Arnie and a House Full of Company

Arnie #2

by Margarete Sigl Corbo, Diane Marie Barras

Describes the true story of the impact of a pet talking starling on people's lives

Genres: Nature, Birds, Animals, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

243 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Born in Munich, Margarete Sigl Corbo came to the United States as a bride after World War II. She has served in the Peace Corps; been a student advisor at a college; owned a pet clinic; and raised a daughter, several dogs, numerous cats, and a large assortment of birds - including, of course, Arnie.

Reviews

[Ann Amadori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sequel to Arnie the Darling Starling. The first one was wonderful, this one is even better. The author, Margrete, packs up Arnie and her three cats and moves from Texas to Cape Cod, where she used to live with her parents. "The first Arnie was a story of breaking away, of letting go of dreams gone bad. The new one is a story of putting down new roots in old places. It says you can go home again." Arnie is the delightful talking starling Margrete rescued when she found him on the ground in her daisy patch. He learned to talk and had quite a large vocabulary: "Kissy, kissy c'mere, you gimme a kiss", "you're a baboon", "peek-a-boo, hi there, coo-coo", "kitties want to go out" and lots more. Margrete feeds the wild life around her old/new home and finally makes peace with old hurts. Funny, touching true story.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd never heard of Arnie the Darling Starling before I came across this sequel memoir at an estate sale, but I was so enamored by the jacket description and the first couple of pages that I bought it and started reading it the next day...and couldn't put it down until I finished.

Singing at the top of my lungs, I swung the Blazer into the driveway, slammed on the brakes, and gasped. "Where's the house? Somebody's stolen my house!"

Aghast, I tumbled from the car and looked around. The modest Cape Code ranch in which my family had lived for more than twenty years was nowhere in sight. The quarter-acre lot upon which it should be so clearly evident was a dense mini-forest surrounded by a thicket of tall hedges. And amidst it all stood I -- cold, tired, hungry, bewildered, and trapped by that behemoth of a trailer I'd just hauled two thousand miles from Texas.

Taking a few steps to the side, I searched for the sidewalk that had to be somewhere beneath the sweeping spruce branches. A flurry of mourning doves rose from the ground, startling me with their labored wing beats and soft cries of distress. Tracking their flight, I spotted the silvery sheen of well-weathered cedar shingles peeping through evergreen needles. A drainpipe, torn loose from the gutter, caught my eye as it wobbled stiffly within the loosening grasp of a metal strap binding it. Nature had stolen my house from view and begun to ravage it, but it was in there, within the trees, waiting for me to reclaim it.

Note: There are two authors here but it's Sigl Corbo's story (Barras is the professional writer), so that's generally who I'm referring to with "her" throughout.

I did feel a little lost at first, lacking context for her age, why she was coming to the old homestead alone, etc., but for the most part I think this memoir stands on its own. The writing is incredible -- super descriptive, but also entertaining. There's nothing I love like anecdotes about repairing & renovating an old house, especially one with family history/memories attached, but I also like ghost stories and she really had me convinced for a while that the empty house might be haunted by her father's spirit. It's also illustrated throughout with the loveliest black and white drawings that really enhance the text.

While I also adored the anecdotes about the titular Arnie (her talking pet rescue starling), and even more so those of her three cats and the abundant wildlife in her backyard, to my surprise I was equally invested in the people of this story: her friends and neighbors, her adorable grandson when he comes for a visit, and the fascinating chapter about Ekaterina, the mysterious and reclusive Russian/German countess she met when she was 21. I definitely bought this on the basis of it being a pet memoir, which it is, but it's so much more than that.

Part of me wishes Margarete had published a straightforward memoir of her own life after these books, because the little glimpses of her past are so fascinating. Born in Germany in 1929, she offers some really interesting insights into what coming of age there in the 1940s was like, before marrying an American soldier and emigrating shortly after the war.

One memory that made me chuckle was her mention that, having been forced to grow up too quickly, once she married a "kind older man who was willing to spoil me, I quickly reverted to childhood irresponsibility. Why should I learn to cook when he so obviously enjoyed doing it himself, when I could be out playing baseball until he called me to dinner? Frank had thought ours the perfect arrangement, and so had I." But then he's called overseas for the Korean War, and with nothing more than hasty instructions on how to use a can opener, he's off. Turns out you can only raise a preschooler on cold/canned food and restaurant dinners for so long before both of you crave real home-cooked meals, though, and thus a new passion for cooking was born.

Regardless, I'm really happy her first book sold well enough to warrant a second, because having now read them both, this one is even better. Possibly my top read of the year, in a year with over 140 new-to-me titles under my belt at that.

[Bre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I found this old book in a little book shop. The cover fell off and the pages are yellow, but that didn't take away from the sweet story it held. I love these animal memoirs. All sorts of animals touch people's lives everyday. I never knew starlings hsd such personality. They must be related to jays and crows.

[Sheila McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a darling book! So cute and actually was true, except for some of the names were changed. If you enjoy animals and birds, this book is for you! A great read and a great change from mysteries, drama and romance! I thoughly enjoyed it

[Cynthiajsnyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for any starling owners...those who rescue starlings are treated to an amazing experience.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story features her talking starling but also a tale about her life and the animals in it. It's a true animal story. Book was recommended and loaned to me from Lela Rosser. The authors have since written books about starlings and their care.

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arnie and a House Full of Comapny, Margariti Sigl Corbo and Diane Marie Barras, RDC-M #1-86, 1986. A sequel to the true story of Arnie the famous talking starling, Margarete, Arnie and 3 cats return to Cape Cod after a ten-year absence. Good.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arnie is a talking starling belonging to Margarete Corbo who has come home after many years to put her ghosts to rest. Margarete is surrounded by many family members.