Reviews

“You know what’s the most terrifying thing about admitting that you’re in love?…You are just naked. You put yourself in harm’s way and you lay down all your defenses. No clothes, no weapons. Nowhere to hide. Completely vulnerable. The only thing that makes it tolerable is to believe the other person loves you back and that you can trust him not to hurt you.”

This is a captivating science fiction novel that intertwines deep themes, like love, faith, humanity, and the unknown. The story follows a Jesuit priest, Emilio Sandoz, and his eclectic team of scientists and scholars on a mission to make first contact with an alien civilization on the planet Rakhat. The narrative is structured in two timelines, one detailing the mission’s hopeful beginnings and the other unraveling the tragic aftermath, which keeps readers engaged and chomping at the bit to understand the full picture.

This may very well be my very first true science fiction book! I’m not typically a fan of sci-fi, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying this one. The blend of speculative fiction with profound philosophical questions made it a compelling read.

I was initially apprehensive about the religious aspect of the book, given its heavy focus on Jesuit priests. However, Mary Doria Russell handles the religious themes objectively and the story remains balanced by her inclusion of both non-religious and Jewish characters who are integral to the plot. The religious characters are portrayed as complex humans, not as dogmatic zealots trying to convert others, which I very much appreciated. This approach made the interactions between religious and non-religious characters feel authentic and respectful.

There were so many fascinating facets to this story. The book delves into Catholicism, linguistics, alien culture, interpersonal relationships, sanctioned body mutilation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Boredom is never an option!

Character development is fantastic. Each character is given a distinct voice and personality, making them feel real and relatable. The description of the alien species is really well-done. Russell’s vivid imagery allowed me to easily visualize the aliens and their environment.

I highly recommend "The Sparrow" to anyone interested in an intelligent and multifaceted story…whether you're a fan of science fiction or not!

Content Warnings

threegoodrats's review against another edition

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4.0

Review is here: http://blog.threegoodrats.com/2009/03/sparrow-by-mary-doria-russell-review.html

spaidw's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

4.5

extermiknit's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad

4.75

oydis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

priya_haha's review against another edition

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Was trying to read for a book club and didn't manage the deadline. Will revisit this summer.

trin's review against another edition

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3.0

There's no easy way to sum up how I felt—how I still feel—about this book. It's both fascinating and incredibly traumatizing. The basic story is this: "Singing is heard coming from a planet in Alpha Centauri. A Jesuit mission is sent there. It all goes horribly, horribly wrong." I could actually tell you more—specific details, even—and it still wouldn't spoil it, because the story is really in the wonderfully crafted characters and in the way the whole thing unfolds, with the timeline of the mission interspersed with its aftermath and the return to Earth of the sole survivor. (For the record, I haven't given away anything that you don't learn in about the first ten pages.) There is amazing amount of stuff going on in this book—anthropological and linguistic investigations, as well as an investigation of faith. Russell makes it all fascinating; where I had problems was a little in the pacing—things unravel with a startling suddenness that may be realistic, but makes the book seem somewhat unbalanced—and more so in trying to discern what Russell intended the readers' overall conclusions to be. After all the horrible things that happen to Emilio, are we supposed to feel some transcendent moment, some renewal of faith or hope? It just wasn't there for me, and I can't tell if that's me or the book.

cecile87's review against another edition

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DNF. I can’t rate it. Only got a third of the way through. Didn’t want to continue with what the forshadowing suggested would be violent and unbearably sad on top of being incredibly unbelievable: a Jesuit priest and his friends go to a planet to meet aliens without following what might be life sparing protocols for the aliens and the humans. And they get there on an asteroid turned into a spaceship.

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