Birds Without Wings

Epic, yet profoundly humane, ‘Birds Without Wings’ is a glorious novel by one of our finest and best-loved novelists – out now in Vintage paperback.

Set against the background 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 community in which Christian and Muslims have co-existed peacefully for centuries. When the Great War breaks out, the men of the town are sent away to fight. While they face death and disease, hunger and religious enmity afflict those left behind. As new conflicts arise, Muslims and Christians struggle to understand their part in a great tragedy that will destroy the peaceful fabric of their lives.