Birdsong (1993) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Characters/People edit see section history

show spoilers

• Stephen Wraysford: The protagonist
• Isabelle Azaire: Wife of Rene Azaire, whom Stephen visits in France to learn of his business. Stephen stays in the Azaire household.
• Jack Firebrace: A "sewer-rat" who digs the tunnels during the war into which mines are laid. Jack also worked on building the London Underground
• Captain Michael Weir: Commander of the miners. He and Stehen have a close relationship.
• Jeanne: Isabelle's sister
• Rene Azaire: Factory owner. Stephen stays in his house in Amiens.
• Lisette: 16 year old daughter of Rene Azaire
• Gregoire: Another child of Rene's first marriage
• Berard: A pompous friend of Rene.
• Madame Berard: Wife of Berard
• Aunt Elise: Mother to Madame Berard
• Lucien Lebrun: Rebel rouser during the strikes. Later marries Lisette
• Elizabeth Benson: Fashion designer. We encounter her in the "modern" sections of the book (England 1978 etc)
• Francoise: Elizabeth's Mother
• Bob: Irene's husband who translates Stephen's war diaries for Elizabeth
• Irene: A work associate of Elizabeth.
• Ellis: Add a description of this character.
• Levi
• Lamm
• Robert
• Gray
• Brennan
• Byrne
• Arthur Shaw
• Marguerite
• Tyson
• Monsieur
• Douglas
• Madame Azaire
• John
• Stuart
• Margaret
• Evans
• Meyraux
• Barclay
• Lindsay
• Mathilde
• Harrington
• Riley
• Joseph
• Wilkinson
• Albert
• Reeves
• Erich
• Lorimer
• Mrs Simpson
• Adams
• Stanforth

Quotes edit see section history

• “Jack already immune to death, let their white faces drift from his memory”

  Narrator

• “No child or future generation will ever know what this was like. They will never understand.When it is over we will go quietly among the living and we will not tell them.”

  Stephen

• “Yet still somehow it was difficult to see her own life as the pinnacle of previous generations' sacrifices.”

• “It was not a premonition, more a recognition, he told himself, that the difference between death and life was not one of fact but merely of time.”

  Narrator

• “So, as she had thought, it was possible to keep a secret: people's nosiness was finally exceeded by their indifference; or, to put it more generously, you were allowed to make your own life.”

  Narrator

• “"I don't know our life history, but I think children need to believe in powers outside themselves. That's why they read books about witches and wizards and God knows what. There is a human need for that which childhood normally exhausts. But if a child's world is broken up by too much reality, that need goes underground."”

  Captain Gray

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London
• England
• Amiens
• France
• Paris
• Rouen
• Petrossian
• Germany
• Hunt
• Thiepval
• Brussels
• Ypres
• Norfolk
• Arras

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Love: This is used to explore the human condition and the reasons behind often conflicting behaviours. Faulk's "love" of the sacrifice the men made during WW1 is also explored in the novel.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Trainspotting, and followed by Looking for the Possible Dance.

Preceded by The Girl in Times Square, and followed by Chocolat.

Preceded by The Hobbit, and followed by The Catcher in the Rye.

Preceded by Wuthering Heights, and followed by Rebecca.

Preceded by The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and followed by Howards End.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Sebastian Faulks (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• BBC's Big Read (April 2003, #13)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 823.914

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Scenes of a sexual, explicit nature and scenes of explicit violence.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Historical
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Contemporary Writers: Information about the author, Sebastian Faulks