A review by notesurfer
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Sparrow is a character-driven anthropological science fiction story in the vein of Ursula LeGuin. It's a book that describes the fullness of human experience - not on an individual level, but as an unweighted average coalesced into a few choice representatives. It's a book about the indifference of the universe, and the way that human beings counteract that indifference by filtering events through a lens of personalization. It is exquisite and poignant; brutal and beautiful. Russell does an amazing job of depicting a world without God while simultaneously showing the incredible value of faith. This is not the fun first-contact adventure I expected, but I fell in love with the characters and Russell's capacity for illustration. Her prose is intense and captivating and I will definitely be seeking out more of her work.