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Birds Without Wings
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 23 hrs and 3 mins
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Publisher's summary
Birds Without Wings traces the fortunes of one small community in Southwest Turkey (Anatolia) in the early part of the last century - a quirky community in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have coexisted peacefully over the centuries and where friendship, even love, has transcended religious differences.
But with the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and the onset of the Great War, the sweep of history has a cataclysmic effect on this peaceful place: The great love of Philothei, a Christian girl of legendary beauty, and Ibrahim, a Muslim shepherd who courts her from near infancy, culminates in tragedy and madness; two inseparable childhood friends who grow up playing in the hills above the town suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of the bloody struggle; and Rustem Bey, a wealthy landlord, who has an enchanting mistress who is not what she seems.
Far away from these small lives, a man of destiny who will come to be known as Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is emerging to create a country from the ruins of an empire. Victory at Gallipoli fails to save the Ottomans from ultimate defeat, and as a new conflict arises, Muslims and Christians struggle to survive, let alone understand, their part in the great tragedy that will reshape the whole region forever.
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When The Centurions was first published in 1960, readers were riveted by the thrilling account of soldiers fighting for survival in hostile environments. They were equally transfixed by the chilling moral question the novel posed: how to fight when the "age of heroics is over". As relevant today as it was half a century ago, The Centurions is a gripping military adventure, an extended symposium on waging war in a new global order, and an essential investigation of the ethics of counterinsurgency.
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Superbly read. Unbelievably timely
- By Benjamin on 05-05-21
By: Jean Larteguy, and others
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The Hundred Wells of Salaga
- A Novel
- By: Ayesha Harruna Attah
- Narrated by: Janina Edwards
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Aminah lives an idyllic life until she is brutally separated from her home and forced on a journey that turns her from a daydreamer into a resilient woman. Wurche, the willful daughter of a chief, is desperate to play an important role in her father's court. These two women's lives converge as infighting among Wurche's people threatens the region, during the height of the slave trade at the end of the nineteenth century. The Hundred Wells of Salaga offers a remarkable view of slavery and how the scramble for Africa affected the lives of everyday people.
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Dragon Seed
- By: Pearl S. Buck
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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To the Chinese the dragon is not an evil creature, but is a god and the friend of men who worship him. He "holds in his power prosperity and peace." Ruling the waters and the winds, he sends the good rain, is hence the symbol of fecundity. In the Hsia dynasty two dragons fought a great duel until both disappeared, leaving only a fertile foam from which were born the descendants of the Hsia. Thus, the dragons came to be looked upon as the ancestors of a race of heroes. This is the story of China at War.
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More Relevant Today than Ever
- By Robert on 07-29-13
By: Pearl S. Buck
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Wicked
- The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
- By: Gregory Maguire
- Narrated by: John McDonough
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
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Heralded as an instant classic of fantasy literature, Maguire has written a wonderfully imaginative retelling of The Wizard of Oz told from the Wicked Witch's point of view. More than just a fairy tale for adults, Wicked is a meditation on the nature of good and evil.
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It's not easy being green
- By PangaeaReads on 07-30-08
By: Gregory Maguire
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The Death of Artemio Cruz
- A Novel
- By: Carlos Fuentes, Alfred MacAdam - translator
- Narrated by: Tony Chiroldes
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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As the novel opens, Artemio Cruz, the all-powerful newspaper magnate and land baron, lies confined to his bed and, in dreamlike flashes, recalls the pivotal episodes of his life. Carlos Fuentes manipulates the ensuing kaleidoscope of images with dazzling inventiveness, layering memory upon memory, from Cruz’s heroic campaigns during the Mexican Revolution, through his relentless climb from poverty to wealth, to his uneasy death. Perhaps Fuentes’ masterpiece, The Death of Artemio Cruz is a haunting voyage into the soul of modern Mexico.
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Great Writing
- By Kelly B. on 05-01-14
By: Carlos Fuentes, and others
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The Lioness of Morocco
- By: Julia Drosten, Christiane Galvani - translator
- Narrated by: Henrietta Meire
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
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Independent-minded Sibylla Spencer feels trapped in 19th-century London, where her strong will and progressive views have rendered her unmarriageable. Still single at 23, she is treated like a child and feels stifled in her controlling father's house. When Benjamin Hopkins, an ambitious employee of her father's trading company, shows an interest in her, she realizes marriage is her only chance to escape.
