A review by jestrudel
The Absence of Sparrows by Kurt Kirchmeier
5.0
This book was on my TBR pile for a few months but it wasn’t available through the library. When it finally popped up as available on Overdrive, we were now in the midst of a pandemic. I hesitated before borrowing the book. Did I really need to read a book about a fictional pandemic in the midst of a real one?
I went for it, and I am so glad I did. The pandemic in the book is dissimilar to the one we’re experiencing now, so it didn’t feel too on the nose, but I could appreciate much better what the characters were feeling and experiencing. The author tackles the emotion in the book with sincerity without any of the hysterics, and the characters, particularly the child ones, are distinct and realistic in their portrayals.
This book is solid from beginning to end and I gobbled it up in less than 24 hours (I am normally a very slow reader).
SPOILER (sort of?): The only thing I didn’t like is the opening paragraph, because the narrator reveals that he survives by speaking as his older self, but I suppose in heart-wrenching times, when you’re holding a heart-wrenching read, it’s good to know there’s hope for the protagonist.
I went for it, and I am so glad I did. The pandemic in the book is dissimilar to the one we’re experiencing now, so it didn’t feel too on the nose, but I could appreciate much better what the characters were feeling and experiencing. The author tackles the emotion in the book with sincerity without any of the hysterics, and the characters, particularly the child ones, are distinct and realistic in their portrayals.
This book is solid from beginning to end and I gobbled it up in less than 24 hours (I am normally a very slow reader).
SPOILER (sort of?): The only thing I didn’t like is the opening paragraph, because the narrator reveals that he survives by speaking as his older self, but I suppose in heart-wrenching times, when you’re holding a heart-wrenching read, it’s good to know there’s hope for the protagonist.