Rating: 
Summary: A bittersweet search
Review: A priest is the servant of the people of God. That's what I was taught as a child and what many people seem to have forgotten. Mary Doria Russell remembered. She also remembered that a priest is a man; human, frail, sinful, and searching for God - just like the rest of us. This is a story of discovery, love, pain, and enlightenment. It is also an exceptionally well written science fiction novel. The characters are well formed and the premise is plausible. The plot is carefully ordered and exquisitely detailed. I've never cried over a book before, but this ending brought me to tears. Don't bother skipping to the end. It doesn't make sense out of context.
Rating:
Summary: Moving, Compelling Novel
Review: This is a novel about the human spirit, about consequences of one's best intentions, and about what it means to have a relationship with the divine. It falls in the science fiction genre in that Russell needed a set piece to deal with first contact with an alien culture - and, as she points out in the end notes, there aren't any such cultures left on Earth anymore. The book doesn't delve deeply into the "hard" sciences (like David Brin's "Earth") but instead delves into the more "human" sciences of anthropology and culture. It also digs deep into the heart of the reader. This is a gorgeous novel. Don't miss it!
Rating:
Summary: An absolutely amazing, riveting book . . .
Review: To put it very simply, this first novel is an extraordinary piece of work, a true tour de force. It's about a Jesuit expedition to the first inhabited world other than our own, newly discovered -- but that's not *really* what it's about. Russell is a highly trained anthropologist, cross-educated in many other related disciplines, all of which she draws upon masterfully to tell the story of Father Emilio Sandoz, S.J., and the other members of the exploratory party. The two societies of Rakhat are very, very well thought out and depicted and that world is entirely consistent and believable -- because she also knows when more detail would be too much -- but it's the party from Earth that holds our attention, the beautifully developed complexities of their personalities and interrelationships, the humane ways in which they learn to function as a group, to love each other. And the reader cares very much when things happen to them -- and things do indeed happen. But even they are not the most important concern of the story, which is the nature of belief in God, the search for and acceptance of God, and what happens when that acceptance is betrayed by God. And, on top of all that, Russell is a very highly accomplished stylist, a master of plot and pacing, a poet of considerable talent. There's a sequel, but I almost hesitate to pick it up. Could she possibly produce something so marvelous twice?
Rating:
Summary: This is one of the most profound, challenging books
Review: As an English major in college, I read a very wide selection of books, from some of the best writers the world has ever produced. I have to rank this book as among the most profoundly thought-provoking I have ever read. It is not a light read, and I highly encourage you to get your own copy, so you can underline or highlight the portions that you need to come back to, to further digest the deep, spiritual implications. At the same time, it is not a difficult book to read, either. It is entirely engrossing, one of those books that you are unable to tear yourself away from. The characters are real and vulnerable, much more fully developed than much of the science fiction I have read in the past. Though the particular struggle facing the main character, Emilio, is unlikely to touch any of us, the root issues of the nature of God and faith are of deep, personal relevance. My best recommendation? Don't stop with this book; read the sequel, Children of God, as well!
Rating:
Summary: Learning to fly...
Review: Mary Doria Russell's novel, 'The Sparrow', is a truly interesting mix of theology and science fiction. Prior to this novel, Russell had only ever written scientific and technical manuals, which makes her prose style and story telling all the more remarkable, as a hidden talent becomes unveiled. The story follows close the journey of Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit with a facility for language, and an emptiness in his soul. Set in the near future when near-earth space travel has become if not commonplace at least not unusual, the SETI listening post near Father Emilio's parish post discovers a signal from the nearby star system. While nations debate and plan an exploratory trip, the Jesuit order (well known historically for missionary work) get their own trip underway, with a crew of Jesuits and laypersons each with differing expertise (one in musicology, as the transmission seem musical; and so forth). They arrive on a planet (Rakhat) with two dominant species (the Runa and the Jana'ata), and an intricate society dependent upon certain inter-species realities that the human visitors come to find unethical (yet not really basing this judgment on more than cursory research and observation). Russell presents this as an adventure and a tragedy; as members of the expedition die off one by one for various causes, Father Emilio is left alone and injured and ill-used by those he came to embrace as friends. A second expedition arrives from earth and rescues Father Emilio; the whole tale is told in the manner of flashback while the Jesuits investigate what went wrong. Thus, there are two narrative lines running simultaneously--the unfolding story on Rakhat, and the unfolding trauma and resolution of Father Emilio. Russell, raised a catholic yet a convert to Judaism, writes with sensitivity and realism about the Jesuit order, the church, and about the will of God in general. According to Russell, 'When you convert to Judaism in a post-Holocaust world, you know two things for sure: one is that being Jewish can get you killed; the other is that God won't rescue you. That was the theology I was dealing with at the time.' This is a glimpse into human nature as well as a good science fiction story; many of Russell's situations will be unnerving, and the conclusion very disturbing. Yet, I feel there is something dishonest about the 'everything-works-out-in-the-end-for-everyone' kind of science fiction which is our usual lot today; this book doesn't end on hopelessness, but there is a good dose of reality here, and this honest makes the story all the more credible.
Rating: 
Summary: A complex adventure
Review: This is not a simple book to absorb. I read it almost a year ago and am still turning it over in my mind. Mankind's first interplanetary mission to make contact with other beings, but the consequences for the protagonist, Emilio Sandoz, are horrific. And unintentionally so from the alien perspective. Interwoven are deep questions of faith. How can such bad things happen to such a good and decent man? The vaRakhati alien culture is described intriguingly and almost fleetingly - but that seems intentional, as the experience is mediated by a single, powerful alien. If all you're looking for a simple space opera that wont make you work your mind too hard, this is not the book for you. Otherwise, I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Flawed masterpiece
Review: This book had the potential to be a great work of science fiction, with a great theme at its heart: the loss of faith. The characters are well-developed and interesting, the plot is great, and the detail is magnificent. There are a couple of flaws, though, that really struck nerves with me. First, the plot moves much too gingerly throughout the book, and could have been edited down for the better in many places. That is, there was just too much uninteresting, unrelated babble. Second, the interpersonal relationships between the characters seemed contrived in some places (mostly in the dialog before the space trip). Anyway, these two flaws really made the reading tough for me to get into, but the novel is otherwise a masterpiece work.
Rating:
Summary: Problems
Review: It's true that what I know about science you could put on the head of a pin and still have room for the Lord's Prayer, but riding an asteroid to a planet in another solar system? Even a science dummy like me should have heard of the possibility. This novel was not set far enough in the future (about 2020 for the trip) to make the space travel believable. Many reviewers have complained about the quality of the writing. I hadn't realized so many s-f fans cared about writing quality. To me, the writing didn't seem any worse than the writing in most contemporary fiction, although two instances of "ahold" did take me aback. Like many others, however, I found the character of Anne Edwards irritating--a universal mother hen as well as an outstanding professional in her work, a great cook, and an enthusiastic sexual being in her sixties. People like that may be comforting in real life, but in fiction they're always irritating. Then there's the main character, Sandoz, a Jesuit priest who can't understand a God who lets bad things happen to good people. Get over it already! Bad things have been happening to good people ever since Eve was tempted by the snake. What's new? Physical torture and sexual abuse occur on a daily basis all over the world. Why should they be so much more terrible because they happened to him? Then there was the unjustified and unmotivated antagonism of the ecclesiastical authorities back on Earth who were ready to believe the worst of Sandoz on very flimsy evidence before they'd even heard his side of the story. Shades of the Inquisition in 2060! Then there was the music that first attracted the group of humans to the alien planet. They thought it was beautiful and spiritual, but it turned out to be poems in praise of torture and pornography set to music. Some music critics! In spite of the many irritations, the book did keep me turning the pages.
Rating:
Summary: Is God a Criminal?
Review: Science fiction is a medium that is tailor-made for investigation of some of humanity's most perplexing questions, most especially questions of his (and the universe's) origin, God, what constitutes moral behavior, man's ultimate purpose. But very few science fiction novels really attempt to tackle these questions, getting caught up instead in the nifty gadgets that can be imagined, and forgetting their human element. Not so here. Russell has crafted a fine work of character, of people both exceptional and very real, in this tale of first contact between a Jesuit sponsored mission and the denizens of the planet Rakhat. Emilio Sandoz is the only survivor of this mission, and most of the story is told from his viewpoint, both as a currently happening time-line and a later recollection under interrogation after he returns to Earth. It is easy to become engrossed in this man's life, as we see him as a great linguist, a priest with very understandable doubts but a solid need to help others, a man with normal desires for companionship, a person suffering under sever stress, a man mangled both physically and mentally. The other mission members are not slighted in the character development area, so that by the mid-point of the book, I felt that I was living with a very tight-knit family, whose individual foibles were all well-known and accepted, whose interpersonal banter was enjoyable and fitting. It is this very depth of characterization that adds poignancy to the mission's fate and starkly highlights the main religious question. How can one believe in a God that allows such terrible things as the mission failure to happen? How can one not believe in a higher power that has orchestrated such an incredibly complex universe of objects, intelligences, and events? Falling within this halo are other questions, ones of personal responsibility against an omniscient deity, institutionalized religion versus an individual call to God, the morality of killing in a culture radically different from our own, when does pride in accomplishment become insufferable hubris? Russell does not provide answers, but her characters each have their own way of dealing with these questions, methods both practical and, for some, esoteric. In this area, this novel is very comparable to James Blish's A Case of Conscience, another fine novel working within this same area of ideas and religious import. There are some elements that are not so good. Possibly most obvious is the idea that a privately funded mission to contact the first verified alien intelligence would not only be the first but the only mission, at least until the rest of the world found out about this mission. Second is the idea that star-travel is so close to being doable that a (relatively) small amount of money and some minor engineering would allow it to become a reality - if it was that close surely someone would have started such a project long before, even without the impetus of alien contact. Third, this is supposed to be the Alpha Centauri star system. From a planet orbiting Centauri A, Centauri C ( a small and quite dim red dwarf) is so distant it would not show a visible disk nor provide any great illumination (it would look like just a bright star), yet there are consistent references in the novel to working under the red light of the third sun. In a work of 'hard' science fiction, such problems would be pretty major. For this novel, with its primary focus on theme and character, these flaws are at most gnats, easily dismissed as not relevant to the overall story. Emotionally and intellectually powerful, this story can upset your life, force a new perspective on your world-view, make you once more sit up and see the sparrow.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Reading
Review: I found The Sparrow to be a very good read. Russell creates and developes characters that are, if somewhat goofy, still very believable, and I was sympathetic with them. True, this novel reads more like a mystery than a sci-fi, but the author keeps the reader turning the pages, wanting to know what happens next. Still, there is enough off-worldly intigue to keep sci-fi fans happy. The book centers around one character in particular and his quest to understand and come closer to God. The circumstances in which this character finds himself help the author explore moral and theological questions that are interesting and worthy of thought. Russell explores the relationship of an individual with God, and how an individual can come to understand what God wants of him or her. The author also delves into the quest of man to discover God's will, and the diference between God's rules for man and His rules for Himself. There is plenty of questioning of one's own existence and one's faith in this book. The theology might not be for everyone, but it is interestingly played out by the story and the characters. I enjoyed this book, and I recomend it to people interested in religious fiction, readers of mystery novels, sci-fi fans, or anyone with a few hours to kill. I look forward to reading the sequel.
|
