Set against the backdrop of the collapsing Ottoman Empire the Gallipoli campaign & the subsequent bitter struggle between Greeks & Turks Birds Without Wings traces the fortunes of one small community in south-west Anatolia
- a town in which Christian & Muslim lives & traditions have co-existed peacefully for centuries. When war is declared & the outside world intrudes the twin scourges of religion & nationalism lead to forced marches & massacres & the peaceful fabric of life is destroyed. Birds Without Wings is a novel about the personal & political costs of war & about love: between men & women; between friends; between those who are driven to be enemies; & between Philothei a Christian girl of legendary beauty & Ibrahim the Goatherd who has courted her since infancy. Epic in sweep intoxicating in its sensual detail it is an enchanting masterpiece.