Reviews for An episode of sparrows

The average rating for An episode of sparrows based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-07-16 00:00:00 Kimberly Barron I read An Episode of Sparrows when I was a child growing up in post-World War II Liverpool. It was first published in 1955 when I was eight-years-old. It's said you can't go back, but I'm convinced this book is as good as I remember it. I've ordered a copy and look forward to immersing myself in it as I did as the ten-year-old searching for a bright future among the bomb sites and food shortages of post-war U.K. AFTER RE-READING I couldn't have been more than ten-years-old when I first read 'An Episode of Sparrows', but I remembered with great fondness the feisty waif, Lovejoy, and her gargantuan efforts to make a secret flower garden in a hidden corner of a London bombsite in a downtrodden section of the British capital. I remembered her temporary guardian, Vincent, with his impractical ideas of running a "first-class restaurant" and his epic struggles to prevent it from sinking into bankruptcy in an area where people could barely afford a few pence to buy fish and chips wrapped in newspaper let alone pay for a three-course French dinner. I remembered the two wealthy unmarried sisters who lived in the posh square that lay at the border of Lovejoy's working-class neighbourhood. I remembered the clash of class and culture when the sisters' and Lovejoy's worlds collided. But I hadn't remembered the subtle sophistication of ideas flying off the pages concerning morality, religion, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. Like all good novels ' written for readers of any age ' those issues are understated. I certainly can't remember being conscious of them as a ten-year-old. However, like any effective work of fiction, those underlying issues and ideas must certainly have made an impression. I obviously can't know for sure, but I couldn't help feeling as I re-read 'An Episode of Sparrows' some fifty years later that the book must have had a profound effect on me. I recognized in Rumer Godden's story my own abomination of class discrimination in any form and a derring-do style of determination that sometimes misfires and/or backfires. I think I must have related very closely to the children in the book because I was reminded of the misery of growing up poor, However I was also reminded of moments of intense joy in small events that made life seem not only worthwhile but wonderful. Apart from lucid realism coupled with a sophistication of ideas in 'An Episode of Sparrows,' the book has a suspenseful plot that sweeps the reader along. Every one of the disparate characters is finely drawn, and the descriptions of post-war London ' from rubble strewn bombed-out houses to the sparkling exclusive shops of Bond Street ' bring the 1950s city vividly to life. The book is also a lesson in excellent writing, including vocabulary that might challenge some adults. Although written for children, 'An Episode of Sparrows' makes for an engaging and thought-provoking experience for everyone.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-09-28 00:00:00 David Adaskin Whenever I read a book by Rumer Godden I'm reminded why I like her so much. She writes about ordinary life with the insight of a mystic. Her novels are the fictional counterpart of Caryll Houselander's inspirational prose. An Episode for Sparrows took me a couple of tries to get into but I blame that on me rather than the book. I was mentally distracted at the time. Sparrows may well be my favorite by Godden. It certainly contains one of the most memorable anti-heroines ever, impossible little Lovejoy, ironically named because she is unloved and without joy. Yet she is passionate and utterly endearing. As her devoted Reader Lovejoy captured my heart as was undoubtedly Godden's intent. Perhaps I should qualify my statement about Lovejoy too. She has been left by her mother with a Mrs. Combie and her horrid sister, Cassie. Yet Mrs. Combie is not without some concern for her young charge, although the interest tends more toward economic than filial. Mrs. Combie's flighty husband, George/Vincent (which is real name?)'who leaves us constantly wondering at his sanity'a sometime restaurateur, shows the most genuine affection for Lovejoy but who knows if this is a good thing? Some of the rest of the cast include: the spinster sisters, Angela and Olivia; the ever vigilant Sparkey (who watches everything happening on Catford Street) and his mother; Tip Malone and the large family of Irish Malones and Father Lambert, the local pastor. Tip also befriends Lovejoy, an even more unlikely association, yet how can this friendship do either miscreant any good, especially since their motives are at such cross-purposes? The 'sparrows' in the title refer to the street children. As the story opens some 'earth' has been stolen. Can one 'steal' 'earth'? Well yes, if by 'earth' you mean the soil from the village green. The suspects are the village urchins or children. The Misses Angela and Oliva refer to the street children as 'sparrows' but mean very different things in their use of the term. To Miss Angela it is derogatory. When Miss Olivia thinks of it, she means as it is used by Jesus; each sparrow that falls to the earth is precious in the eyes of the Lord. Rumer has done it again. The characters are vivid and real. The strength of the plot is its simplicity. Her An Episode for Sparrows will stay with me. It has been a long time since I have enjoyed a story this much! I'd give it 5.5 stars if I could. An added bonus was learning how Godden was inspired to write the story. It came about due to a minor misfortune in her own life, which is always one of the best inspirations. Oh! Then there is the significance of the cover, which is Lovejoy, of course. The full meaning will only be revealed if you read the story.