Set against the backdrop 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 town in which Christian and Muslim lives and traditions have
co-existed peacefully for centuries. When war is declared and the outside
world intrudes, the twin scourges of religion and nationalism lead to
forced marches and massacres, and the peaceful fabric of life is destroyed.
Birds Without Wings is a novel about the personal and political costs of
war, and about love: between men and women; between friends; between those
who are driven to be enemies; and between Philothei, a Christian girl of
legendary beauty, and Ibrahim the Goatherd, who has courted her since
infancy. Epic in sweep, intoxicating in its sensual detail, it is an
enchanting masterpiece.