Louis de Bernieres - what do you think of his books.

[mixedmama]

I have read Captain Corelli and am currently reading Birds Without Wings and whilst I picked them both up and started and stopped too many times to remember when i did start reading properly I just absolutely fell in love with them.... I find them completely engrossing and would love to hear from anyone who has read these plus any others and your thoughts.

yes i liked them too.

I love his books, though Captain Corelli was the one I liked least.

Loved them here too, especially the ones set in S America

Read the first 3 too; to put it in terms of literary criticism they are 'proper bonkers'.

I thought Corelli was very moving, particularly the massacre. It suffered from it's ubiquity, but that shouldn't detract from it; it's hardly the DaVinci Code. The novels in the trilogy are more original though. Birds Without Wings I found more difficult to read, although informative on the Ottoman Empire etc. which I knew little about. I do sometimes wonder about his political standpoint in his novels, and I take that aspect with a pinch of salt.

Pumas. That's my overriding memory.

i loved birds w/out wings. so lyrical and moving. I know he's not everyone's taste but those I've read I've loved. In fact, I should read another - suggestions (excl birds and corelli)?

I am thinking of attempting the S American ones next although I have a whole shelf of books to read at the moment and I do find his books fantastic but exhausting, so perhaps a chick book.

What did you think of the S American ones Lucycat

I prefer the S american ones.

I love the s.am. ones- could NOT read captain corelli.

THe one I enjoyed most was RED DOG and a short story collection with a story about a guy who changed the labels on the tins of cat food he fed his cat. Bad description but lovely story.

Also met him at a book awards ceremony and he was a very nice man who did not want to talk entirely about himself. A quiet star.