Awards

• Winner of Arthur C Clarke Award 1998
• Winner of Arthur C Clarke Award 1998.
• Winner of Arthur C. Clarke Award 1998
• Winner of Arthur C. Clarke Award 1998.
• Winner of Arthur C.Clarke Award 1998.

Overview

Beautifully written, at times unsettling, always thought-provoking novel that takes the reader on a journey to a distant planet - and to the centre of the human soul. 'The Sparrow is one of my favourite science fiction novels and it destroyed me in the best way when I read it. It is so beautifully written and the construction of the narrative is masterful' Emma Newman, author of Planetfall THE ACCLAIMED GENRE-DEFINING WINNER OF THE 1998 ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD Set in the 21st century - a number of decades from now - The Sparrow is the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and talented linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who - in response to a remarkable radio signal from the depths of space - leads a scientific mission to make first contact with an extra-terrestrial culture. In the true tradition of Jesuit adventurers before him, Sandoz and his companions are prepared to endure isolation, suffering - even death - but nothing can prepare them for the civilisation they encounter. Or for the tragic misunderstanding that brings the mission to a devastating end. Once considered a living saint, Sandoz returns alone to Earth horrifically maimed, both physically and spiritually, the mission's sole survivor - only to be blamed for the mission's failure and accused of heinous crimes. Written in clean, effortless prose and peopled with memorable characters who never lose their humanity or humour, The Sparrow is a powerful, haunting fiction - a tragic but ultimately triumphant novel about the nature of faith, of love and what it means to be 'human' and widely considered to be a classic of the genre.

Full Product Details

9780552997775

Table of Contents

Reviews

'One of those rare books that takes you to its heart and refuses to let go' -- Lorenzo Carcaterra, author of Sleepers 'Compulsive reading and may be the year's best science fiction novel' -- John Clute Mail on Sunday 'Brilliant first novel about the discovery of extraterrestrial life...Shades of Wells, Ursula Le Guin and Arthur C. Clarke, with just a dash of Edgar Rice Burroughs - and yet strikingly original' Kirkus Reviews 'One of the years's most powerful and disturbing books' The Times 'A parable about human life on Earth, with all its imperfections, failings, doubts, wisdom and erudition...The Sparrow is a startling, engrossing and moral work of fiction' -- Colleen McCullough

Brilliant first novel about the discovery of extraterrestrial life and the voyage of a party of Jesuit missionaries to Alpha Centauri. Russell lays down two narratives: One begins in 2059, in the aftermath of the mission; the other in 2019, when a young astronomer intercepts a transmission of haunting songs from Alpha Centauri. In the latter, a linguist and Jesuit priest named Emilio Sandoz swiftly organizes a group of Jesuits and civilian specialists to turn an asteroid into a spaceship. The ship will reach the singing planet, called Rakhat, in four years of passenger time, even though 17 years will pass on Earth. In the narrative beginning in 2059, therefore, the mission's only survivor, Sandoz himself, is only a decade older. But he is a broken man physically and spiritually. The mission began well: Rakhat was beautiful and bountiful, and the men and women from Earth lived peacefully alongside a gentle and dreamy race, rather like the eloi of H.G. Wells's The Time Machine, here called the runs. Then, inadvertently, the visitors improve the local diet, causing a surge in births among the Runa; suddenly, another, fiercer race appears to put things right. It seems that the Jana'ata raise the Runa like rabbits. The newborn are slain and eaten, as is the party from Earth, except for Sandoz, who is taken to the strange capitol city and sold into a brothel. There, he is raped repeatedly by the great poet who wrote the angelic songs that fetched the Jesuits in the first place. A startling portrait of an alien culture and of the nature of God as well, since, in his utter humiliation and in the annihilation of his spirit, Sandoz is reborn in faith. Shades of Wells, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Arthur C. Clarke, with just a dash of Edgar Rice Burroughs - and yet strikingly original, even so. (Kirkus Reviews)

'One of those rare books that takes you to its heart and refuses to let go' -- Lorenzo Carcaterra, Author Of Sleepers 'Compulsive reading and may be the year's best science fiction novel' -- John Clute Mail on Sunday 'Brilliant first novel about the discovery of extraterrestrial life...Shades of Wells, Ursula Le Guin and Arthur C. Clarke, with just a dash of Edgar Rice Burroughs - and yet strikingly original' Kirkus Reviews 'One of the years's most powerful and disturbing books' The Times 'A parable about human life on Earth, with all its imperfections, failings, doubts, wisdom and erudition...The Sparrow is a startling, engrossing and moral work of fiction' -- Colleen McCullough

Author Information

Mary Doria Russell is the multi-award-winning author of seven acclaimed novels. The science fiction classics The Sparrow and its acclaimed sequel, Children of God; the astonishing World War II thriller, A Thread of Grace, and Dreamers of the Day, a political romance set in Cairo in 1921. In Doc and Epitaph, she revisits the 'Wild West' mythology surrounding Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the Gunfight at the OK Corral, while The Women of the Copper Country tells the story of Annie Clements, 'America's Joan of Arc'. Mary holds a Ph.D. in biological anthropology from the University of Michigan. She and Don Russell have been happily married for an unusually high percentage high percentage of the years since 1970. They live in Cleveland, Ohio.

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