A beautifully told, deeply personal growing-up memoir from the BBC presenter about life, death, love and nature. A wonderfully passionate and gut wrenchingly honest read that had me captivated all the way through.

People love Chris Packham because he isn’t afraid to ruffle People love Chris Packham because he isn’t afraid to ruffle

In terms of style the language reminds me of Robert MacFarlane and the author does admit that MacFarlane was given a draft of it and provided support. This is an autobiography. An alleged autobiography. It is written almost entirely in the third person. Think for a moment, if you will; have you ever read an autobiography written in the third person? No, you haven't, because it's an outrageously obnoxious way to write an autobiography. I have no doubt it's some sort of commentary on his autism and maybe it's even explained, I didn't get far enough to find that out, but it's still obnoxious. Just because there's a reason for you making your book annoying to read doesn't mean it's not annoying to read.Don't be fooled into thinking that this is a sweet story about a boy's idyllic childhood exploring nature, though. Much of the material is hard hitting and raw. Encounters with nature are often described with brutal honesty and can be graphic and upsetting. In one story, that weaves its way through the book, teenage Chris steals a baby kestrel from its nest, setting off a chain of events that scars him mentally and causes him to contemplate suicide.

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

I am giving this five stars, even though I did feel that at the two thirds point it dragged a bit. It has beautiful lines, draws the reader in, reveals so much about the author’s inner self and those with Asperger Syndrome and finally has fascinating information about many, many animals. From snakes and tadpoles and dinosaurs to otters and mice and tons about birds! I highly recommend this book. It is a work of art. The book veers away from the style of the traditional celebrity autobiography by telling the story from a number of perspectives. Sometimes the story is told in the straightforward, first-person style that would be expected. At other times, we see the boy through the eyes of others: a neighbour, a teacher, a farmer, or a pet shop owner. Thus we begin to build a picture of the personality of the boy and how he is viewed by those around him. Interestingly, some chapters revisit the same events through different perspectives; we see it through the eyes of an outsider and then get Chris' version of events. His writing is poetic, lyrical and beautiful, even when writing about commonplace events such as an encounter with the local ice-cream man. Summary: A young boy is viewed as an outsider by his neighbours, but finds solace in his love of the natural world. 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. While reading I saw so much of my childhood in his own, then realised he too is autistic. So much of what happened to him mirrors my own life, making this a book very close to my heart. I realised that growing up watching him on The Really Wild Show meant I was watching someone who thought like me, experienced life the way I do... and that means so very much to me.

I don’t want to tell you too much about the book, as you should read it yourself. I’ll just say again – brave and powerful. And very well written. 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.