Birds Without Wings

By: Louis de Bernieres

Narrated by: Hugh Bonneville

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 co-existed 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.

Abridged Version Captures the Full Story

‘Birds Without Wings’ (unabridged) is a must read for many reasons! And this Audible abridged version does justice to the characters, plot, and experiences of the Ottoman people during the invasion of the Europeans in WW1. Hugh Bonneville’s reading is brilliant, full of emotion, an absolutely beautiful interpretation. (I could listen to him read a menu and feel enchanted.)

Beautifully written and performed

Beautifully and richly written, and perfectly performed. You feel like you are with the characters, watching their lives unfold.

Such a beautiful book, very well narrated

I listened to this book during a 5 hour train ride in Spain. It was so beautiful looking out the windows at the countryside while listening to it. Such a pleasant experience.

Well Done Production

Good story line with an even better narrator! This is a must read audio book.

The Turkish Les Mis

To begin with, this book is expertly read. I almost never listen to anything abridged, but I was so drawn in by the reader during the preview that I went with this instead of the full book.

The story is... good... There are many brilliant quotes and poignant moments. It feels like a important exploration of war and genocide and other heavy topics, but the characters are just garbage. Like they are well written and complex and everything, but I just hate them.

Specifically, there's one of the main protagonists, who does some pretty aweful stuff and is ptrayed as a hero despite and often because of those things, which just really rubbed me the wrong way. Imagine Gatsby, but with Tom as the protagonist.

In any case, I would recommend this book to people who are really into Ottoman history, or who really like tragedy. If that's not you then maybe just get the best quotes off Goodreads