Birdsong

Birdsong is a novel by Sebastian Faulks first published by Hutchinson in 1993. It begins in 1910 by introducing Stephen Wraysford. He is a young Englishman on assignment for a textile factory in Amiens, France. He is a lodger in the home of Rene and Isabelle Azier, an unhappily married couple.

The novel then jumps forward to 1916 where Stephen is an infantryman in WW1, based in Flanders. The narrative introduces Stephen’s relationships with his commanding officer, Captain Gray, an engineer Michael Weir, and a tunneller named Jack Firebrace. Faulks goes into the details of these men’s lives to depict the horrors of tunnels, gas and enduring the daily prospect of death. The close bonds that the men form under these extreme conditions are also revealed. Faulks portrays the Battle of the Somme through Stephen’s experience from dawn and its pre-battle anxiety to dusk and the 60,000 British casualties. Stephen, almost defeated by the realities of war, is encouraged to fight for survival by the stoic Captain Gray. Stephen also keeps a coded journal.

Birdsong then follows the story of Elizabeth who finds the diaries in the 1970s and attempts to decode them.

Some books stay with one for years after reading them and the detailed description of the tension in the anticipation of the attacks, the horror of being trapped in tunnels thirty feet underground in no man's land, the life and death in the trenches and the psychological effect of the brutality of war on soldiers certainly did for me. This was particularly the case with the stories of the tunnellers. I couldn’t put this book down.

I would put one proviso in this and that is the first hundred pages based in Amiens. Whenever I have read the book again it is very tempting to skim read this section. And I do. I can see why 1910 France needs to be evoked to set up the horrors that follow. But not a hundred pages.

The novel was a success, with international impact and attention. The hardback print-run, first issued in 1993, sold 14,000 copies. The novel featured in many "Best of the Year lists" in the United Kingdom during 1993. Subsequently, it has become one of the most checked-out works from British libraries.

It is taught at school and university on both English and History syllabuses; it has sold more than two million copies in the United Kingdom and three million worldwide; it has been used at Sandhurst to instruct young officers in the realities of warfare; in polls it is regularly voted one of the nation’s favourite books.

Birdsong was adapted as a radio drama in 1997, and as a stage play in 2010. In 2012 it was adapted as a two-part television drama for the BBC. On 1st July 2020, a virtual production of Birdsong was streamed online to mark the 104th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. It is told using video technology, live performance, sound design and music, all woven together. The cast performed in full costume, with digitally designed scenes and lighting.

Why the book is called Birdsong can be interpreted in many ways. However, from a personal point of view and I haven’t seen or heard the adaptations, I really don’t believe that the experiences gained while reading the book can be portrayed in any other form than by the written word.

This poem is part of a trilogy and was written for a nurse who went to a war.

Going

And she’s gone.
I can’t tell you where
or when she’ll be back.
But here’s a few clues.
Here’s her ski boots,
there’s her woollen sweater,
here’s the scarf I bought in Prague
and there’s the ballgown
I’ve to take to the cleaners,
precise instructions attached.
Well you don’t need a ballgown
when you’re off to fight in the wars.

Not that she’s fighting.
She’s there for the wounded,
she’ll strip the bloody clothing
from any bloody skin
and stripping an assault rifle
was taught as a precaution.
A precaution against what?
I know against what.
All those jerks finding themselves,
shooting into manhood,
those guys know what they want
and it’s not TLC from a blonde.

I wandered into the kitchen
getting a feel for emptiness,
putting her mug away,
it’s only a few months.
Finding themselves for god’s sake,
and then finding her,
ten quid in a tin hat lottery,
she just won’t get it.
And then I found the envelope,
under the phone,
the last Will and Testament,
left when I left her alone.

First published by Acumen in May 2008

Terry Q.