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The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1)

Mary Doria Russell

Start date: February 1, 2009

Finish date: February 28, 2009

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What Members Thought

Jan 19, 2009 Lori rated it really liked it

I had picked this up years ago due to all the terrific reviews, but when I started it, since it involves priests and such, I thought it was going to be a Christian book. So I'm really glad that a group decided to read this, because it is NOT a yah-yah Christian book at all. I would instead call it a spiritual book in that the journey involves time old questions, of faith, of God, of religion, of humanity. And altho most of the main characters are indeed Jesuits and so many questions and approach I had picked this up years ago due to all the terrific reviews, but when I started it, since it involves priests and such, I thought it was going to be a Christian book. So I'm really glad that a group decided to read this, because it is NOT a yah-yah Christian book at all. I would instead call it a spiritual book in that the journey involves time old questions, of faith, of God, of religion, of humanity. And altho most of the main characters are indeed Jesuits and so many questions and approaches do involve Catholicism, they were universal. And very very beautiful.

After I was done, I read that the author had left the Catholic church at age 15, and after 20 years of aetheism found herself re-examining questions of values, ethics, morality and religion upon the birth of her child. She found her drawn to Judaism and converted.

And that makes alot of sense, in that The Sparrow does speak about religion but in a completely open, tolerant way. You can also be an aetheist and derive much insight into the nature of what drives us toward spirituality to begin with. And that morality and goodness has its place even outside any type of established religion.

This was also one of the best first contact books - because The Sparrow is far more than just a question of what God is or isn't, but more so a fascinating study of anthropology. Of both humans and aliens. As a matter of fact, I'm sorry I started this review even discussing the religious aspect, because I would say the anthropology approach and insight is just as strong if not even a stronger force in the book.

Which also makes a ton of sense since the author was an anthropolist!

And I can not ignore the fact that the characters were some of the most complex, likable and developed you can find in any book.

I liked this book so much I immediately started reading its sequel, Children of God, upon completion. The Sparrow itself is very much a stand-alone book, but I was so engrossed with Emilio I HAD to know what happened to him.

Hmm. I might make this book a 5. ...more

398 likes · Like · see review

Jan 27, 2009 Brad rated it it was amazing

Shelves: speculative, sci-fi

I had wanted to read The Sparrow since its release back in 1996/1997. I had seen a review of it and loved the basic idea of future Jesuits being the first “missionaries” to make contact with the first sentient alien species discovered. But I lost that review and was never able to figure out the name of the book or the author. I tried to discover it everywhere I went, and all those I asked were oblivious. I really thought I would have no trouble tracking it down, but I couldn’t, so after a while ...more

276 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2009 Kara Babcock rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: from-library, 2010-read, science-fiction, religion-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. It has been a while since a book made me cry.

The Sparrow begins with a concise prologue, so unassuming that I overlooked its significance. Within this prologue, however, is a reminder, a sort of caveat that hangs over the book:

The Society [of Jesus:] asked leave of no temporal government. It acted on its own principles, with its own assets, on Papal authority. The mission to Rakhat was undertaken not so much secretly as privately—a fine distinction but one that the Society felt no compulsion to

...more

66 likes · Like · see review

Jan 23, 2009 Brooke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, science-fiction

In a word - excellent. The Sparrow is a "first contact" science fiction novel, but it's also an example of the genre that's great for non-SF fans. Although it's a story about a Jesuit mission to an alien planet, the focus is more on the question of faith.

The novel uses a non-linear storytelling device, so in the first few pages you know the outcome - Emilio Sandoz has returned to earth alone and broken, and scandalous stories about a dead child and a brothel have preceded him. His superiors atte ...more

23 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2009 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sciencefiction, adultfiction

The basic plot of this book is that Earth picks up transmissions from another planet, and the Jesuit arm of the Catholic church sends out a delegation on their own to make first contact. Because of differences in culture, things don't turn out so well.

We are told the story from both ends, from the very beginning, when the transmissions are received and the idea to go to their source first gets batted around, and from the end, after the lone survivor of the mission gets back to Earth. We know so The basic plot of this book is that Earth picks up transmissions from another planet, and the Jesuit arm of the Catholic church sends out a delegation on their own to make first contact. Because of differences in culture, things don't turn out so well.

We are told the story from both ends, from the very beginning, when the transmissions are received and the idea to go to their source first gets batted around, and from the end, after the lone survivor of the mission gets back to Earth. We know something terrible happened, but it hasn't happened yet in the first plotline, and Father Sandoz, the survivor, isn't talking about it yet in the other, which builds a huge amount of suspense over the events in question. Whether the events live up to that kind of buildup is another question, but it is a great device for getting the reader turning pages and pull you through the book. I couldn't read this book fast enough!

