Customer Reviews

Providence of a Sparrow: Lessons from a Life Gone to the Birds

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this book on a lark. Typically when I do such things I go unrewarded. I am pleased to say that that this time I was rewarded. Chester is a great writer who is loony about birds, or maybe just cuckoo. Regardless, the story is very genuine and presented in a non-sappy manner which is much appreciated in our world of over-produced drivel. Whether or not you lovebirds I recommend that you swiftly go out and buy this book. Unless you are a solitaire old curmudgeon I think that you will read this and then go crowing to all of your friends about how good it is. Now excuse me while I creep back into my hole.

I came across this book by complete chance- I didn't even know it existed until I found it staring me in the face from an endcap at the local bookstore. I was quite suprised that someone had written a book about raising house sparrows. I found my first house sparrow when I was 12 years old, and then raise 2 more that had been abandoned. My experience with the birds was strikingly similar to Mr. Chester's. He does a wonderful job in illustrating the fact that dogs and cats aren't the only animals that can be intelligent pets with personality. Most people seem to think that anyone who dotes upon a bird is a bit wierd, after all "it's only a bird." "Only", indeed.

Be aware that this book is a memoir, not a textbook. Mr. Chester does talk about himself. A lot. That's what people do in memoirs. But he certainly does include a wealth of information about sparrows in general, and his bird in particular. The reviewers who claim otherwise did not read the book (and admitted this themselves.) The book is about not just a bird and not just a man, but also the relationship between them and how this relationship made the man's life infinitely richer. "Providence of a Sparrow" shows that even "pests" and "junk birds" (as house sparrows are commonly called) have value. I hope that people who have never had a relationship with one of these birds enjoy the book as much as I did.

The factual inaccuracies by Jack Crenshaw in his review of this book cry out for correction. I am a retired Lutheran minister, and I have read this wise and lovely memoir twice. Once for myself and once to my wife who is legally blind. I can say in no uncertain terms that Chester is NOT an atheist -- militant or otherwise. In fact, near the end of the book, he specifically refers to himself as agnostic. Nor does he ever say or even imply that people who attend church are, in Mr. Crenshaw's words, "misguided idiots." Chester does take issue with religion being "pitched" like any other commodity. As he puts it when referring to slogans on a sign in a church parking lot near his home, "It would appear that institutions charged with maintaining the intangibles of spirit and morality feel they can no longer rely on either the depth or beauty of their core beliefs in order to remain competitive, resort instead to the expedient of vacuous catch phrases tarting up their parking lots." This sounds to me like a defense of religion, not a condemnation of it.
I must also address the previous reviewer's assertion that this book contains no information about birds. Had Mr. Crenshaw actually read the book through, which by his own admission he did not, he would have found a wealth of information about birds in general and about house sparrows in particular. And yes, there is a good bit about Chester's life, but why shouldn't there be? "Providence of a Sparrow" is, after all, the story of a deep and tender relationship which develops between a man and a sparrow. The book couldn't very well be a tale of a relationship unless both of the principal players were described. I sincerely believe that Chester does this in a balanced and thoughtful way. By the end of the book, I felt that I knew man and bird as well as I know my closest friends.
But perhaps Mr. Crenshaw's most troubling inaccuracy is his suggestion that Chester doesn't love birds. Anyone who comes away from this book with that impression doesn't, in my opinion, know what love is. Perhaps a blurb on the inside cover by George Archibald, cofounder of the International Crane Foundation, says it best: "Chester is a role model to be emulated by others who work with birds . . . His extraordinary sensitivity to a few common captive house sparrows reveals how much we humans can learn about the needs and actions of our feathered friends. The book is a delight."

Oh my! I finished this book yesterday and I can't find the words to describe how much it's meant to me. I wish I'd known "B." I wish the same about the author, his wife and the "friends" that live with him in his home. I'm not over it. There's this need to know more and to comfort the author somehow. His words were so tender, so descriptive. Many, many times I would sit back...grinning or pondering his words. I disagree with those who declared the book needed an editor. The way it's written is part of its charm. I looked forward to the way it was "woven," back and forth. I always felt I was right there with him. I wept last night but I wouldn't have deferred reading his book for the world. I thank him for telling B's story. All life is noteworthy.

