Rating: 
Summary: What's With These Guys?
Review: I just finished this book and am on a wait list at my public library for the sequel. That I want to continue the story of Emilio and company pretty much gives my opinion of the story. The literary qualities are another matter. The characters were quite predictable for the most part and at times I just wanted Russell to get on with it. One thing troubled me throughout the book. Why did the Jesuits assume that Emilio wound up in his final situation on Rakhat of his own volition? It never occurred to me that there were not mitigating circumstances at least, or coercion at most, to lead Emilio to where he was found. Am I a softie or did I miss something? The overriding question of why God gets the credit but never the blame while hardly original is an interesting question to ponder. Some would argue that it was taken up too ponderously here. But I still thought it was a pretty good yarn.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought-provoking novel that defies genre boxes
Review: I came looking for Russell's follow-up novel to The Sparrow, read the sad two previous reviews, and have to respond. The book is brilliant. I wasn't enthusiastic when a friend first lent it due to the sci-fi storyline, but the characters are richly developed and people you would want to know. While Russell does put a lot of detailed thought into the world she creates, she puts even more energy into the questions she raises without ever lecturing. The danger of confusing God's love with God's protection, questions as ancient as Job are made fresh and thrilling. Definitely worth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely disappointing
Review: The Sparrow was a great book-- for about the first half orso. The writing was generally competant, although it sometimes seemeda bit messy-- nothing I'm not used to. All the same,I found it to bepretty engaging, and thought the mystery surrounding the trip was intreguing. Sandoz, I thought, was a relatively interesting character, and the first half of the book, generally, really pulled me in. I was scarcely able to put the book down. Halfway though, however, it just took a nose-dive. Firstly, Russell's idea of time dilation was just blatantly, completely wrong. If it were that alone, I could have forgiven the book. However, at the point in time at which the trip to Rakhat was planned, the book just flipped its tone. Whereas it was a bit dark and foreboding in the first half, with people who, I felt, responded, for the most, part realistically to their situations, the second half of the book started out with people who seemed to have little to no depth to them. While some attempt at giving a few these people 'troubled pasts' made them a little deeper, everything and everyone was still completely joyful and happy and enthusiastic-- and completely unreal. When Russell comes to the tragedy on Rakhat, the one thing the previous two-hundred or so pages have been spent building up (fairly well, as I've said), these cookie-cutter people are disgraced further by giving them cookie-cutter deaths, devoid of interest, detail, or emotion. When Russell kills off a character, she gives absolutely no insight into their feelings, their fear, or anything. They simply die. It's not the way you want to treat characters the reader's supposed to care about. That's why I cannot give this book a better rating. The ominous events Russell spends half the book building up to are treated incredibly amateurishly; it's as though she's more interested in the culture she's created than her actual main characters. It's unfortunate, really. I think that, had I stopped reading the book halfway through, I would have more respect for Russell's writing. END
Rating: 
Summary: For pre-puberty/puberty ages
Review: The writing is about on the level of the pulp sci-fi magazines of the 1940s-50s, with 1-dimensional characters. This is a novel about faith and Jesuits, and is filled with sophistic arguments about faith. The author tries to prove that even priests are regular guys, and employs `dirty' language in their mouths to prove her point. The characters are unreal. The only interesting chapter is the final one and, perhaps the next to final chapter. I recommend that if you're over 14 and curious, check the book out of the library, skim the last two chapters, and use the money saved to read Ray Bradbury. The book was so bad that I ended up feeling sorry for the author. The rating form doesn't seem to allow for a rating lower than one star. I rate it no stars, and hope the author gets a better editor next time.
Rating: 
Summary: Credit where credit is due
Review: First and formost, this was a great book. I absolutely loved it, and I will probably fail an exam on Friday becuase I have been reading it nonstop for the past few days.
That said, I would like to answer some of the criticisms I have encountered in talking to people about this book. As an aside, I think the fact that there are something like 250 reviews here says a lot in itself. But alas, you can't please all the people, all the time, as the saying goes. What I would like to say, anyway, has to do with the "woodiness" of the characters, among other things. My conclusion is that, yes, the characters are a little hard to believe, in the sense that you don't meet people like that every day. And if being hard to believe makes them cardboard cutouts, OK, but I think that that is part of the story. These people, all very extraordinarily unique and unreal, somehow find their way into each other's lives, and the unlikeliness of the group, as individuals and as a whole, adds to the idea that there must be a higher presence calling the shots.
Also, one notices that you are given deep insight into Sandoz' thoughts throughout the story, execpt at pivotal moments, which I will not elaborate on for fear of ruining the story for you. While reading, this is slightly irritating, I will admit. In the end, though, this added to the experience, for me at least, because I was forced to put his horrid ordeal in terms of my own fears, loves, and expectations. That caused, or enabled, the book to hit home with me more that any other I can remember reading.
P.S. -- I can't wait to read the sequel; in fact that is the reason I am up at 2:47 AM, surfing through Amazon.com. I'm buying it. Happy reading.
Rating:
Summary: Fear in a handful of stars
Review: After hearing alien songs via radio telescope, a Jesuit priest, Emilio Sandoz, decides to mount an expedition. With his friends and colleagues having all the skills necessary to make this dangerous journey, Sandoz believes that they could only be going via the grace of God. Never has he been so much in love with God... Four decades later, Sandoz returns from the alien planet, Rakhat. His hands are mutilated and he is a broken man. He has become a murderer, and all his friends are dead. The Jesuit Order shields him, whilst they attempt to find out what really happened. But are they ready for the shocking truth? 'The Sparrow' is an excellent SF novel, with a seriously enthralling theological slant. In some ways, it's reminiscent of Ray Bradbury, with his stories of priests finding Jesus on Mars, and of the quest for God on alien planets. Sometimes the tone seems too middle American, too homey, too comforting. A novel written by an American mother, like that of Russell's iconic author photo. But this comfort powerfully contrasts with the shocking resolution...
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have ever read!
Review: I am not normally a sci-fi fan but this book came recommended by a friend whose opinion I respect. I could not put it down. Warning: it will wear you out!
Rating:
Summary: The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell
Review: A wonderful blend of science fiction, theology, anthropology and a great story. It was gripping (after a slightly slow start) and haunting. Our book club loved it and had a rousing discussion of its many facets. I have shared it with many people who were also memerized by it. It is one of my "top five" books of all time... the newest addition to that list.
Rating:
Summary: Too much information, no heart.
Review: This novel is wordy, cluttered, and unpleasantly empty at the core. It's actually very immature writing. Undergrad. level writing classes (if no editor available) would have helped. The author is under the impression that an avalanche of information and cleverness will suffice. It won't!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book club choice
Review: I have been trying to broaden the styles of books for the book group I am in by introducing some Science Fiction. Since most of the members think of Buck Rogers and space fights when Science Fiction is mentioned, I try to find some well written, unusual books. This one fit the bill. It can be discussed on many levels. It opens the floor for discussion of religion, languages, evolution, politics, and relationships, in addition to the science fiction aspects of first contact and space flight. Most of the people in the book group also liked it a lot, and it received four out of four stars on our end of the year book rating.
|
