Jennifer Foehner Wells
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The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell is a Game Changer

9/23/2014

2 Comments

 
The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1)The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was jaw-droppingly-stunning. It's been recommended to me for years. I should have picked it up sooner.

As I listened to this audio book (I'm a frequent audio listener and this narrator was among the very best I've ever heard) I thought to myself that this story would be heavily edited if published in today's market--neatly pared down--and while that may be true to a small degree, by the time I reached the climax of the story I knew that every tidbit of information had been there for a reason, building to that moment. Each essential nugget of information informed the apex and the denouement.

Emilio Sandoz, a Roman Catholic Priest in the order of the Society of Jesus, is a modern Job, tested to the brink of insanity. Except that Emilio isn't complacent. He questions a God that could fill him with such a feeling of spiritual grace and then push him to his limits and beyond. This isn't a spoiler, by the way. It's very clear from the beginning of the book that something terrible has happened to him.

This book was plotted by a literary genius. This book has weight. It will change you. Because the reveal at the end is so shatteringly unexpected...Russell has created a biological system and alien culture that are so plausible and yet so different from our own as to be casually inconceivable.

This story will linger with you. I believe it to be a modern classic.





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2 Comments
Joe
9/23/2014 10:34:54 am

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Jen; that you share my opinion of it being a truly "great" book is gratifying. 'Children of God' is one of the few follow-ups (I don't think of it as a sequel) that stand up to the original. It will not be a letdown.

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Jen link
9/23/2014 11:07:12 am

Yes, indeed. I'm so glad you recommended it to me. By that point, I'd heard the recommendation from my husband and a couple of friends. It was time. I'm really looking forward to reading Children of God.

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    Jennifer Foehner Wells

    I'm an author of the Space Opera variety.

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