The Sparrow: A Novel (The Sparrow Series)

“Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing it.” “But the sparrow still falls.” The fascinating premise of Mary Doria Russell’s book attracted me, that once an extraterrestrial intelligence is discovered a few decades from now, the Society of Jesus (aka the Jesuits) is the first to send a contact mission. It struck me as an original approach to a first contact story and makes sense. While governments and private corporations jockeyed for advantage and tried to get out of their own way, the Jesuits quietly did what they have done for centuries. They set out to bring the knowledge of God to the aliens, or to find out whether such knowledge is universal among all God’s children. Beginning at the Arecibo telescope with a gawky SETI astronomer, the revelation that we’re not alone travels quickly among a circle of friends with extraordinary talents and connections. THE SPARROW is a character-driven story that draws the reader into the lives of people embarking on an historical expedition. I’m not Roman Catholic, but I appreciated the insight into the life of a Jesuit priest. Service, celibacy, and honor are explored alongside secular issues. This is not a ‘Christian’ book, per se, but more an exploration of how intelligent people approach the concept of why an omniscient and omnipotent God allows terrible things to happen, whether he simply watches atrocities or orchestrates them for some purpose hidden from us. This is a wonderfully-written thinker’s book that encourages the reader to examine the logic of whether God exists, what evil looks like, whether one society’s morality is more valid than another’s, how faith and science can overlap and complement one another, and too many other concepts to list in this review. Russell has an impressive background in anthropology, and it shows in this compulsively readable, thoroughly approachable speculation on how interaction with an alien culture impacts humanity in general, and one man’s faith in particular. Without giving too much away, I’ll say that the book begins with a disaster having taken place. Details of the events are shrouded in mystery, but one thing is clear: it’s not going to end well. I spent most of the book enjoying the intelligence and humor of the dialog and character interaction, falling in love with Russell’s characters, and living in a kind of dread for the hard ending I knew was coming. The main character says at some point in the story, “God is in the why.” This is reflected in the way the author chooses to structure the novel. We know the ending from the beginning of the book, but the book isn’t about what happens, it’s about why, and the effects of the ‘why’ on one physically, emotionally, and spiritually ravaged man. The profound sadness of this book lingers, along with grand ideas that I can keep and turn over in my mind like exotic artifacts. My conclusion: at the point where science can no longer answer there are mysteries we have to accept–assumptions that must be made–in order to go on living and working and loving. For some, I think, this is what is required to bridge the gaps in our knowledge that otherwise would lead to despair. Another word for this is faith.

Father Sandoz is the Job of the future, except he failed his test. From page one, we know him to be the sole survivor of a first contact mission to the planet Rakhat, four light-years away. His friends are all dead, his alien hosts were slaughtered, he is ill and maimed, and his spirit is broken. What had begun as a beautiful leap of faith ended in unimaginable misery, and he is judged culpable. This story, told from the beginning and the end simultaneously, slowly reveals how the Jesuit mission to Rakhat failed, but the meaning - or as the author would say, the poetry - lies in the why. The Sparrow is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It is a well-written and potent mix of science fiction and theology, highlighted by masterful world-building and peppered with shrewd banter. The characterization is thorough and compelling; the twists are unpredictable yet felicitous. It is truly incredible writing, and I may certainly read more by this author. However, I am conflicted about the choice of structure: starting us at the end. How could I allow myself to become attached to characters I knew would not survive? And yet, if I had to watch them all die one by one, without warning, I would have been appalled by the tragedy. As it is, I failed to connect with the characters and still found it to be a sad story. Amazing and stirring, but sad. As a parable, though, it is superb. It provides a powerful example of warped faith overstrained. Faith based on the law of sowing and reaping expects temporal rewards, is audacious enough to presume the mind of God, and is destined for disappointment. “... God will reach toward us if we reach toward Him ...” This is the root of the myopic “problem of evil” which has plagued religious faiths for millenia. The various responses to the “problem of evil” are named theodicy (vindication of providence). There are several such arguments in Christianity. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the answer is Karma, either from this life or another. Judaism has a soul-making theodicy: suffering is natural and provides growth opportunities for the sufferer as well as virtue exercises for their neighbors. However, my favorite theodicy is that of Alan Watts. ”When we examine our bloodstreams under a microscope we see there’s one hell of a fight going on. All sorts of microorganisms are chewing each other up. And if we got overly fascinated with our view of our own bloodstreams in the microscope we should start taking sides, which would be fatal. Because the health of our organism depends on the continuance of this battle. What is, in other words, conflict at one level of magnification is harmony at a higher level. Now could it possibly be, therefore, that we—with all our problems, conflicts, neuroses, sicknesses, political outrages, wars, tortures and everything that goes on in human life—are a state of conflict which can be seen in a larger perspective as a situation of harmony?” - Alan Watts, The Myopic View of the World

The ending is horrific and not for the faint of heart - cannot exaggerate this. Yet everything fits together with great deftness and delicacy. It's difficult to describe a book that weaves together so many disparate scientific fields seamlessly, with unexpected characters full of pathos, in a delicate puzzle. Fair warning, the first 20-40% is terribly slow and then it explodes! Absolutely phenomenal past that and worth the investment.

