Funds for Bookworm are provided in part by Lannin Foundation.

You are a human animal.

You are a very special breed.

Or you are the only animal.

Who can think, who can reason, who can read.

From KCRW, Santa Monica, I'm Michael Silverblatt, and this is Bookworm. Today I am fortunate to

have as my guest, Louis de Bernierre. He is the author most recently of Birds

Without Wings. He is the author as well, of course, of Correlli's

mandolin. A novella came between them called Red Dog, a trio of novels at the beginning of his

career, Signor Vivo and the Coca-a-Guard, the War of Don Emmanuel's Netherparts, and the

troublesome offspring of Cardinal Guzman.

The new book, Birds Without Wings, is one that I recommend to any of you, and I'm sure

there are many of you like me, who don't understand how neighbors who've lived together all their lives and for generations become warring tribes.

This book takes place between 1900 and 1923, and what we see are the formations of partitions and

re-alignments that shape the contemporary world.

In other words, we're looking at a friendlier place, a place before difference

turned into hatred. In fact, difference seemed manifested in similarity. In the village that we

encounter the Muslim religious leader and the Christian religious leader

cordially call each other blasphemers, and they are friends.

They go to each other for advice.

Muslims will go and ask the Blessed Virgin for a blessing. We are living in a world in which people are exploring each other's beliefs and

religious systems. They share them. And brothers, intermarriages, brothers of different beliefs,

...