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

door Chris Chester

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894304,406 (4.03)1
In the years since Chris Chester and his wife Rebecca rescued a featherless baby bird--a creature with all the initial appeal of "a testicle with a beak" --they've had plenty of time to consider and reconsider their eccentric lifestyle. The upstairs floor of their home in Portland has become an indoor aviary. There is B's room, which he shares with a varying number of finches; the canary room; and the room housing the three subsequent foundling sparrows they've adopted: Baby, Pee Wee, and Seven. There are screen doors mounted in the doorways, congruent with "the Appalachian-themed decor." They've learned sparrow games like "War Bird," "Love Bird," and "Hit the Cap." Since the birds' bedtime rituals alone take an hour or more each night, the couple's social life has suffered a decline. But along the way the Chesters have also learned a great deal about the natural history of birds, and even more about that maligned avian species, the House Sparrow. And with this knowledge has come gratitude. For it is through B and the rest of this unorthodox family that Chester has discovered a renewed capacity for joy and wonder and an expanded realization of the consciousness and intelligence in living things. A book filled with acerb wit, frequent references to literature both high and low, and genuine reverence for the life around him, Providence of a Sparrow is Chris Chester's beautiful meditation on life with B.  … (meer)
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Toon 4 van 4
The author finds a baby sparrow that has fallen from the nest and manages to keep it alive. The book traces the effect this event has on his life. There is much information about sparrows; I had never guessed they were so interesting. He describes in detail his getting to know this bird he calls B and how their relationship flourishes. He ends up with seven wild birds, uncaged, living in his second story rooms. A large part of the books is a collection of memories, thoughts, quotes on life as his view of the world changes or is clarified, told with great wit and humor. A wonderful book. ( )
  Oregonreader | Dec 11, 2008 |
Chris Chester, a writer struggling with chronic depression and writer's block, found an abandoned baby House Sparrow on the ground and brought it into his home. Nothing would ever be the same again.

"B", as the sparrow was named, grew up to rule the household--a feathered tyrant who imprisoned his subjects' hearts and minds. This book documents the transforming power of caring for and loving another living creature.

Chester's writing often meanders along an obscure course--there are many detours--the literary equivalent of taking the scenic back-road route. I enjoyed the trip and looked forward to reading future work by this funny, quirky writer.

Chris Chester wrote of finding peace while resting with "B" nestled under his chin: a state of not-quite-napping but not-quite-meditating. There is a lovely photograph of them together on the book's frontispiece.

I can never thank the author for his remarkable book: Chris Chester died in April 2007. The best than I can do is to press copies of "Providence of a Sparrow" into as many hands as possible.

I also try to be kinder to House Sparrows. ( )
1 stem c5nest | Mar 24, 2008 |
Heart-warming and thoughtful book. I am an avid birder and I try to read as many books that involve birds as I can. This is one of my two favorites of all time. In addition to the bird topic, the author also suffers from depression - a condition that I identify with.

Some beautiful excerpts:
"As a child, I'd lie in bed and sense in the filigree of lapsing consciousness that comes with approaching sleep an unsettling enormousness stationed forever beyond reach or comprehension, a barrier, I now realize, of metaphysical imponderables welded together to form an overwhelming composite of everything I will never know." - not bad for a bird book, eh?

"Next, we tried canned cat food. We buy an expensive brand composed, if my analysis is accurate, of fish rectums packed in some sort of urine. It appalls the eye and bludgeons the nose. A pinkish dollop of reeking putrefaction, it's the jewel of the food processing industry's blackest art. Our cats wish to be buried in it. B, however, more or less gagged. Certainly what I'd have done in his place." - :-)

Beautiful book. Sadly, Chris passed away in April of 2005. I'm saddened by the fact that I won't read any more from this very gifted writer.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianextra/2007/05/sparrow_man.html ( )
  Cygnus555 | Mar 22, 2008 |
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! READ IT!!!

From Library Journal
In this heartfelt, warm, and entertaining memoir, Chester describes in minute detail the changes that a tiny English sparrow has imposed on his living quarters, his daily routine, and, most significantly, his emotional life. Found as a featherless baby that looked like "a testicle with a beak attached," the sparrow is named "B." Quickly, the daily routines of Chester and his wife come to revolve around their new roommate and two subsequent boarders, bonded male finches. Their upstairs floor is turned into an aviary, and the couple often plays sparrow games. Chester's turns of phrase are colorful, humorous, and memorable, as when he describes the relationship of the sparrows as an example of "homofinchiality." Highly literate and filled with personal ruminations, avian research, and literary allusions, Chester's writing style sets this book apart from other animal memoirs and recommends it for an audience with above average reading skills. Suitable for large public libraries and academic libraries with natural history or animal behavior collections.
Cleo Pappas, La Grange Memorial Hosp. Lib., IL ( )
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  janelittlefield | Feb 25, 2007 |
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For my Parents, George and Ann
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Mornings begin with "War Bird."
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They'd begun to eddy about the way cats do (that felines lack prominent dorsal fins has always struck me as an unfortunate oversight), the scent of something easily killed and eaten coaxing them out of their lethargy.
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In the years since Chris Chester and his wife Rebecca rescued a featherless baby bird--a creature with all the initial appeal of "a testicle with a beak" --they've had plenty of time to consider and reconsider their eccentric lifestyle. The upstairs floor of their home in Portland has become an indoor aviary. There is B's room, which he shares with a varying number of finches; the canary room; and the room housing the three subsequent foundling sparrows they've adopted: Baby, Pee Wee, and Seven. There are screen doors mounted in the doorways, congruent with "the Appalachian-themed decor." They've learned sparrow games like "War Bird," "Love Bird," and "Hit the Cap." Since the birds' bedtime rituals alone take an hour or more each night, the couple's social life has suffered a decline. But along the way the Chesters have also learned a great deal about the natural history of birds, and even more about that maligned avian species, the House Sparrow. And with this knowledge has come gratitude. For it is through B and the rest of this unorthodox family that Chester has discovered a renewed capacity for joy and wonder and an expanded realization of the consciousness and intelligence in living things. A book filled with acerb wit, frequent references to literature both high and low, and genuine reverence for the life around him, Providence of a Sparrow is Chris Chester's beautiful meditation on life with B.  

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