Birdsong

I read this some years ago - Sebastian Faulks' best book by far. This moves from the early 20th century through the first world war to connect with contemporary times, through a woman searching for her family history. The description of trench scenes and warfare evokes my frustration with the pointlessness of the slaughter, in stark comparison with the humour in the descriptions of pre-war France. This is a wonderfully vivid book, one of the few that made me want to laugh out loud or cry as I turned the pages.