I loved this story so much! It was absolutely charming. This was my first Rumer Godden book and now I want to read some of her others. She is a delightful story teller.

Wonderful!

I have seen An Episode of Sparrows referred to as a young adult or even a children’s book, although Wikipedia lists it in amongst Rumer Godden’s adult novels, and having read it I think it fits there more comfortably. To me it certainly doesn’t read as a children’s book (although nothing in the content would preclude a child reading it) but more, as a book for adults about children. As such it was chosen by the Librarything Virago group as one of the books for the childhood section of the Seven Ages of Women theme read. Rumer Godden’s depiction of children and childhood is particularly good as I have found in other novels by her. She understands acutely the heartbreaks and frustrations of children, how so often adults misunderstand them, and let them down.

Full reiew: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2015/...

I'm surprised that NYR has classified this as a childrens' (or perhaps YA?) book.

Godden was an expert observer of people and their surroundings, and this is an almost-perfect "mood" piece (not unlike Muriel Spark's "The Girls of Slender Means," or Godden's own "Breakfast at the Nikolides").

Her characterizations are deft and subtle, and there's not a wasted word in this book.

My only misgivings have to do with the conclusion (somewhat abrupt, I think), but that's small potatoes at best.

quote (paraphrase) that I like: "Is everyone unhappy?"
"Everyone." He added after thinking a moment, "that doesn't mean they're not happy."

I didn’t write a review of this when I finished it on Easter 2022. I’m not sure why except that I think it’s the kind of novel that invites reflection and re-reading to explore the complexity of the story and its characters. Lovejoy is a fascinating heroine, and her determination to plant a garden is just one sliver of her remarkable resilience. Godden captures so well how a child used to poverty and neglect would approach a garden with minimal tools and instruction. There’s something beautiful about a garden here too: it can be anything from Lovejoy’s delight in pansies to the grandest formal garden.

The title is a reference to Matthew and Luke’s recording of Jesus’ speech: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.” Luke 12:6 There is something profound in this allusion from one of the adult characters in the novel, Olivia. Compared to her robust, intelligent, ambitious, organized sister, Olivia, a middle aged spinster, is retiring, shy, slow, and sickly. And yet she is the observant one, the compassionate one, the one whom the children trust. Is that because she herself is like a sparrow? Of little account to the world, but of great account to God…

The style of this novel is so recognizably Godden’s style. As I read more, I’m curious to see if that style continues in her other novels. I’m not even sure how to describe it and yet I think I could read a novel without knowing it was Godden’s and guess correctly. Her narrative voice and her fluid timelines are distinct.

I know I’ve only scratched the surface of this novel. What joy when I pick it up for a second time!

Young Adult book.
I enjoyed every word, every scene.
Poor neighborhood London 1945.
Children, gangs, adult intrigues and young, lonely girl passion for a piece of garden.

I recommend the book with all my heart.

If I have time, I'll read it again.

This is a gritty, post-WW2 version of The Secret Garden. It deals with tough social issues, like abandoned children, mothers who sleep around, and gangs -- so may not be appropriate for some younger children (under 12 years old?).

The story centers on the residents of a neighborhood in London. Following WW2, the rich people on the square no longer have an iron fence to "protect" their lovely garden from the poor children. The poor children play in the street and in the rubble of bomb ruins where buildings were destroyed and have not been replaced.

Lovejoy Mason, a young girl left in the care of a poor restauranteur and his wife while her mother follows a stage career, is tough. She steals when she doesn't get what she wants, and she only cares about her distant mother and herself. However, after grabbing a fallen pack of seeds from a sick little boy, Lovejoy discovers gardening and, over time, how to care about people as well as plants. Her life intersects with other neighbors -- rich and poor alike -- and they all are changed.

Rumer Godden not only has a great name but also has a beautiful writing style. I love that this book, unlike Secret Garden (but like many post-WW2 books), does not have a sickly sweet all-better fairytale ending. People die, gardens are bulldozed, dreams end in disaster, kids get hurt -- and yet goodness prevails in a way that makes you feel more as if you grew up while hearing the story than that you got a quick, artificial fix.

I do love Rumer Godden and wish she were better known. I hadn't read this before and was charmed by it: a lovely secret garden novel set in London, with spot-on characterization.

This is my first book by Godden. I lucked up and found what appears to be a first edition of it in a thrift store years ago. It was a lovely told story about post WW2 London. It is as others have said somewhat like The Secret Garden. Times are still hard for folks in the lower classes of society after the war. Lovejoy is a young girl who is for all practical purposes an orphan; a child left in the care of older couple Mr & Ms Combie who are struggling themselves. Garden society socialite Angela Chesney is disturbed by some holes left in the city gardens and will not give up until the criminals are caught. Lovejoy befriends young boy gang leader Tip when she needs help to start a garden. Little 6 year old neighborhood lookout Sparkey is too young to be in the gang but too sickly to do much else. The “episode” occurs and the story is told and unraveled. Angela’s sister Olivia witnesses part of the episode and is able to sympathize with the street children, especially Lovejoy. Almost perfect story of many things I love to read about. This one is not necessarily a children’s book as it is sometimes mislabeled. With that being said a young child could read it as it has a message for old and young alike. I loved it! Almost 5 stars- and I might bump up my rating if it lingers on much longer!

This is generally thought of as a book aimed at children, but like any really good novel, it’s a great deal more than what is seems to be — just the story of a child. I’m quite sure that I enjoyed it every bit as much today as if I were reading it at the protagonist’s age of eleven. There’s much to applaud in the feisty, rebellious Lovejoy, abandoned by her mother, growing up poor in bombed-out London. A masterfully drawn character, she’s surrounded by an equally colorful cast reflecting the contentious, class-bound society of that time and place.
‘Did you say she could leave that child here?’ Cassie asked Mrs. Combie in her loud aggressive voice.
‘She has to be left somewhere,’ said Mrs. Combie helplessly.
Lovejoy had come willy-nilly to accept that. It could have been much worse; Mrs. Combie was kind, Vincent was very kind, but for Mrs. Combie there was only Vincent and for Vincent there was only the restaurant. Lovejoy was a little extra tacked on.
Thus is defined in a few words Lovejoy’s point of departure in life and the sum of her existence. And then a garden, hidden in the rubble behind a ravaged church becomes her pathway to self-realization. She hears Vincent’s evocation and takes it entirely to heart:
’When you do anything,’ Vincent had told her often, ‘people will advise you not to, they’ll want to drag you down.’ And his eyes drew dark thinking of Cassie. ‘Don’t let them,’ cried Vincent. ‘They — must — not! You must refuse to let them. I am going to have a restaurant that I call a restaurant,’ said Vincent, ‘or I’ll have nothing at all,’ and ‘I’ll have a garden or nothing at all,’ said Lovejoy.

Not a favorite of mine of Godden's writings, TBH. I'm not really drawn to urban settings, for one thing. On the other hand, it did remind me of some of my own childhood- the nostalgic and the harsh- as I read along.
I actually read this novel in a 3-novel publication that included The Battle of the Villa Fiorita and The Greengage Summer. This means that by the time I got to the third novel in the book, An Episode of Sparrows, I had begun to tire of the main themes of children without adult accompaniment and the (mis-)adventures thereof. And it's not that I actively disliked it. I did read and enjoy it on some levels. Just not my fave.
Of the three novels in the combination, Greengage Summer was my favorite. I think I will probably read that one again.
Godden's ability to use real moral complexity, not the crap they use the phrase as a code word for to hint at sexual exploits and so on, but real moral complexity, almost gave me whiplash. What an inspired artist!