Okay, enough about the structure of the book. What about the questions of faith and ethics the book raises? Well, they get you thinking, that's for sure. How many things have to go right for space travel to be successful? For contact with another, alien, culture to result in communication and understanding? Wouldn't achieving that kind of goal show that providence, the hand of God even, is at work? If you were someone who WANTED to believe, who had been questioning your faith, it would certainly seem so. You might start to think you were blessed by God. And then, if things fall apart, which the reader knows happened right at the very start, what a blow it would be to that believer.
So, was he wrong to believe God was guiding all that happened? Or not? And would the existence of other intelligent life forms on other planets be a point in favor of there being a Supreme Being, or the opposite?

Other issues are addressed as well - celibacy, homosexuality, indentured servitude, culture shock, and class in society, among others. I really loved how this book made me think, about faith, about the possibility of God, and about culture shock and how it will get you just when you think you know what's going on.

I also loved the characters - the charismatic priest with a talent for languages and his struggles with his faith, Anne who was unabashedly agnostic and whose love and caring held the team together, and even the Jesuits who had a physically and mentally f***ed up priest to deal with when everything blew up in their faces. The journey the characters took was more than just to another planet, it was to new understandings of themselves. Yeah, sorry, cliche, but it's TRUE!

I highly recommend this book, which reminded me in some ways of Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop, but in space. ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 01, 2009 Nicky rated it really liked it

Shelves: philosophy, speculative-fiction

"Matthew ten, verse twenty-nine," Vincenzo Giuliani said quietly. "’Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.’"

"But the sparrow still falls," Felipe said.

That quote is essentially a summary of the entire book, and also essential to understand why the title is what it is.

It's hard to know what to make of The Sparrow. It's a journey in many ways: from wanting faith to having faith, from having faith to belief without trust that I hesitate to call faith, from our planet "Matthew ten, verse twenty-nine," Vincenzo Giuliani said quietly. "’Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.’"

"But the sparrow still falls," Felipe said.

That quote is essentially a summary of the entire book, and also essential to understand why the title is what it is.

It's hard to know what to make of The Sparrow. It's a journey in many ways: from wanting faith to having faith, from having faith to belief without trust that I hesitate to call faith, from our planet to another, from ignorance to understanding. The journey, for the most part, is that of Emilio Sandoz, but a lot of the other characters have their own journeys to make, and so does the reader.

The narrator is omniscient, which I generally don't like but didn't trouble me too much here. It's quite well done, I think: despite the omniscient narrator, I still felt close to the characters. My only problem is the way all the deaths were dealt with: they struck me with a kind of numbness, instead of feeling sad. But that might indeed have been the intention.

The characters who are human do seem very human. They make mistakes, they make dumb decisions, they argue, they fail at the worst possible times. They also have compassion and curiosity, so that their mistakes are understandable. The idea of the first mission to another planet being a Jesuit mission is ridiculous, in one way, and then also not at all surprising. Because it's a mission based largely on faith rather than science, the mistakes are all the more understandable, even if the trust in God seems ridiculous. Emilio's slow healing and also his refusal to heal are done well. The way he's presented to the reader when he's young makes you love him, which makes his situation later in the story compelling instead of, as the other priests originally see it, disgusting and contemptible.

The actual plot ends up not being all that surprising. The big reveal at the end isn't needed as a plot twist -- you've already guessed, by that point, what happened to Emilio -- but as a kind of closure for the story: finally, he admits what happened to him, and perhaps the journey can go on.

This might seem at times like a story that advocates atheism, but I don't think so. I haven't read the sequel, Children of God, yet, but the story seems to be much more about the sparrow God sees, and knows, and loves, but still doesn't prevent from falling. The Sparrow is a novel about the big question for believers: if there is a God, how could He allow terrible things to happen?

It does not answer the question, by the way. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jan 10, 2009 Taueret rated it it was ok

Shelves: hours-i-will-never-get-back, speculative-fiction

I really hated this book. I'm still trying to work out exactly why. Sorry to all who love it, but I feel that this is one very overrated novel! I was prepared to like it right until the end...when I said "err...that's IT?".

For Jesuits in Space as they should be (;-)) See Arthur C Clarke's 1955 short story "the star". ...more

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Jan 24, 2009 This Is Not The Michael You're Looking For rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, arthur-c-clarke-award

I found this to be sort of an unusual book, hard science fiction with the characters also exploring their personal beliefs in God. Certainly not an unheard of theme, but it had a tone and style that was different. I'm not entirely certain how I feel about the book. It is well written, did not bore me, but in some sense never really grabbed me—perhaps because I found the religious undertones to be vaguely off putting, even though they are done very well. Certainly an interesting read, but perhaps ...more

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Oct 13, 2011 Tamara added it

Shelves: sf, author-female, distant-planet, aliens, male-protagonist, religeon, central-america, inherent-sadness-of-being-human, christianity, sexuality

I wonder if this book reads differently if you believe in god. Then, I wonder if if it reads differently if you decide to accept the existence of god within the book. In any case, I can't do either, so I found this an almost vicious indictment of religion. ...more

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