Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières

And in the town he left behind, we see how the twin scourges of fanatical religion and nationalism unleashed by the war quickly, and irreversibly, destroy the fabric of centuries-old peace. But Birds Without Wings is also the story of Mustafa Kemal, whose military genius will lead him to victory against the invading Western European forces of the Great War and a reshaping of the whole region.' When the young men of the town are conscripted, we follow Karatavuk to Gallipoli, where the intimate brutality of battle robs him of all innocence. And there is Philothei, the Christian girl of legendary beauty, courted from infancy by Ibrahim the goatherd - a great love that culminates in tragedy and madness. There is a man known as 'the Dog' because of his hideous aspect, who lives among the Lycian tombs and another known as 'the Blasphemer,' who wanders the town cursing God and all of his representatives of all faiths. There are Father Kristoforos and Abdulhamid Hodja, holy men of different faiths who greet each other as 'Infidel Efendi' Rustem Bey, the landlord and protector of the town, whose wife is stoned for the sin of adultery. There is Iskander, the potter and local font of proverbial wisdom Karatavuk - Iskander's son - and Mehmetcik, childhood friends whose playground stretches across the hills above the town, where Mehmetcik teaches the illiterate Karatavuk to write Turkish in Greek letters.

Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.'It is the story of a small coastal town in South West Anatolia in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire told in the richly varied voices of the people - Christians and Muslims of Turkish and Greek and Armenian descent - whose lives are rooted there, intertwined for untold years. Set against the backdrop of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, Birds Without Wings traces the fortunes of one small community in south-west Anatolia - a town in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have co-existed peacefully for centuries. With the end of a community that once transcended religious differences, their great love seems destined to end in tragedy and madness. Philothei, a Christian girl of legendary beauty, and Ibrahim the Goatherd who has courted her since infancy are but two of the many casualties. When war is declared and the outside world intrudes, the twin scourges of religion and nationalism lead to forced marches and massacres, and the peaceful fabric of life is destroyed. Set against the backdrop of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, the Gallipoli campaign and the subsequent bitter struggle between Greeks and Turks, Birds Without Wings traces the fortunes of one small community in south-west Anatolia - a town in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have co-existed peacefully for centuries.

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières