![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: The Sparrow
Author: Mary Doria Russell
Published: New York: Eos, 2002
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 353
Total Page Count: 71,890
Text Number: 210
Read For: curiosity sparked by a mention by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shadesong, checked out from the library
Short review: In 2019, humanity stumbles upon the first evidence of alien life and the Society of Jesuits sends a small crew of priests and friends to make first contact. In 2059, Sandoz, the only survivor, returns, mutilated, disgraced, and unwilling to explain his experience. It starts slow, but The Sparrow soon comes into itself as an intelligent, inspiring, and downright brutal novel which has a lot to say and says it very well. This is a rare novel, both beautiful and painful, and I recommend it enthusiastically.
The first hundred pages of The Sparrow drag a bit—not so much that they're unreadable, but just enough that they're frustrating. The book is told in a pair of concurrent storylines, 2019 (the journey) and 2059 (the aftermath), and the 2019 storyline is the weak point. Russell has a large cast to introduce, and the characters are initially unrealistically larger-than-life. It takes a while for the characters to come together and their mission to begin; meanwhile, the story drags. Luckily, the 2059 storyline overshadows the slow progression with hints of big and horrible things to come, creating just enough mystery to encourage the reader to push through.
And well he should, for when it comes into itself, The Sparrow is outright brilliant—so wonderful, in fact, that it still deserves a five-star rating despite the slow beginning. After the slow start, the pacing, style, and characterization are all swift and intelligent, creating a gripping and satisfying book. Sandoz's story is not unlike a Saint's tale: a remarkable man exalted to near-divine status, and then summarily martyred. The book is in pieces inspirational and miserable, and Russell does not hold back either in her themes—which range across topics of religion, humanity, love, and ethics—or in her brutal treatment of her characters. Few books are at once beautiful, terrible, and impossible to put down, but The Sparrow is. I recommend it enthusiastically, and not just to science fiction readers because, here, scifi is less a genre and more of a tool for telling the story.
Review posted here on Amazon.
Author: Mary Doria Russell
Published: New York: Eos, 2002
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 353
Total Page Count: 71,890
Text Number: 210
Read For: curiosity sparked by a mention by
shadesong, checked out from the libraryShort review: In 2019, humanity stumbles upon the first evidence of alien life and the Society of Jesuits sends a small crew of priests and friends to make first contact. In 2059, Sandoz, the only survivor, returns, mutilated, disgraced, and unwilling to explain his experience. It starts slow, but The Sparrow soon comes into itself as an intelligent, inspiring, and downright brutal novel which has a lot to say and says it very well. This is a rare novel, both beautiful and painful, and I recommend it enthusiastically.
The first hundred pages of The Sparrow drag a bit—not so much that they're unreadable, but just enough that they're frustrating. The book is told in a pair of concurrent storylines, 2019 (the journey) and 2059 (the aftermath), and the 2019 storyline is the weak point. Russell has a large cast to introduce, and the characters are initially unrealistically larger-than-life. It takes a while for the characters to come together and their mission to begin; meanwhile, the story drags. Luckily, the 2059 storyline overshadows the slow progression with hints of big and horrible things to come, creating just enough mystery to encourage the reader to push through.
And well he should, for when it comes into itself, The Sparrow is outright brilliant—so wonderful, in fact, that it still deserves a five-star rating despite the slow beginning. After the slow start, the pacing, style, and characterization are all swift and intelligent, creating a gripping and satisfying book. Sandoz's story is not unlike a Saint's tale: a remarkable man exalted to near-divine status, and then summarily martyred. The book is in pieces inspirational and miserable, and Russell does not hold back either in her themes—which range across topics of religion, humanity, love, and ethics—or in her brutal treatment of her characters. Few books are at once beautiful, terrible, and impossible to put down, but The Sparrow is. I recommend it enthusiastically, and not just to science fiction readers because, here, scifi is less a genre and more of a tool for telling the story.
Review posted here on Amazon.
