We chose this for our next Bookclub meeting. My friend (who is an avid reader) and I gave up. Very boring. Why do tv celebrities always think they can also write? We chose this for our next Bookclub meeting. My friend (who is an avid reader) and I gave up. Very boring. Why do tv celebrities always think they can also write? Unlike any memoir I've read; written as if it were at the same time a novel and a journal, it clearly was a deep source of catharsis. A profoundly exposing and emotional journey into Chris's childhood, detailing his obsession with wildlife and the growing distance he felt to other people, but concentrating on one summer that he shared with a beautiful Kestrel, a summer that would have a deep impact on his life. It is telling of his character that this book is so meticulously and beautifully honed, the language carefully considered and precisely arranged, as though it were a rare eggshell cosseted in cotton wool in a display cabinet. A silky mist was rising from the marbled surface of the stream, stirred by the sun, which was dropping sequins into all its dimples and gilding the surface with lemon.” This was a really relatable read in lots of ways and the writing was very lyrical and poetic and he seems a gifted storyteller.

Fingers in the Sparkle Jar - Audible UK Fingers in the Sparkle Jar - Audible UK

He spoke as if this scenario was a simple, obvious, everyday matter of fact so she responded in a similar vein, ‘How do you stay ahead?’ A wonderfully passionate and gut wrenchingly honest read that had me captivated all the way through. A fascinating insight into living within society whilst coping with a problem that causes a feeling of alienation, alongside a wonderful description of a childhood absorbed in the study of wildlife. A fascinating insight into living within society whilst coping with a problem that causes a feeling of alienation, alongside a wonderful description of a childhood absorbed in the study of wildlife.It's not even just written in the third person, much of it is from the imagined point of view of the people around the author. Did he have that level of insight into the life of the guy who drives the ice cream van? No, it's a stupid device to make boring non-events into tortuously long passages where nothing happens other than several things are overly described, and then ignored forever.

Fingers in the sparkle jar - A memoir - Gift books - The RSPB

From his childhood roaming and searching for nature specimens and animals, his home life, torturous school days, teens and a fast forward to his sessions with a therapist where he discusses his suicide attempts. The flip side of the tortured anguish is Chris's passionate love of wildlife of every kind and, when younger, of dinosaurs about which he knew every fact there was to know. His fascination leads him to eat toad larvae to see if their molecules would sharpen his vision; to cycle off on night wildlife adventures; and become obsessed with otters. His greatest love was his rescued kestrel which was, as Chris writes so beautifully, 'something shiney I had caught with my heart' and which he tended and trained with meticulous care and devotion. On the whole an interesting read. Chris describes his life growing up in the sixties and seventies. The descriptions and language are kept true to those times, nostalgic for me and a bit ugly too. As an adult, Chris was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, which may explain his social awkwardness as a child and intense obsession with nature; an obsession that he managed to forge into a successful career. When other children were playing together in the street, young Chris was out collecting bugs in jars, birds eggs, wings, pellets and other specimens for his curious collection. He was also fascinated by dinosaurs and amassed an incredible amount of knowledge about his favourite subject. The towering cloud unfurled its edge, shoved the sun’s face away and spewed a vile violet light that curdled all colour. The grass greyed, all the dandelions dimmed and bleached, the scarlet lining of his coat rotted to mildew, his hands grew pallid, washed old and deathly, and he felt the cold steal up his legs and swallow him.”Seems like an honest insight into the author’s life, a confessional about his struggles with his condition and the liberation he found through punk.

Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir by Packham, Chris Book Fingers in the Sparkle Jar: A Memoir by Packham, Chris Book

In other parts of the book he sees himself as he would have appeared through other people's eyes (the ice cream man, or an elderly neighbour). These passages were some of the most heartbreaking and poignant. Summary: A young boy is viewed as an outsider by his neighbours, but finds solace in his love of the natural world. I'm sad to say that I was bored and found the book tough to get through. I wish there was more about the wildlife rather than random perspectives of other people on Chris and his actions. Lastly in other sections we meet him in his early 40's, apparently having counselling following a suicide bid. These passages are written in italics, not sure why. His writing style challenges the conventions of memoir writing, with sudden switching of point of view, a non-linear timeline, and the occasional 'stream of consciousness' narrative.The prose veers from lyrical, almost literary, to confusing passages, yet the result is convincing and entertaining on several levels. Here is an example extract:It’s written largely in the third person, offering a glimpse of his life from the age of six to 16 in the Sixties and Seventies, an awkward, socially inept child who was bullied and became a solitary observer of wildlife, from ladybirds, grass snakes and tadpoles to fox cubs, bats and otters. At times I found it difficult to follow, sometimes it’s written in the first person,sometimes that changes without explanation.