Sooooooooooo depressing. Couldn't finish it. And if sparrows are sentient, then I'm screwed (they very probably are). Scratch that, we are all screwed. But then I think about how as a whole, humanity has done good things... we have taken care of small sparrows, we have helped animals live who in the wilderness surely would have died. But we've also boiled chickens alive and kept pigs in terrible conditions before slaughtering them... I guess it's a toss up.

If you have only an imagined sensitive bone in your body, you will be moved by this book. If you were raised to despise, and, yes, destroy all House Sparrow as pests, as I was, then you can count on being transformed. You will never see another House Sparrow as anything but a creature potent with potential providence. Thank you, Chris Chester

This is one of my favorite memoirs for its unusual subject matter. The author is incredibly insightful and leads his reader through a series of revelatory moments experienced in the process of raising this bird, named B, with his wife Rebecca. He balanced anecdotes with reflection in a way that makes the book very readable.

At first glance, this seems like a ridiculous premise for a book that is actually quite long---but its actually a topic that offers lots of food for thought on serious life issues. Some ideas the author explores: becoming attached to a creature that can so easily be crushed by the most insignificant human movements (ex: shifting your butt around the couch can be fatal to B), that has such a short life span, that cannot exactly be hugged or cuddled with, and that must be given a certain level of freedom to fly, to be independent, in order to be content--and the author's own internal struggle about having deprived B of his life in the wild. It also helps that Chestler is pretty much an average person working for a tech company in Portland--this is not someone who has loved animals all his life. Finding B (and ultimately keeping him) was a random twist of fate that impacted his life hugely. The result is a memoir with a lot of fresh insight on the nature of loss, depression, love, and attachment----but none of it feels too constructed or falsely emotional. The reader experiences these mini revelations as the author himself discovered them.

Overall, this probably seems like a bizarre and unappealing read to lots of people, but I highly recommend it. Especially if you're someone who enjoys memoirs as a genre.

I'm mystified by all of the glowing reviews for Providence of a Sparrow. I guess it just wasn't the book for me. I was ready to pack it in after the first couple of chapters. It seemed as though the author was trying to prove how intelligent he was by writing in the utmost high-brow manner. As I continued reading I felt as though the book was more about the author's life and less about the sparrows he had saved. At that point, I began skimming. I'm happy to say I found a few parts of Providence of a Sparrow I enjoyed reading.

I love birds (Just ask my Facebook friends, haha.) but I couldn't relate to this book. I'm glad so many people loved it. It must be a case of "It's not you, it's me."

This is one of my all-time favorite books. In addition to being about rescuing a baby sparrow who had fallen from its nest, the book is about the human condition, dealing with death, ethics. I treasure it.

I adored reading this book. I have a rescued house sparrow of my own (Charlie), so I thoroughly enjoyed the author's descriptions of his sparrows' personalities and behavior. I can tell you from experience that everything he says about the workings of the minds of sparrows is true. I highly recommend this book to animal and bird lovers.

Loved it. True story. You'll never look at a sparrow in the same way again.

Who knew what humor, literary allusions, and hope sprung from the small feathered body of such a hated, introduced bird pest species? I am now in love, again, with a new bird.

I really enjoyed this witty book. It is a good read for anyone who has struggled with depression or loved a bird.

This is an amazing book that I never would have chosen to read on my own. I don't read "animal" books as a general rule, but this book is about so much more than sparrows. It is about a man finding wonder and delight in something that could have just as easily have been brushed aside and forgotten. It was good for all of us that Chris Chester found B (the sparrow), so we could have this book to read and enjoy. Chester's voice seems tangible as you read. You can feel his enthusiasm for B and his other birds as he gives you not only the story of their time together, but actual facts and information about birds as well as quotes from other authors that enhance this story.

Very fun book to read about a guy who made his house over for an injured sparrow to recover and live.

This book was chosen by The Springfield Book Club - my local group. Truthfully I doubt it would haven ever caught my interest/eye. Just like the non descript house sparrow Chester writes about, the book is non descript. Our choice was made on availability and the fact this was an Oregon based writer.

I have been lucky enought to have loved some very special dogs and cats in my life. But a bird? forget about it! Never caught my interest. I've always wondered why folks would put up with something you can't cuddle, seems to either be mute or incessantly noisy and poop all over the place.

After reading the book, my feelings about having a bird as a pet have not changed. Keep the bird. The book is interesting on several aspects nevertheless. Chester only wrote one book in his fairly short life, a life from what I read plagues by constant depression and then cut offjust a few years after the book was published. His attention to detail is fascinating, but can be excessive.

His humor is dry but rather fun. Monty Python in writing without quite the hilarity.