I find it rather interesting that the only two 'poor' reviews of this book come from folks who haven't read it. Attempting to evaluate this book by reading 1-2 chapters or thumbing through a chapter here 'n there is as rediculous as their reviews are.

This is a wonderful story which can't help but touch your heart. Even if you're not a bird enthusiast, the writing within these pages is eloquent and filled with great little tidbits of information.

This was a book which I kept in my car to read during the many 'waiting for' events involved with life. It was a wonderful escape and allowed the ability to pick up where I left off when needed. I actually regret having finished it because it provided a wonderful, light world to walk in to.

Anyone who's ever been touched by a 'bird encounter'(and I don't mean the hindside), can relate to the extent which the author and his wife went to in caring for their birds.

Thank you for sharing B's world with the rest of us...

Don't be deceived by the title. This would be a gem of a book even if it WERE only about the author's life-altering relationship with a house sparrow. Fortunately, "Providence" is so much more, and ultimately so much more satisfying, as it roams with humor, poetry, candor and intelligence over many aspects of the author's life--his marriage, childhood memories, his struggle with depression, the death of his father, his philosophy about life and the afterlife, and so on. I alternately laughed out loud, cried, and nodded knowingly--sometimes within the space of a single page; I read passages aloud to my wife, who found it equally hilarious, poignant and profound. Chester's word choices are often unexpected--exquisitely so--and the cadence of his prose is captivating. "Providence" is, simply put, one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

Because I have always had a passion for birds, and a special fondness for English Sparrows, I would likely have purchased this book as a matter of course. To find that Paul West, the distinguished novelist and teacher, described Chris Chester's "Providence of a Sparrow -- Lessons From a Life Gone to the Birds" as "a staggering, wholly unmawkish album of mingled lives, as if Charles Darwin were presiding over Noah's ark," cinched the deal for me. When someone of West's stature praises a book in such terms, it's a sure bet that the work so praised is nothing short of extraordinary. Indeed, Chester's memoir of his life with B -- the sparrow he raised and loved -- is an absorbing, poignant and exspansive story brilliantly written. The author's use of language is breathtaking; his wit remarkable. So much so that upon finishing "Providence," I immediately began to read it again.

I bought this award-winning book (Oregon Book Award for Creative Non Fiction, 2003) after reading recently a rave review of it by Angela Dombroksi in Boston's "Weekly Dig." I quote, "Intimate and profound, this memoir about finding destiny in a small creature is as sprawling as a John McPhee work, and qualifies as a study in natural history and avian behavior. Chester is humorous without being contrived and is a master of literary device. Few books can make you a better person. This one will." I thank this reviewer for pointing me toward a work that has easily found its place in my short list of all-time favorites. Yes, "Providence of a Sparrow" is a book with an animal (an unforgettable one) at its center; it also manages to say a lot more about the human condion than most traditional memoirs manage to convey. It's beyond me how an author can be so damn funny while being so enagaging, informative and touching. All I can say is that you should read this book. You really should.

"Providence of a Sparrow" is simply the best book about a pet bird that I have ever read, and that means it even surpasses such charmers as "That Quail Robert" and "Arnie the Darling Starling." Chris Chester's close observations of a House Sparrow named B are equal parts wry, scientifically informed, and touching. I thought my wife Linda and I spoiled our birds, but Chris and his wife Rebecca go the extra mile for their feathered foundlings, and then several more miles on top of that. Chris weaves stories throughout his narrative about his father, Rebecca's belly dancing job, faithful cat Marlowe, and a host of other birds. But B demands and gets center stage in this truly amazing book that every animal lover should own. - Bob Tarte, Author of "Enslaved By Ducks"

I would be lying if I said that I bought this book. It was a gift from a dear friend, and even then, with the subject matter a house sparrow, I might not have read the book without my friends urging. The loss would have been mine. From the first page on, the book has been constantly on my mind. I have found it not only interesting, but utterly charming. I've smirked, chuckled, laughed and yes cried upon occasion. I've learned more about myself and why I seem to love all creatures so very much. Chris has helped me to a deeper understanding of something that I've long known, we aren't the only intelligent and deep thinking creature on this planet. If you find it wordy, use your dictionary, it will be worth your while. You will not only learn something about love, but language as well.