The Sparrow Garden

by Peter Skrzynecki

A moving and revealing portrait of a migrant childhood is invested with humour and boyish adventures, as well as a poet's discerning eye. This is a memoir of both family and community in Australia in the fifties.

235 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2004

Reviews

[Karen O’Neill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glimpse into the life of the Eastern Europeans who settled in post war Australia. Their hard work ethic, strong Catholicism and sense of pride in the community they built. Touched on the racism of the time without dwelling on it. Beautiful look at family and growing old with sentiment and sensitivity. Enjoyable read!

[Melanie Fincher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprising read.
My first intention was to gain brownie points from my English teacher for reading into the context of Skrzynecki's poems but found myself tugged at the heartstrings.
I am not a autobiographical or non-fiction regular but this was different it was artistic poetic and deserves the mystical word of memoirs.
Being Australian myself i the imagery came effortlessly like it was one of granddad's stories. Above its context and personal purpose it deals with a universal emotion, loss. It handles this very well as he visits his parents house and tries to martian their memory; reminiscing about them and his childhood, the racism and exclusion, the hope and culture.
As a result, it left me with a pane of guilt thinking of the continuous mistreatment of migrants today. An awe-inspiring and at times tragic realism of life and loss.

[Sabina · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a first generation Australian of Polish descent, what I was reading was also part of my parent’s story. The hardships, the struggles, the sacrifices were all made in hope to give the next generation a better life. This book in parts was very confronting, and I found difficult and upsetting to read. But I kept on going, because this is what it was like. I am so glad I did because there were happier times too, and I found myself laughing out loud.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lyrical and lovely memoir of the author's parents and childhood as a refugee arriving in Australia after the Second World War. My Mum gave me this book to read as she too arrived in 1949 from a Displaced Persons camp in Germany and had to struggle in Sydney as a Polish child with little English and a family struggling to survive. The nice thing about this book is there are no enormous dramas, just real people living real lives. I wasn't so taken with the author's poetry although I know he is a well respected poet. But I found the book both soothing and sad to read.