'There's an old Jewish story that says in the beginning God was everywhere and everything, a totality. Then there's the title, whose point is at last made explicitly: Indeed the first page tells the reader that the Jesuit mission to this new world will end disastrously, and a parallel is quickly suggested between the sufferings of the Jesuit Isaac Jogues among Mohawks in the Seventeenth Century and the Jesuit Emilio Sandoz on the planet Rakhat four hundred years later. As in Frank Herbert's Dune, the reader quite soon knows how the story will end. This is one of those rare books in which there are, intentionally, few surprises of external plot and action. Recently I mentioned this idea in conversation and discovered, to my delight, that someone had written just such a book. 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.Many years ago I came to the conclusion that if we ever made it to another planet outside our solar system we would find the Jesuits already there waiting for us. 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. Or for the tragic misunderstanding that brings the mission to a devastating end.

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. 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 extraterrestrial culture. It is so beautifully written and the construction of the narrative is masterful.'Įmma Newman, acclaimed author of Planetfall ' The Sparrow is one of my favourite science fiction novels and it destroyed me in the best way when I read it.

The sparrow mary doria russell summary