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In a moving tale of one man's search for meaning in an increasingly lonely and depressing life, a washed up seaside painter embarks on a journey that will change him forever.
Bored, lacking inspiration and verging on alcoholism, Ray encounters a man burning alive as he walks the beach near his home. The painter is persuaded to visit the burnt man's home, Certainty, where a commune gathers under the spell of its enigmatic leader, Ged. Although it seems the idyllic embodiment of counter-culture freedom, Ray discovers that Certainty is far from ideal. Something insidious, something evil, lurks just beneath the surface.
As his unusual, traumatic rebirth unfolds, Ray discovers the horror of an inferno he has denied for years. To save the love that can provide true meaning in his life, he has no choice but to answer that one, repeating question: do sparrows eat butterflies?
| top | What do they say? |
“Fifteen years from now I could be asked to describe Sparrows and I'd be able to. I'm not bullshitting you when I say it's one of the best things I've ever read... this is a story that you don't read, you look at the words and it tells itself. It's one of the most alive stories I ever read... Brilliant...” — Sue Simpson, Author
| top | What do I say? |
Started: 1996
Completed: July 2001
I wrote the first sixty or so pages of Sparrows in the mid-nineties. However something wasn't right; I put it away in the cupboard. At the time, I told myself it was because I wanted to live a little before writing this story, that there were other things I needed to do, that life was passing me by... But the truth was that I was tired of writing, tired of life, just plain tired. How was I to write about Ray's rebirth when I didn't feel any of the same in my life?
In late 2000, I picked the novel up again and made tentative steps to add more. It felt good, after years of focus in other directions. This might work, I thought, it just might... Then 2001 happened and the world, my own included, would never be the same.
Sparrows helped me stay sane during 2001 and much of that year's turmoil, yearning and melancholy can be felt throughout the narrative. It's no surprise to me that people become absorbed in this story; wasn't I for a good part of 2001?
Bottom line? Something happened as I was writing this story, it's woven into every line and emotion, every twist and turn of the story. There is love here and hate if you seek it. You will be touched.
| top | Want to read more? |
'Do Sparrows Eat Butterflies?'' is print-on-demand, available to purchase from on-line bookstores (search for Vincent Tuckwood in 'Books' section).
In the US:
in the UK:
If you read Sparrows, please drop me a line via the feedback section to let me know what you think.
