The Sparrow

By: Mary Doria Russell

Narrated by: David Colacci

A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end.

Praise for The Sparrow

“A startling, engrossing, and moral work of fiction.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Powerful . . . The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Provocative, challenging . . . recalls both Arthur C. Clarke and H. G. Wells, with a dash of Ray Bradbury for good measure.”—The Dallas Morning News

“[Mary Doria] Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense.”—USA Today

© 1996 by Mary Doria Russell. ℗ 1996 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

An interesting take on higher powers.

I listened to The Sparrow and immediately moved on to The Children of God. Enjoyed listening to both and following the adventure into the discovery of other intelligent live in the solar system. Many well developed and memorable characters with dialog which propelled the story forward to discover a world beyond our own. It has many political and societal issues woven into the story, if you pay close enough attention to catch the author’s attempts to make statements about the church, capitalism, politics, belief in a higher power, slavery and population control. Some of the characters switch from good to bad and back several times during each book. These are novels that can make you listen for a while and then think about how this effects our present, our past and our future, for just as long. I found myself often stopping to contemplate these issues before continuing on with the story. If you have two credits and want several hours of intelligent novels, by all means get The Sparrow and The Children of God. (please note, you don’t need to get COG, but you really must start with The Sparrow. I don’t think you would understand near as much of COG without first listening to The Sparrow.)

I didn't want it to end...

MDR has a gift for setting big theological questions in the context of vibrant characters who came to life with deep humanity as she wove personal journeys into THE quest.
Her eye for detail & her ear for speech both alien & human made her book rich indeed
The narrator added color while not inserting himself...a truly humble blessing

Haunting

3yrs after listening to it, I still find the thought of this book unsettling, yet I can't help but keep coming back to it. This book has made me laugh and cry...

Who knew sci-fi and religion could come together so well without feeling forced?!

I'm glad someone told me about this book. It has become one of my favorite pieces.

Struggled a long time, but finished

Lots of questions many have asked over the years, and many more that are explored. In the end, I'm glad I stuck it out, but it was the last hour where everything happened.

Deeply Layered Magic

prepare to see the Catholic Church as you have never imagined it and perhaps even find some compassion for it