Bird sWithout Wings

I finished Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres with a few days to spare before book club.



It's a long book detailing the lives of the townspeople of Eskibahçe during the Ottoman empire. I found the stories of the townspeople, Iskander the potter, Ali the Snowbringer, Rustem Bey the landowner and Leyla most interesting.

The parts about Mustafa Kemel (future Ataturk) and the war scenes were much more difficult to slog through.


I found it sad when the town was ripped apart with all the Christians being sent to Greece and replaced with other Muslims who didn't speak Turkish. It seemed like suddenly the town became smaller and more insulated than what Mustafa was aiming for.