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Fingers in the Sparkle Jar

A Memoir

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Fingers in the Sparkle Jar

By: Chris Packham
Narrated by: Chris Packham
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Every minute was magical, every single thing it did was fascinating and everything it didn't do was equally wondrous, and to be sat there, with a Kestrel, a real live Kestrel, my own real live Kestrel on my wrist! I felt like I'd climbed through a hole in heaven's fence.

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.

Beautifully wrought, this coming-of-age memoir will be unlike any you’ve ever read.

 Animals Biological Sciences Entertainment & Celebrities Environmentalists & Naturalists Outdoors & Nature Professionals & Academics Science Celebrity Memoir Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Natural History
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Critic reviews

Fingers in the Sparkle Jar is like nothing else I know - a flickering vat of life itself. A brilliant and remarkable book. (Robert Macfarlane)
It’s bold and beautiful, both raw and lyrical, and a rather special book. (Matt Haig)
Incredibly powerful and moving. (Richard E. Grant)
A beautiful, riveting and disturbing read.
This book is courageous, disturbing, original and at times brilliant. (Simon Barnes)
Richly lyrical and deeply confessional… a triumph of rhapsodic writing that can lift the heart.
A magical portrait (Lemn Sissay)
Extraordinarily vivid and utterly unique…surely destined to be some of the most talked-about nature writing of the year
Astonishing… brilliantly written (Craig McLean)
Fierce, disturbing and surprising
All stars
Most relevant
Loved it. The highs and lows of Chris Packham's animal - entwined adventures throughout his youth is a compelling read.
Read beautifully by the author.

Riveting tale of love and loss.

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My late nights won't be the same. Resonated as a falconer and a socially awkward being

Great listen - Articulated perfectly

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Such a moving book. More than a memoir of Chris such depth of passion and honesty exposed. I didn't want it to end. Thank you Chris.

Brutally honest and moving

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I've smiled, laughed, choked back tears, and cried through this book. Can't recommend it enough.

My all-time favourite book.

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I am glad that I bought the Audible version of this book, the narration, by Chris Packham, is both beautiful, and enthralling.
Chris' very personal story of coming to terms with his special gifts and his interaction with the everyday world is heartbreakingly candid. His descriptions of nature in all its wonderful forms are stunning perhaps allowing the listener a precious insight into what he experiences.
I think we should all be grateful that he is presenting amazing wildlife programmes on the television for us all to share.
Thanks Chris.

An important journey.

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