When humans first make contact with a race from another world, who will be the first to go? Catholic priests, of course. At least, that’s what Mary Doria Russell would have us believe in “The Sparrow,” her first novel. I’ll admit, it makes sense. Let’s face it, as an international community, humanity has proven themselves very slow at doing anything. But a small, nimble and well-moneyed group like the Society of Jesus? They can whip up an interstellar mission in about a year, no strings attached.
Personally, I’m not sure that I’d want my entire species to be represented by a handful of Catholics. But I can think of worse representatives. Evangelical Christians, for example. But I digress… Russell was not a novelist before writing this book, and there are a few amateur passages sprinkled throughout the text. But there are also countless examples of elegant prose that show she probably made the right career move.
The real thing that I learned from reading this book is why my college roommate recommends it to everyone he ever meets. It’s the perfect book for him, really. It hits all of his interests: good writing, Catholocism, God, science fiction and sexual devience. But it turns out all of those things interest me as well.
I enjoyed the book for many reasons. It examins what God means to each of us. For some, God is a supreme, all-powerful superhero whose nose is in everybody’s business. For others, he’s a great character in story and song. (Seriously, the Book of Job? Brilliant.)
But “The Sparrow” is also an amazing work of science fiction, which would fit in just fine on a shelf next to any Bradbury or Asomov paperback. I’ll stop short of calling it the best book I’ve read this year, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone.
Next book, “Oleanna: A Play” by David Mamet.
[This article is part of the 26 Books project that I'm doing this year.]
I’m glad you liked it!
Thanks for letting the world know my husband has an interest in sexual deviance.
I also like humor and Young Frankenstein references. For the record.
i’ll have to look into it. but, being in high school, spare time for reading is hard to come by anymore. not to mention i’m currently reading Chuck Klosterman’s “IV”, which is actually pretty good. it’s an easy one to read, too, mostly because it’s a collection of his articles from SPIN and Esquire, and his pop culture humor is basically hilarious.
you should check it out, along with his “Killing Yourself To Live,” i’m positive you would enjoy them both.
also, thanks for the warning on Sam’s Town. I could have made the mistake of getting it. And you still need to send me The Mountain Goats and Beirut.
i did buy Beck’s new album, though. and, to be honest, you actually need to go to a Best Buy or Your Local Music Store and buy the whole thing to fully appreciate it. you create your own album artwork with the giant sheet of stickers it provides you, and it comes with a DVD with crazy music videos for each one of his songs. you should definitley check that out, too.
anyways, i’ll talk to you later, dude. my first day at Gamestop is Wednesday, which means i’ll be sitting around talking about video games for four and a half hours, and I’LL BE GETTING PAID FOR IT. yes!
later.