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The Lioness o Morocco
- By MM on 06-23-17
By: Julia Drosten, and others
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Cup of Gold
- A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History
- By: John Steinbeck, Susan F. Beegel - introduction
- Narrated by: Ronan Vibert
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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From the mid-1650s through the 1660s, Henry Morgan, a pirate and outlaw of legendary viciousness, ruled the Spanish Main. He ravaged the coasts of Cuba and America, striking terror wherever he went. Morgan was obsessive. He had two driving ambitions: to possess the beautiful woman called La Santa Roja and to conquer Panama, the "cup of gold".
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Not your usual Steinbeck novel
- By Andrew on 06-03-15
By: John Steinbeck, and others
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Independent People
- By: Halldór Laxness
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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This magnificent novel - which secured for its author the 1955 Nobel Prize in Literature - is now available to contemporary American audiences. Although it is set in the early 20th century, it recalls both Iceland's medieval epics and such classics as Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter. And if Bjartur of Summerhouses, the book's protagonist, is an ordinary sheep farmer, his flinty determination to achieve independence is genuinely heroic and, at the same time, terrifying and bleakly comic.
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I am so confused about this introduction
- By George M on 09-10-18
By: Halldór Laxness
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The Wife's Tale
- A Personal History
- By: Aida Edemariam
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In this indelible memoir of the life of her remarkable 95-year-old grandmother, Guardian journalist Aida Edemariam tells the story of modern Ethiopia - a nation that underwent a tumultuous transformation from feudalism to monarchy to Marxist revolution to democracy, over the course of one century. Filled with a vivid cast of characters - emperors and empresses, priests and scholars, monks and nuns, archbishops and slaves, Marxist revolutionaries and wartime double agents - The Wife's Tale introduces a woman both imperious and vulnerable.
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A Look At Ethiopia
- By Jean on 07-15-18
By: Aida Edemariam
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In the Name of the Family
- A Novel
- By: Sarah Dunant
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1502, and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, age 22 - already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans - is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics.
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One of the best historical fiction novels
- By GrandmaNurseHeather on 04-13-17
By: Sarah Dunant
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What listeners say about Birds Without Wings
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jean
- 06-16-18
More than a story
De Bernières captures the soul of humanism in his telling of events before, during, and after WWI from the rarely considered perspective of both non-western and non-powerful actors on the scene. With his graphic descriptions of the atrocities of war (and yes, as other reviewers have commented - it is not for the faint-hearted) and the consequences thereof for regular, peaceful citizens of the world, the author weaves a thought-provoking web that is much, much more than a story.
Yet a story it is and a damn good one, and brilliantly related by the narrator, John Lee.
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Overall
- William
- 06-20-05
Great entertainment with a bit of history
This was one of the moste enjoyable titles I've listened to in quite a while. The book skips from the first-hand, fictional stories of the major characters to an omniscient narrator who puts the stories in a hard historical context. Its initial vignettes reminded me of Chaucer, Twain and even Garrison Kieler. Like the Great Powers, the listener is subtly pulled into the horrors of war and the ethnic cleansing which has plagued the Balkans for centuries. The narrator, John Lee, is superb. His suite of seamless voices and accents believably convey and elaborate each character's nuance.
Buy it.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-09-23
John Lee was phenomenal
For a fantastic book, a fantastic narrator. What a wonderful book! I'm going to be checking out some of his other works as well.
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Overall
- a
- 01-03-05
Not for the faint of heart
An intricate web of storytelling that brings an understanding to a part of WWI that has received such little attention. I am in awe of Louis De Bernieres' ability to impart through dialogue so much of the feeling, with such authenticity, the perspective of characters who are so foreign in every way. The one perspective that is not foreign, though, is their humanity, that which is common to us all. It is through the eyes and ears and hearts of these characters that we see the world in which they lived, the community that they shared, and the sometimes improbable lives that they led. De Bernieres weaves a complex story whcih demands much from his reader. If you can commit to that demand, he will deliver an unforgettable tale full of history, humanity, and humor. A masterpiece!
