Fingers In The Sparkle Jar

[Tilly2]

by Chris Packham.

Have you read it? Does it get easier to assimilate as you go on?

[Flonska]

It might be an idea to have a look at some of the reviews that have been published. There appears to be sense of the unexpected in some instances, at the least. Not sure if it is a case of the content becoming easier to assimilate - maybe its worth bearing mind the style in which it is written and that the episodes are described in a different manner from time to time.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27993268-fingers-in-the-sparkle-jar

I think one of the quotes may help sum it up:

"Hauntingly beautiful, others are heart wrenchingly sad and some are just downright icky. Raw, visceral, glorious, and magnificent this not at all what I expected it to be but somehow it was even better."

Hope this may be helpful. :-)

[Tilly2]

Thank you, Flonska. I started reading it today but found the opening chapters a bit too adjectival/ mellifluous/overstated/hackneyed ...and I like words. however these words have put me off it a bit.

I will continue as I think the theme will be to my liking but so far, I think that C.P. is trying a bit too hard.

[Flonska]

I think the following description of him may go some way to illustrate/amplify as to how the circumstances of his upbringing may have influenced (or had least may have had had an effect upon) the development of interpersonal and communication skills.

"An introverted, unusual young boy, isolated by his obsessions and a loner at school, Chris Packham was only at home in the fields and woods around his suburban home. But when he stole a young kestrel from its nest, he was about to embark on a friendship that would teach him what it meant to love, and that would change him forever. In his rich, lyrical and emotionally exposing memoir, Chris brings to life his childhood in the 70s, from his bedroom bursting with fox skulls, birds' eggs and sweaty jam jars, to his feral adventures. But pervading his story is the search for freedom, meaning and acceptance in a world that didn’t understand him."

[Tilly2]

I know that C.P. is on the autistic spectrum and appreciate the estrangement he feels. I shall continue with reading it and I hope that I will get used to the effusive prose whilst getting a real insight into the world of someone who see it differently from me.

Thanks for your input Flonska. I appreciate it.

[pastafreak]

I've just put it on my Amazon wish list, sounds fascinating. Thank you.

[Flonska]

Tilly, I see that you have give me a BA. Whilst that is very kind and I thank you for it, it wasn't really necessary. :-)

[Tilly2]

Flonska, you were really helpful so accept it with my pleasure. :-)

[Tilly2]

Pasta, let me know how you get on with it, please.

[rowanwitch]

On my list too

[Tilly2]

I hope you enjoy it, Rowan.

Here's an example of one sentence on page 17.

Glitterlight sparkled through the dancing canopy and lime-lit the compacted soil with a jigsaw of chasing patterns, swishing and mixing as his eyes chased them trying to find regularity, snatching spots and smudges that almost returned as the branches bounced and shade fell for a cloud-bound minute.

[pastafreak]

According to the reviews on Amazon, it's beautiful but difficult. Many readers were glad that they persevered though.