflict, and that this had provoked his interest in the book. He had
previously read Engleby and had listened to Faulks talking about Engleby at the
Edinburgh Book Festival. However, he preferred Birdsong.
Some of
our group had read Birdsong some time ago and had re-read the book in order to
refresh their memory. They all found added benefit in the second reading,
uncovering depth in the characters and their contemplations, and wider themes
in the book.
There were
differing views of the “time shifts” otherwise described as “jump cuts”. Some
thought it worked brilliantly, drawing out the contrast between untroubled
pre-war life, the wretchedness of war itself and the transition to post war
reality, and embodying his wider themes about time and the generations. Others thought the time shifts “a bit
clunky” and “irritating”, particularly the shift to the 1970’s.
There was
a general view that the first part of the book that deals with Stephen’s life
in Amiens, staying with the Azaire family and having a passionate affair with
his host's wife Isabelle, was a bit too long. One person was
tempted to stop reading at this stage; however, all were sufficiently
encouraged by the description of the steamy sex to carry on reading.
The jump
from peacetime Amiens to the Western Front in 1916 was a surprise and a shock
to all, with the stark contrast between the love affair in the peaceful
countryside of northern France and the horrors of the Somme. This narrative technique
worked well throughout the book, and was greatly appreciated by all.
It was
mentioned that Faulks deliberately imitated cinematic narrative devices, “moving
from unbearable close ups to a view on a long lens and a very wide shot”. This
thread permeates all parts of the novel, and was particularly
effective when deployed in linking time, building characters and in dealing
with themes such as life and death.
Death is
an ever-present theme. The scale and arbitrariness of death, and the impact on
individuals and their families and comrades are topics that are especially well
portrayed. The impression is given of fleeting contact with individuals,
insights into their lives followed by descriptions of their deaths, sometimes
casual and sometimes in graphic detail. It was suggested that the death of
comrades in some way helped to secure a closer bond between those remaining and
to unite them in a common cause.
The death
of Michael Weir narrates the existence of chance, bad luck and timing as factors
leading to death and to the resultant feelings of guilt felt by those that
failed to intervene sooner. Weir is portrayed as a good man and the manner of
his death was clearly intended to anger and horrify. This was cited by one of
our group as a good example of the arbitrariness of death.
The group
also liked the way that the vivid description of the death of Jack Firebrace
was linked to the death of his eight year old son, whose passing some two years
earlier had stripped Jack of his feeling of invincibility and his reason for
living. We felt that deep emotional feelings, and their influence on the
struggle for survival, were especially well explored.
The group
admired Faulks’ descriptive powers in relation to the scale and nature of
death.
“bodies
were starting to pile and clog the progress”; “explosives can reduce men to particles
so small that only the wind carried them - men simply go missing”.
Stephen’s
granddaughter, Elizabeth Benson, on visiting a cemetery near Bapaume in the
Somme, felt that “on every surface of every column as far as her eye could
see there were names teeming, reeling, over surfaces of yards, of hundreds of
yards, over furlongs of stone”.
One of
our company particularly liked Stephen speaking to Gray regarding the attack on
Beaumont Hammel “I looked in
your eyes and there was perfect blankness”, and following the attack as darkness fell
the movement of the wounded was described as “It was like a resurrection in
a cemetery 12 miles long”.
The group
discussed the death rates of officers and men in both WW1 and WW2 and
considered the reasons for the differences. While this conversation was
interesting, the complexity of the topic threatened to divert us from
considering the novel and it was parked for the time being.
It was suggested that at the time of writing “Birdsong” there was relatively little
interest in WW1 and perhaps this silence related to the shock or trauma
suffered by those who fought and survived. The reluctance on the part of
veterans to share their experiences could be attributed to an overwhelming
desire to forget or to conceal the trauma for reasons of self-preservation.
Those at home might also not have wanted to hear about these experiences. We
were reminded of Weir’s efforts to tell his father the truth about the front
which were met with complete, almost hostile indifference.
Most of
the group agreed that the strongest and most memorable sections in the book for
them were those concerning the 1st day of the Somme offensive and
those describing the underground warfare. The seduction of Isabelle in Amiens
was also admired, but the reasons for the end of the affair remained a bit of a
mystery.
There
were mixed views on the sections dealing with the 1970’s. Some considered them
a bit contrived, particularly the coded diaries, while others thought them well
structured and entirely appropriate given their purpose to suggest that time
heals, that hope arises out of despair and that life goes on.
It was
pointed out that ironically the book’s title “Birdsong” is meant to represent
the indifference of the natural world to the behaviour of humans. One felt
that, Faulks, as an English graduate, was sometimes too self-conscious and
contrived in his use of imagery to reinforce his themes, an example being his
overly repetitive use of the imagery of birds from the title onwards. On the
other hand, this might be Faulks' way of re-enforcing the idea that life goes
on in some shape or form despite the horrors of human actions.
Everyone
admired Faulks' skilful characterisation throughout the novel. Particular
mention was made of the complex character of Stephen Wraysford, and the
portraits of Azaire, Gray and Jack Firebrace. There was a view that the male
characters were stronger than the female. Some found the character of Isabelle
unconvincing. It was suggested that this might relate to the mystery associated
with her behaviour. Various theories were put forward for the ending of her
affair with Stephen, including one suggestion that she had decided that Stephen
was not good father material, but none of these gained the confidence of the
group and we were left to speculate. It was also suggested that the subject of
the novel naturally places greater emphasis on the male characters, and that
this was likely to result in these characters being more fully developed.
The group
was surprised to learn that Faulks had written the book in only 6 months. It
was his fourth novel and by far the most successful. He described the book’s
success as the “locomotion” of his career. The book has sold more than 2
million copies in the UK and 3 million worldwide. Initially Faulks had
difficulty finding a publisher in the USA, but it was eventually published by
Random House and has done well. Perhaps surprisingly sales in Germany have been
good, while sales in France have been poor. Faulks has commented that the
French were surprised to hear that any other nationalities were involved in
WW1!
It was
the unanimous view of the group that “Birdsong” is a great modern novel, and we
look forward to reading more of Sebastian Faulks’ work.