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28 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Alan Rither
- 11-19-06
Excellent Antidote for Bigotry
The author not only wrote an engaging story about the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, but an excellent antidote for bigotry. As you get to know the characters, it matters little whether they are Christian or Muslim -- they are just parts of the village we come to know and love. Honor and integrity are shown by both sides as are dishonor and perfidy. Battle scenes are revealed as horrible rather than glorious. His storytelling method reminds me of Faulkner's, 'As I Lay Dying'. The narrator was superb with distinct voices for each character. This was one of my favorite audiobooks.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Paul
- 05-22-06
The Eastern Mediterranean, Explained
This is a great book, provided you bear with the author's chatty, digressive style. But believe it or not, most of what appear to be loose threads in the oriental rug are tied up by the time you reach the end. Also, the point of view changes from chapter to chapter, and not every author can pull off a trick like that; it takes very close attention to detail, and that's something this author has in abundance.
The story focuses on a small, inconsequential village in Turkey between ca. 1900 and 1925. The village is tossed on the sea of world events, and is radically changed, unfortunately for the worse. It also contains a series of vignettes on the life and career of Hamal Ataturk, considered the founder of modern Turkey. Turkey's involvement in World War I and subsequent conflicts with Greece are major themes for this work. If history is not your cup of tea, but you like a good story, I suggest you read a little bit about the development of modern Turkey.
This book has a vast range of characters. Sometimes I wondered if it was really the village that was the main character, and the people are really different facets of the one municipal personality. Overall, highly recommended.
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7 people found this helpful
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- John L. Murphy
- 03-21-16
The other side of WWI and more
What did you love best about Birds Without Wings?
The immersion into village life on the southern Turkish coast, and the way that some characters were pulled from that into war and exile, realistically and not romantically.
What did you like best about this story?
I learned a lot about Mustafa Kamal turned Ataturk, and his rise to power was integrated well into the narrative, as gradually one character's progress intersected briefly with the famed leader. While at first these passages appear out of place, they gradually overlap with the characters, who are taken up without knowing it into the formation of Turkey as we know it a century later, a nation which chose to remake itself, at the cost of its Ottoman past.
What about John Lee’s performance did you like?
Best of many moments were his dramatization of the Greek merchant's monologue as he sunk off Smyrna, and an ironic delight was Father Christoferos' fevered denunciation of all things tainted Catholic. John Lee and Louis de Bernieres share the joy and sorrow of a well-told epic, and they remind me of the sheer pleasure in storytelling at a long pace.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It made me chuckle, as in the many wry comments the narrators make about what one calls the "fetid bed" where nationalism and religion couple to produce monsters, so to speak. I was sad when many characters succumbed to the impact of war and ethnic cleansing. The tone of this book veers between the literary fiction's interest in ideas and ideologies, and the bestseller's skill at entertaining as well as educating readers about the Greek-Turkish clash.
Any additional comments?
This novel remains relevant as a cautionary tale, as we witness new tales of suffering, violence, and refugees across Anatolia and the surrounding Levantine and Balkans. Louis de Bernieres' prequel of sorts to the WWII-themed Corelli's Mandolin now makes me wish that had a John Lee audiobook too. A shame that title is not on Audible.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Bateyk
- 01-18-15
Too sad and beautiful
Thank you for this glorious telling of a glorious story. I am weeping as I finish it.
De bernieres is masterful as always
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- nyc2cents
- 09-24-21
The struggle to live harmoniously vs politics
The story of people against the backdrop of global politics, and the complete lack of connectedness of the leaders to the harmonious, functional, lives of the general population. Preying upon human nature of greed, power-lust, religious devotion and fear, the Ottomans enter war and the world is all the worse for it. The Ottoman Empire was tolerant, prosperous and diverse populations living harmoniously. Truly beautifully written, no one escapes being damaged. Great narrator (although I sped it up to 1.4x) Great audible book.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-13-21
great book & narration
One of the best books I've ever read! long. but worth sticking with it. excellent history and rich characters.
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