Ich hatte das Buch second hand bestellt. Ich wusste nicht so ganz was man bei einer Gebrauchtversion erwarten kann aber wurde positiv überrascht. Es kam in sehr guter Verfassung an obwohl es schon deutlich oft gelesen wurde. Ich habe noch einen Zettel in den Seiten gefunden, der von der Mutter oder dem Vater vergessen wurde rauszunehmen: Es ist ein Grundschul Englisch Test ihres/seines Sohnes, sehr süß finde ich also macht es mir natürlich nichts aus. Wenn man dem Klebezettel auf dem Buchrücken, dem durchsichtigen Umschlag und dem Stempel auf der ersten Seite trauen darf ist das Buch davor wahrscheinlich in einer Bibliothek auszuleihen gewesen. Das Buch kam außerdem im angemessenen Zeitrahmen an. Alles in allem eine sehr interessante Bestellung und ich bin mehr als zufrieden mit dem Buch (mit dem ganzen drum herum aber mit dem Inhalt noch viel mehr).

Very rarely books move me to a harrowing scale of profound sadness, hollow and dread, and leaves me with a devastating ache of numbness and void. Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow does everything and more. What a great start to reading in 2026.

This is one of the few books that I have read in recent months that I have found difficultt o put down and yet did not want it to end. The story has stayed with me and I find myself returning to some of its themes. Russlee employs a science fiction background to explore themes of friendship, belief, trust, powere and accepted conventions to an effective degree. Providing one is able to suspend disbelief regarding the means of interstelllar travel ( using adapted asteroids) then all else becomes believable and a challenging to read. The key character - Father Emilio Sandoz - is a jesuit priest with a skill in languages and conflict regarding his postion in the priesthood. His early life has mirrored the jesuit philosopy of evangelization and exploration but by he time the novel begins doubst have begin to arise. Responding to a signal from a planet ( Rakhat) he and a small group of people set forth on what can be seen as a 'mission' to explore the source of the signal. Events rapidly unravel espcially when contact is made with the indigenous population which had, over the centuries, evolved into two distinct groups and a stable society but one whose practices are unethical to the mission group. The loss of the original party, the misunderstandings that arise especially regarding contact with the ruling Ja'anata and the struggle Emilio Sandoz undergoes regarding his belief in a god and his postion in the jesuit order are beautifully told and I am still mulling over some of the points to come out of the book. There is no facile redemption in this book and the ending is uncomfortable. I would suggest, also, reading " Children of God" which is essentiallya sequel and in whihc many of the unfinshed threads of the first book are bought together. Also not an easy read but worthy of another 5 stars

ワーナーブラザーズがこの小説の映画化権を獲得し、ブラッド・ピットが共同製作・出演予定というニュースを知って、読んでみました。ミーハー根性丸出し。 2059年、イエズス会が計画した惑星Rakhatの探索が無惨な失敗に終わり、心身に深い傷を負った唯一の生還者エミリオ・サンドス神父は頑なに沈黙し続け、信仰を捨てようとしている――という興味をそそられる導入部で始まる物語は、Rakhatとの最初の接触から探索員たちが旅立つまでを描く2019年、Rakhatへ向かう（地球時間で）約18年の旅、Rakhatでの4年間の出来事が交錯し、神の名の許に異星を訪れた地球人が彼の地とその人々に何をもたらし、何が起きたかが次第に明らかになっていきます。 マタイ伝の一節からの引用であるタイトルを始め、キリスト教に関係する用語や固有名詞が数多く登場しますが、終盤のサンドス神父の凄惨な告白に至るまでのスリリングな展開、やや類型的ながらも個性豊かな登場人物たちの示唆に富んだ思索と会話の妙には、私のような無宗教者でも静かな感動が訪れる結末まで飽きることなく惹きつけられました。 キリスト教とイエズス会の辿った歴史を彷彿とさせるエピソードや暗喩は、クリスチャンの読者にはことさら興味深いものと思われます。 絶望の果てに一条の光を見出しかけたサンドス神父に再び試練が訪れることを予感させるラストシーンは、続編 "Children of God" に繋がっていくようです。 さて、映画化が実現したら、ブラピの役は何だろう？残念ながら、サンドス神父はイメージが違うか。いずれにしても楽しみです。