The Sparrow
"A NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT . . . Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense."--USA Today"AN EXPERIENCE NOT TO BE MISSED . . . If you have to send a group of people to a newly discovered planet to contact a totally unknown species, whom would you choose?...
show more
"A NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT . . . Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense."--USA Today"AN EXPERIENCE NOT TO BE MISSED . . . If you have to send a group of people to a newly discovered planet to contact a totally unknown species, whom would you choose? How about four Jesuit priests, a young astronomer, a physician, her engineer husband, and a child prostitute-turned-computer-expert? That's who Mary Doria Russell sends in her new novel, The Sparrow. This motley combination of agnostics, true believers, and misfits becomes the first to explore the Alpha Centuri world of Rakhat with both enlightening and disastrous results. . . . Vivid and engaging . . . An incredible novel."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel"POWERFUL . . . Father Emilio Sandoz [is] the only survivor of a Jesuit mission to the planet Rakhat, 'a soul . . . looking for God.' We first meet him in Italy . . . sullen and bitter. . . . But he was not always this way, as we learn through flashbacks that tell the story of the ill-fated trip. . . . The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence."--San Francisco Chronicle"SMOOTH STORYTELLING AND GORGEOUS CHARACTERIZATION . . . Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them."--Entertainment Weekly
show less
Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780449912553 (0449912558)
ASIN: 449912558
Publish date: September 8th 1997
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages no: 408
Edition language: English
Series: The Sparrow (#1)
I loved this book. The two page prologue sets the stage very well. It tells us that Earth learned of an alien planet and, for reasons only hinted at in the prologue, a Jesuit delegation is the first to travel to that planet. The end of the prologue says, “They meant no harm.” Which of course tel...
I am not the right person to do the best job of writing a review for The Sparrow. The right person would be someone who enjoys diving into man’s relationship with deities. Someone who enjoys talking morals, ethics, and philosophy. Let’s be honest here… fire bad, tree pretty is more my style. But, he...
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell5 Stars and FavoriteAngry at God and the world, sufferring from extreme survivor's guilt and an agony of the soul, Father Emilio Sandoza is the only surviving member of an interplanetary mission to a newly discovered world. When his friend Jimmy discovers radio trans...
46. THE SPARROW, BY MARY DORIA RUSSELL (Book 1 of Sparrow)Another recommendation from Michelle. It was interesting as a science fiction book, but, to be honest, the premise felt very flat to me. I think the biggest reason for that is the fact that I’m a direct descendant from one of the peoples who ...
“Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.” (Matthew 10:29)“But the sparrow still falls.” I think the second sentence in the above quote (from page 401) basically says “shit happens”. It does encapsulate the major theme of the novel quite well I think.The Sparrow is one ...