Time to Kill Sparrows is an anthology of poems by diplomats and their families, and it is the nature of their particular kind of upheaval that gives this book its interest. There is wit, irony and real relish for the places in which they find themselves, but one senses that there may be more interesting poems hidden away in which they really let rip. It has a parochial nature, indicative of the cushioned and contained, albeit global, community of the British diplomatic corps, and should sell well among them. Yet some of the contributors have been published and won awards. Both give the impression of being out of touch, which must be a fundamental sensation in that kind of life.
Some poems stand out.
His wistful dream of misbehaviour is echoed elsewhere. Few writers confront the grimmer realities of their postings, although there are mentions of poverty, prostitution and an orphanage. The anthology's title is taken from one of the best poems in the book, by Mina Dresser. It describes the Chinese mass participation in pest control in the 1950s, when killing sparrows was a revolutionary duty. Perhaps the title was chosen as an image of fragile self-expression being crushed by bureaucratic machinery.