The Economy of Sparrows

by Trevor Herriot

This debut novel by Trevor Herriot, one of Canada’s foremost writer-naturalists, is the richly observed story of Nell Rowan, who has inherited her family’s prairie farmstead and returned there to live after many decades away. Nell is increasingly obsessed by a 19th-century bird collector while haunted by memories of her mother’s disappearance.

Nell’s fascination with 19th-century bird collector William Spreadborough began during her janitorial night shifts at the National Museum of Nature. Now retired and back home on the same prairie where Spreadborough collected birds, her obsession with his life and death becomes more urgent. Though she finds consolation in the company of her border collie and horses, and the wild birds passing through each season, Nell feels increasingly isolated. Her neighbours seem indifferent to the ongoing devastation contemporary agriculture wreaks on prairie ecosystems and less than supportive of Nell’s attempts to track native bird populations. And now she is unable to escape the central mystery of her life: what happened to her mother in that long-ago snowstorm?

Things begin to shift for Nell when she provides temporary shelter to Carmelita, a fifteen-year-old foster child whose fresh view of the world around her just might rescue Nell from the hopelessness she fears is her inheritance.

Trevor Herriot’s The Economy of Sparrows connects today’s settler culture and natural science to their roots in colonial empire-building. As Nell Rowan finds the people who might help her come to some peaceful resolution of her life’s challenges, readers are faced with questions of how we engage with and value the natural world, how its truths illuminate both history and our present lives, and how we justify ourselves to the wild things of the earth.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Nature, Canada

264 pages, Paperback

Published September 12, 2023

Reviews

[Melanie Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love books written by people with a biology background.

[Jodi]

DNF @ 20%—I quickly developed a Love-Hate relationship with this book. The fault is mostly my own, due to my super-sensitive nature. Though I've tried to steel myself, it rarely works. Thankfully, I have 4000 other books to choose from, so sadly "another one bites the dust".

[Calvin Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 -- Would have been 4 but the ending didn't seem to tie things up for me

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first work of fiction for the Saskatchewan author and naturalist and, of course, nature plays a significant role. Nell has returned home to the prairie family farm after spending most of her adult life working in Ontario. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from a bird reference book published in the 1920s which assigns the degree of usefulness of a specific bird to the prairie economy of the time, hence the title. Nell's interest in birds and in the early naturalists who first documented the birds of the area provides a framework on which the author hangs the contemporary story. The novel's characters are well-drawn and Nell's neighbour, the lyrca-wearing big time farmer's wife, Vivian, is an excellent, almost comic foil for the drab earnest Nell. The Economy of Sparrows is a nice little novel as well as being highly informative about birds on the prairies, past and present.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tying the past colonial perspective to the present through a woman’s obsession with a nineteenth century naturalist and bird collector. Love the quote for each chapter from Tavener’s book which describes a bird species and describes their economic value. So much knowledge, so arcane, so erudite, so readable. Unusual story and naturalist focus plus a celebration of amateurism.

[Jonathon Herriot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming read from cover to cover.

Trevor’s love for natural history and the natural world really shines through in this beautiful story.

[Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conscience and reconciliation with the past

With the economy of sparrows pitted against humans’ interest in agriculture, Trevor Herriot’s _The Economy of Sparrows_ is a rare book that is at once a novel about environment, species endangerment and colonial methods of bird research as well as a sophisticated psychological study of a naturalist – a woman, Nell Rowan: her conscience and her own past. With each chapter introduced with an entry on a species of sparrow listed in _Taverner’s Birds of Western Canada_, we are lent a window into Nell’s preoccupation with birds, and share her growing obsessions, notably with the ornithologist William Spreadborough.

Returning to her family farm, Nell fosters Carmelita, an orphan from immigrant Colombia workers. At the heart of the novel Carmelita drives the plot, I love the scenes where Carmelita comes across the female coyote with the kits, and find the scene at the end of the novel where the coyote leads her and Nell to her mother’s remains dramatic and moving. The novel is nicely balanced, not only in Nell’s relationship with Camelita (who has also lost a mother) but also with the ornithologist William Spreadborough while both share hidden issues of conscience.

On the surface, Nell seems a down-to-earth and practical person, but we discover unsuspected psychological depths as the plot unfolds. From her relationship with her uncle Hamish (who shares her deceased mother’s eyes) to her initial prejudice against her neighbour Vivian with the “spectacular eyelashes” and bold fashions, we sense that her attitude changes to respect and even a friendship. I admit I was surprised when Nell steals the rare Queen Charlotte goshawk eggs from the museum after she is blackmailed by bird collector Robert Augustus Aguire, but her fear of losing her job makes her more fallible and human. The scene at the museum where Nell comes across Aguire secreted in a small room by himself during her night shift is startling and quite cinematic – this novel could be made into a film.

A naturalist himself, Herriot is wonderful with bird scenes, whether Nell is looking for the shy rail or is counting species from their calls with her eyes closed, or coming across the once almost extinct tundra swans. At the end of the novel, the appearance of a flock of tundra swans is poignant and redemptive as the birds have survived in spite of slough drainage and human stupidity. Also, the enduring friendship between the foster child, Carmelita and Nell, and her resolution to allow indigenous peoples to walk on and hunt on her property may be seen as gestures toward indigenous reconciliation and correcting the mistakes of the past. Nell who vouches little for Catholicism but values the church’s practice of confession, in seeking forgiveness for sins of the past finds herself not so far removed from that tradition – as her best friend, Wendy points out.

Here is a novel that not only gives the reader knowledge of birds and the troubling colonial history of their study with biologists shooting hundreds of specimens and ghoulishly preserving their bodies in the name of research, but also insight into one woman’s complex nature and obsession with birds that reveals so much about prejudice, misunderstanding, conscience and ourselves.

[Dana Bash · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Economy of Sparrows by Trevor Herriot offers a captivating exploration of the landscapes I know well, having grown up in Alberta and now residing in Saskatchewan. Herriot's vivid descriptions vividly bring these familiar areas to life, making the book feel deeply personal. As a bird enthusiast, I found the sparrows prefacing each chapter intriguing, even if I didn't memorize their names. Each introduction provided a delightful insight into their world.

The story itself is rich and thought-provoking, particularly in its portrayal of the main character and her upbringing, which resonated with me on a personal level. Herriot weaves together nature, history, and human experience in a way that kept me engrossed from start to finish. I highly recommend The Economy of Sparrows, especially to those familiar with the landscapes of Western Canada. It's a rewarding read that offers both a deeper appreciation for the region and its wildlife.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book to read before Earth Day.

It really helps you understand the migratory nature of birds and also of the nature of people.

I was getting worried Nell would do genetic testing and find herself related somehow to the Bird collector she had a notebook on, so I was relieved at the conclusion for many reasons actually.

I began to wonder if the author was writing about people I knew , but perhaps there is a Saskatchewanness to Older Generation Farmers that may be province wide.

I think the Author should consider starting a sequel.

[Emily Outerbridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

This fuelled the bird nerd conservationist part of me. A good story to balance all the historical/scientific aspects of the book. Nell and Carmelita’s relationship was definitely the highlight of the story for me. Reminded me a bit of Once There Were Wolves which I LOVE.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

Cute read! I like when books are written by people who have a science background. This book wasn't for me though but I know so many people who would love it and I can't wait to share it!