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The Sparrow: A Novel
 
 
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The Sparrow: A Novel (Paperback)

by Mary Doria Russell (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (357 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 19.95
Price: CDN$ 14.56 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
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The Sparrow: A Novel + Children of God + A Thread of Grace
Total List Price: CDN$ 55.90
Price For All Three: CDN$ 40.80

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  • This item: The Sparrow: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell

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  • Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

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Product Details

Product Description

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.
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Customer Reviews

357 Reviews
5 star:
 (169)
4 star:
 (84)
3 star:
 (44)
2 star:
 (26)
1 star:
 (34)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (357 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars A HIGHLY INTELLIGENT TREATISE ON PERSONAL THEOLOGY - A TRUE CLASSIC, May 1 2008
By NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
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!
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5.0 out of 5 stars The story is strong - it inspired a musical journey, Sep 11 2007
By Malcolm C. Smith (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great characters, good plot, so-so ending, Feb 13 2006
This is something of a rarity among all the science fiction titles published every year: it's a highly intelligent work of literature. That said, plot still counts for something, and endings can make or break books. The fact that this remains a cult classic despite its uneven plot and weak denouement is due to the cast of vivid characters and the strength of ideas expressed, which (ironically) only serve to make the "what the...?" ending even more disappointing.

And those characters! One of the reviewers here said she would like to talk to the entire crew; hell, I want to go with them. (Although I don't want their typical fate at the end.) The depth of religious and philosophical discussions and ruminations nearly makes up for the other flaws, and sets this book well above standard sci-fi fare.

If the ending had been stronger, this would have been a five-star book.

Another intelligent new book for your consideration: An Audience for Einstein. Set in the near future, Mark Wakely's book chronicles the "rebirth" of a genius by questionable means, in a highly entertaining and surprisingly touching story that (like The Sparrow) will stay with you

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down.
This book grabs you and throws you into the world of M.D.R's imagination. My wife read it after I was done with it and had to put it down because she became so attached to the... Read more
Published on Dec 3 2004 by Paul J. Redmond

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
What a truly amazing book! I think it must be close to the best book I've ever read. Although it's classed as science fiction, it's better described as a book that examines the... Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004 by Soleil Sydney

3.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't finish it
I tried to read this book a few years ago, and I struggled just to get a quarter of the way through... Then I just put it down. Which is something I rarely ever do. Read more
Published on Jun 15 2004 by K. L. Obrien

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
A friend of mine who reads a ton recommended this book, and although I am not generally a fan of this type of book, I thought I would give it a try. I LOVED IT! Read more
Published on Jun 14 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books I've ever read
What an amazing book! Though superficially it could be classified as science fiction, this book defies genre. Read more
Published on May 24 2004 by M. Fairchild

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining reading
Not exactly sci-fi. Certainly not theology. A study of ethics and lessons of history? A little bit of all of these. Read more
Published on April 22 2004 by C. Myers

2.0 out of 5 stars But the characters are all so stupid
In years gone by the Jesuits travelled far and wide trying to convert civilisations to Christianity. Read more
Published on April 8 2004 by Tom Munro

2.0 out of 5 stars Dont waste your time
I found this book to be very dissapointing. The whole premise of the story is preposterous, many of the characters are highly annoying, and the ending is weird and disgusting... Read more
Published on Mar 25 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars A bird in the hand
This is one title I've known about for years. Intrigued by the book cover and the description, but somehow always steered myself away, most likely by the science fiction element... Read more
Published on Mar 23 2004 by Red Robin

4.0 out of 5 stars A very good, though slightly flawed, book
Reviewed by Richard Gray
http://www.rich-gray.com

Father Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit Priest, is a master linguist who has been ordered by his superiors from place to... Read more

Published on Feb 17 2004 by Richard C. Gray

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