Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières

When is it a duty? When is it a right? When is it a sin? What makes one human being violate another’s body and spirit? What makes Cain to pick up the stone? What convinces one man that the death of thousands would make the world a better place? And on the contrary: Who, what and when should we save? Iskander the Potter believes that it is not the individual’s fault and that it is all done by 'the great world'. No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde

In 2001, Red Dog was published - a collection of stories inspired by a statue of a dog encountered on a trip to a writers' festival in Australia in 1998.ġ991 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best First Book) The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Partsġ992 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) Señor Vivo and the Coca Lordġ994 Sunday Express Book of the Year (shortlist) Corelli's Mandolinġ995 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, Best Book) Corelli's Mandolinġ997 British Book Awards Author of the YearĢ004 Whitbread Novel Award (shortlist) Birds Without WingsĢ005 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) (shortlist) Birds Without Wings A film adaptation of the novel was released in 2001, and the novel has also been adapted for the stage. It has become a worldwide bestseller and has now been translated into over 30 languages. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Second World War, the novel tells the story of a love affair between the daughter of a local doctor and an Italian soldier. It was also shortlisted for the Sunday Express Book of the Year.

His fourth novel, Corelli's Mandolin, was published in the following year, winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Best Book). In 1993, he was selected as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists 2' promotion in Granta magazine. He also taught English in Colombia, an experience which determined the style and setting of his first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), each of which was heavily influenced by South American literature, particularly 'magic realism'. After graduating from the Victoria University of Manchester, he took a postgraduate certificate in Education at Leicester Polytechnic and obtained his MA at the University of London.īefore writing full-time, he held many varied jobs including landscape gardener, motorcycle messenger and car mechanic. He joined the army at 18 but left after spending four months at Sandhurst. Novelist Louis de Bernières was born in London in 1954.

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières