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From Amazon.com
In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question the meaning of being "human." When the lone survivor of the expedition, Emilio Sandoz, returns to Earth in 2059, he will try to explain what went wrong... Words like "provocative" and "compelling" will come to mind as you read this shocking novel about first contact with a race that creates music akin to both poetry and prayer.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
An enigma wrapped inside a mystery sets up expectations that prove difficult to fulfill in Russell's first novel, which is about first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. The enigma is Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit linguist whose messianic virtues hide his occasional doubt about his calling. The mystery is the climactic turn of events that has left him the sole survivor of a secret Jesuit expedition to the planet Rakhat and, upon his return, made him a disgrace to his faith. Suspense escalates as the narrative ping-pongs between the years 2016, when Sandoz begins assembling the team that first detects signs of intelligent extraterrestrial life, and 2060, when a Vatican inquest is convened to coax an explanation from the physically mutilated and emotionally devastated priest. A vibrant cast of characters who come to life through their intense scientific and philosophical debates help distract attention from the space-opera elements necessary to get them off the Earth. Russell brings her training as a paleoanthropologist to bear on descriptions of the Runa and Jana'ata, the two races on Rakhat whose differences are misunderstood by the Earthlings, but the aliens never come across as more than variations of primitive earthly cultures. The final revelation of the tragic human mistake that ends in Sandoz's degradation isn't the event for which readers have been set up. Much like the worlds it juxtaposes, this novel seems composed of two stories that fail to come together. BOMC, QPB and One Spirit Book Club selections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A HIGHLY INTELLIGENT TREATISE ON PERSONAL THEOLOGY - A TRUE CLASSIC,
By NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER)
This review is from: The Sparrow: A Novel (Paperback)
Theology can become a distant logical exercise of dry doctrine and easy theoretical conclusions. When it comes down to the wet choices of real life most such theoretical Theology is found wanting as it can offer only limited answers. This is Theology of the other kind, the real one.
Mary Doria Russell has created a highly intelligent story: what would the story of a future saint be? Say, a Jesuit spearheading an exploratory mission to an alien civilization as a linguist of unique abilities; a former outcast that found his true calling as a man of the Cloth and God's face in all the hungry he fed and all the orphans he sheltered and all the lost he bough back from desperation. And then God asked for more. Much more. Is God real or a mere human construct? Can Faith survive anything? This is one of those books that stays with you for ever. Read THE SPARROW first, CHILDREN OF THE GOD later in order to enjoy them both more. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story is strong - it inspired a musical journey,
By
This review is from: The Sparrow: A Novel (Paperback)
I found the book to be very strong, in fact all of the members of our band Metaphor read it and decided to write and record a concept CD or rock opera, based on the book! We got the author's permission, and voila, it's The Sparrow by Metaphor. A great complement to the book, you can hear samples at metaphor.org
So, it's an absolutely inspiring, disturbing, and thought provoking book.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Sound familiar?,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Sparrow: A Novel (Paperback)
Father Ruiz-Sanchez was a dedicated man--a priest who was also a scientist, and a scientist who was also a human being. He found no insoluble conflicts in his beliefs or his ethics until he was sent to Lithia. There he came upon a race of aliens--reptilian in form--who were admirable in every way except for their total reliance on cold reason; they were incapable of faith and belief.On Lithia, Father Ruiz-Sanchez also found a scientific riddle, and he was presented with an ethical problem that reached across two worlds! Father Ruiz-Sanchez was then torn in a struggle between the teachings of his faith, the teachings of his science, and the inner promptings of his humanity., There was only one solution. He had to accept an ancient and unforgivable heresy--and in accepting that heresy, he risked the futures of both worlds! This is the promotional "blurb" from the back cover of book published in 1958. The book? It's called "A Case of Conscience" by James Blish. Is it better than the sparrow? By leaps and bounds. So is the Sparrow original? Hardly. Is the Sparrow a good book on it's own merits? No, it's science is flawed, it's world building clumsy and it's pacing is horrendous. For a fine example of religous agonizing over the nature of God's seeming indifference read the short story "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke or the afforementioned novel by Blish. The Sparrow is quite simply an altogether unoriginal and dreadfully executed work.
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