The Sparrow
by Mary Doria Russell
About the book…
The Sparrow takes you on a journey
to a distant planet and to the center of the human soul. It is the
story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who
leads a twenty-first-century scientific mission to a newly discovered
extraterrestrial culture. Sandoz and his companions are prepared to
endure isolation, hardship and death, but nothing can prepare them for
the civilization they encounter, or for the tragic misunderstanding
that brings the mission to a catastrophic end. Once considered a
living saint, Sandoz returns alone to Earth physically and spiritually
maimed, the mission's sole survivor--only to be accused of heinous
crimes and blamed for the mission's failure.
In clean, effortless prose and with captivating flashes of wit,
Russell creates memorable characters who navigate a world of exciting
ideas and disturbing moral issues without ever losing their humanity
or humor. Both heartbreaking and triumphant, and rich in literary
pleasures great and small, The Sparrow is a powerful and
haunting book. It is a magical novel, as literate as The Name of
the Rose, as farsighted as The Handmaid's Tale and as
readable as The Thorn Birds.
About the author…
Mary Doria Russell received her B.A. in
Cultural Anthropology from the University of Illinois-Urbana, her M.A. in
Social Anthropology from Northeastern University, and her Ph.D. in
Biological Anthropology from the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor. In the
process of earning her degrees, Russell studied linguistics, genetics,
anatomy, archaeology, and geology--all of which have found their way into
her critically acclaimed debut novel.
A recent convert to Judaism, Russell has
nevertheless maintained a strong connection with the Catholic education of
her childhood. Asked why she created such a detailed look at faith in a
higher power and religion in her debut novel, Russell explains, "I
wanted to evaluate, as an adult, issues that had lain dormant for me since
adolescence, to study the religion of my youth, to revisit the source of my
values and ethics. That's why I chose to write about men who are
collectively among the most admirable and best educated of Catholic priests,
the Jesuits. Writing The Sparrow allowed me to weigh the risks and
the benefits of a belief in God, to examine the role of religion in the
lives of many people."
Mary Doria Russell lives in Cleveland,
Ohio, ("and likes it very much, thank you") with her husband, Don,
and their son, Daniel. She has also published the sequel to The Sparrow,
titled Children of God.
Discussion Questions:
1. How do faith, love, and the role of God in the world drive the plot of
this story? One reviewer characterized this book as "a parable about
faith--the search for God, in others as well as Out There." Do you
agree? If so, why?
2. This story takes place from the years 2019 to 2060. The United States
is no longer the predominant world power, having lost two trade wars with
Japan, which is now supreme in both space and on Earth. Poverty is rampant.
Indentured servitude is once more a common practice, and "future
brokers" mine ghettos for promising children to educate in return for a
large chunk of their lifetime income. Does
this sound like a “better” world than the one of Rakhat?
3. We've always viewed Earth, and human beings, as the center of the
universe. Will that still be the case if we discover alien life forms? How
will such a discovery change theology? Does God love us best? Will such a
discovery confirm the existence of God or cause us to question his existence
at all?
4. If, sometime within the next century, we hear radio signals from a
solar system less than a dozen light years away from our own, do you think
humankind would mount an expedition to visit that place? Who do you think
might lead such an expedition? If you had to send a group of people to a
newly discovered planet to contact a totally unknown species, whom would you
choose? Is the trip to Rakhat a scientific mission or a religious one?
5. The Sparrow tells a story by interweaving two time
periods--after the mission to Rakhat and before. Do you think this makes the
story more interesting and easier to follow or more difficult to follow? How
does this story differ from other stories you have read?
6. Why do you think Sandoz resists telling the story of what happened on
Rakhat?
7. A basic premise of this story is an evaluation of the harm that results
from the explorer's inability to assess a culture from the threshold of
exploration. Do you see any parallels between the voyage of the eight
explorers on the Rakhat mission and the voyages of other explorers from past
history--Columbus, Magellan, Cortez, and others--who inaccurately assessed
the cultures they discovered?
8. One of the mainstays of the Star Trek universe is the "prime
directive" which mandates the avoidance of interference in alien
cultures at all costs. Would the "prime directive" have changed
the outcome of events on Rakhat?
9. In an interview, the author said, "I wanted readers to look
philosophically at the idea that you can be seduced by the notion that God
is leading you and that your actions have his approval." What do you
think she means by that? In what way was Emilio Sandoz seduced by this
notion?
10. The discoverers of Rakhat seem to be connected by circumstances too odd
to be explained by anything but a manifestation of God's will. Do you think
it was God's will that led to the discovery of and mission to Rakhat, as
Sandoz initially believes? If that's the case, how could God let the
terrible aftermath happen?
11. How is Emilio Sandoz's faith tested on Rakhat? One reviewer suggests
that in his utter humiliation and in the annihilation of his spirit, Sandoz
is reborn in faith. Do you agree? Consider Sandoz's dilemma on page 394. Did
God lead the explorers to Rakhat--step by step--or was Sandoz responsible
for what happened? If God was responsible for bringing the explorers to
Rakhat, does that mean that God is vicious?
12. Why do you think it's so important to Emilio to stand by his vow of
celibacy when he so obviously loves Sofia Mendez?
13. The Jesuits saw so many of their fellows martyred all over the world
throughout history. Why aren't they more sympathetic in dealing with Sandoz--a
man victimized by his faith?
Questions courtesy of Random House
