The Sparrow

By: Mary Doria Russell

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: To make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end.

©2008 Mary Doria Russell (P)2008 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

“A startling, engrossing, and moral work of fiction.” (The New York Times Book Review)

“Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“Powerful...The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

Spiritual Hell and Back ... Across Light Years

In The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell builds characters with more depth than one typically finds in most science fiction. She builds tension well through contrasting before and after cut backs in time. From the beginning, you know the basics of the horrible tragedy Emilio experiences, but you don't know how he got there. The theological questions raised are profound but entirely personal. My only downtick is that the final crisis occurs all off stage, so to speak. I don't necessarily want all the brutal details, but after coming to love the characters after many hours of listening, the ending leaves them somehow losing their personalities in how Russell closes the loop. I wanted to see them through to the end.

David Colacci's voices and pacing are superb, and he had many personalities to deal with. He was distinctive but not forced.

Gorgeous, heartbreaking, complex and triggering

If you could sum up The Sparrow in three words, what would they be?

Complex, sorrowful, fascinating

What other book might you compare The Sparrow to and why?

In tone, it's very like Birds Without Wings - not just for the bird metaphor (which is unrelated, really), but for the descriptions of horrific things and beautiful things in such warm tones that you feel like you are there with the good, and the bad is wrapped in just enough distance that it's bearable.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite is the big reveal of the ET signal at the telescope. There is so much joyous energy and excitement that finally comes to a head there.

Any additional comments?

The last hour or so of this discuss, in some detail, some rather graphic rape. It's hard to listen to, and could be very triggering if that's a concern for you.

Wow.

Any additional comments?

Perhaps one of the most surprising pieces of fiction I've encountered. This one keeps you engaged and then stays with you for months after you've left it.

great story, audio issues

this is a great story with a philosophical twist. I liked the story, except for the way characters were managed toward the end.
what drove me nuts as a listener was the narrator dropping his voice at times, as the character was expected and making the words inaudible. I spent too much time with my fingers on the volume & rewind buttons. It just wasn't fun listening like that! I almost quit, but the story kept me trying.

Ehh

The book is great, but the audiobook does not follow the story line very well. It will skip one part, then later go back to the part it skipped.

The Sparrow

Such a great read, I believe the narration enhances the experience, I suggest this book to anyone looking for depth and understanding in the universe

GREAT BOOK

first time i am compelled to write a review. i read the Sparrow twice before i purchased the audio version. which i enjoyed tremendously. Ms. Doria Russel's understanding and description of far reaching and sometimes tragic consequences of introducing seemingly small well intended intelligently thought out things can have on new cultures.

Only mildly interesting - religious

I bought this book in large part because the reviews were so positive. One reviewer mentioned that the religious overtones could be overlooked. But in my view this is entirely a book about religion and god. I liked parts of it. The character development was thorough. And the description of the culture on the planet they landed on was pretty thorough. But the book wasn’t a page turner. I had no trouble putting it down for long periods. I wasn’t put off by the religion but it was always present. I don’t highly recommend this book but I also don’t highly not recommend it. It was moderately interesting. It might be more interesting for those with religious tendencies.

A Catholic, a Jew and Atheist couple board a ship

This is a well written, slow moving first contact story that is not written like a sci-fi book. It became a science fiction book because there was no first contact stories left to have on Earth. The only technology used that we don't have is space mining. It's about Earth discovering radio signals from another planet. Poised with indecision, our governments can do nothing. The Jesuits of the Catholic Church sell off their assets to send a mission to the aliens.

I read the author say that she avoided talking about the technology. A call was a call. A message a message. How it worked isn't important. Her way of describing the use and not the technology makes this book age well.

Ultimately, this is a book about being human: It's about success and failure. It's about making mistakes while trying to do good. It's about finding God, it's about losing faith. It's about love and friendship.

It's more philosophical and human than sci-fi, neither an easy read or a hard one.

A good book

Imaginative book that constantly skips back and forth like a rubber band. It's detailing to every single article of clothing and building sets the stage to the minds eye but gets seriously boring when having to listen to it constantly in the book.
I liked the story, I didn't like the ending.