Enjoyed this but on balance have had enough of WW1 fiction for now.

This is going to somebody via bookmooch.com - enjoy!

Received via bookmooch. I'm really loving bookmooch as a source of books. BookCrossing and bookmooch should join forces :D

What a compelling read! This is the first WWI fiction that I've read and it has affected me deeply.

As I neared the end of the novel, I was hesitant to finish it. I'd come to care for Stephen so much and I was really worried that he wasn't going to make it out of the trenches. Poor boy, he suffered so much.

Last night, I had a restless night's sleep as I keep having nightmares about trench warfare. Birdsong really creates a vivid picture.

Definitely going on my best reads of 2007 list. Thanks for sharing kangaroo.

Will probably reoffer on BookMooch.

update: Didn't get any bites on BookMooch so I have sent this to a friend in Australia as part of a birthday package. Hope you enjoy it Tramgirl!

I got this from fushmush as part of my birthday package back in December but only recently got around to reading it! I must say I really quite enjoyed it, I had no idea what to expect as I hadn't heard much about it and I wasn't sure about it being about the war but it grabbed me. I enjoyed all the aspects of the book, the introduction, the live action in the trenches and then the granddaughter discovering more about her family and where she came from.

It certainly painted a very vivid picture of life during WW1.

Thanks fushmush for sharing it with me!

RELEASE NOTES:

I took this along to the recent brunch meetup hoping that someone would grab it off the table to read and enjoy.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

This was a good read, but quite sad. I became quite attached to Stephen the main character, I wanted him to make it home safe. The author certainly painted a vivid picture of what it was like to be in the trenches in WW1. I was so pleased that the grand-daughter was able to track down the story of her grand father.

Picked up at a delicious brunch with the lovely Melbourne Bookcrossers.

Overall I enjoyed this and will probably seek out some more Sebastian Faulks. I did find it hard to reconcile the two stories and timeframes. I really had no interest in Elizabeth's life and loves but I was engrossed in the wrenching tales of World War One. I guess it was a device to give the reader information about the fates of those who fought in the war but it didn't really work for me and I was always impatient to leave the 1970s and return to Stephen. I'm afraid I felt nothing for Elizabeth at the end of the book and found her efforts at historical research very unbelievable and contrived.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Left on St George Bank ATM