The Sparrows Fall

Charles Frederick “Fred” Bodsworth (1918-2012) was born in Ontario and worked as a journalist for several Canadian newspapers. He authored five novels, one of which was Last of the Curlews (1955), a popular wildlife novel that was adapted into an animated Emmy-winning film by Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1972. His novels focused on the Arctic and other frosty locales like the Hudson Lowlands. I wanted to try his great outdoor yarn, The Sparrow's Fall. It was published in 1967 as a hardcover by Doubleday. My edition is the first paperback printing, the 1968 edition by Signet. 

Jacob is a member of the Atihk-Anishini tribe located in the Hudson Lowlands. He falls in love with a young woman of his own tribe named Niska. The issue is that Niska has been promised to another man in Jacob's tribe, a great hunter named Taka. It's a forbidden love narrative, but ultimately expands into a much broader outdoor adventure. 

A pastor arrives by plane and dedicates himself to providing Christianity to the tribe. He introduces Jacob and Niska to the Bible and to the teachings of Jesus. Jacob and Niska ask the pastor to marry them, however, the pastor has some qualms about doing so. First, he wants to honor God's commandment to honor mother and father. If he marries the two of them, he is defying the wishes of Niska's parents. However, he also realizes that both Jacob and Niska have shrugged away their pagan religion (animal and wind gods, etc.) for Christianity. He wants them to marry and create a new generation of Christian followers. I will leave his decision out of the review so I don't ruin anything.

The outdoor adventure begins with Jacob and Niska leaving the tribe (the synopsis gives the reason away) and forging a new path deep in the frosty tundra of the Lowlands. But, Jacob, conflicted with a number of emotional things (some of which are his own doing), waits too long to kill deer for the coming winter. He then must go alone to hunt, leaving Niska behind in hopes she can endure until he returns. However, Jacob soon realizes he's not the only hunter. Taka is tracking him.

This book was hard for me, but I appreciated it. What I really enjoyed was the Christian discussion and the perplexing things Jacob asked about God – things I had never thought of before. I also really enjoyed the tribal politics and the adventures Jacob has in his war with Taka. Great stuff. But, the book has very little dialogue. Instead, there are endless pages of descriptions of Jacob hunting. Details on wind conditions, the history of the Lowlands, and the movement of wildlife were interesting to a degree, but I quickly tired of it. Keep in mind that this author wrote Last of the Curlews and the protagonist is a bird. He uses that same formula in this book and has portions of the book dedicated to deer. 

Despite my qualms with the book, I'm still going to recommend reading it. It's great escapism, offers some deep thoughts on religion and its history, and is a wonderful expansion on the Canadian wilds. I confess that I did have to skip some pages of descriptive details on deer and trees, but it didn't detract wholly from my enjoyment. Get the book HERE.