Review: The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell

Many people have told me that The Sparrow is a book I had to read, and since it's a book that deals with questions of how religious faith affects people's lives I knew they were right. I'd heard varying things about it and knew the basic premise, but that was it. In any case, I chose it as a book to make sure I read this year and I am so glad I did.

I had no idea it was such an utterly absorbing book. I started reading and didn't want to put it down, when I had to set it down to go to church or eat, I was dying to get back to it. It's the kind of book that's like an itch that must be scratched, I absolutely had to be reading it.

The Sparrow is told in two timelines. It's the story, primarily, of Emilio Sandoz who is a Jesuit priest. He goes to Rakhat, a newly discovered planet on a mission with some other Jesuit priests and specialists. Things, somehow, go horribly wrong. The story starts with a devastated and ruined Sandoz back on Earth surrounded by the authorities of his order trying to get his story of what happened. Some of them are cruel and impatient believing the worst, others more patient and compassionate with the very damaged man.

The story flips back and forth between Sandoz slowly revealing his story to the other priests of his order and the story of how he went to Rakhat, who was chosen to go, how they met, and why. This technique is very effective. In addition, I can imagine it's quite hard to accomplish. There are so many characters to get to know and stories to keep straight. Yet there isn't a moment of lag in this book, I loved the whole thing.

I loved this book and don't even know where to start with why. I loved the characters. The characterization is outstanding, these people felt real and fresh and funny and true. The kind of people so well drawn I wanted to know them. And I loved, loved, loved their relationship. It's a group of adults who have formed their own sort of family. No children, just people who genuinely love each other's company and support one anther. It's illustrated in so many ways, so beautifully throughout the book and it's hard not to envy this closeness. I mean, they all agreed to go off to another PLANET together! I think loving them is so important because it's essential to understanding why when Emilio Sandoz goes back to earth alone it's so utterly devastating, you read the narrative with a kind of dread, you know their fate even as you are falling in love with them.

I also found the storyline of going off to another planet to be very interesting. Russell has explained she was exploring the sort of judgement we put on people of history, as if we expect them to have been able to manage all of our ideas without our knowledge and technology. There was no new land to discover in our world though so what would be the equivalent? I thought of this often while reading, this group of people seeking to understand this new place went with the best of intentions, they had no idea what sort of consequences would occur.

But the central question of faith and its role was hard hitting for me. I grew up being taught God loved me and had a wonderful plan for my life. Despite the fact that the churches I attended growing up had an intellectual idea that choosing to follow God didn't mean your life would be easy, we still felt that God had a plan for us and meant good towards us. I have changed a lot in my theology over the years. I don't think being a Christian means I'm exempt from certain kinds of suffering, or that I'll know things are going to end up a certain way. I don't think God is going to tie things up in a nice tidy bow for me. The only promise I really believe I have from God is that I will never be alone. I may feel alone, but I won't be. It's impossible to look at the world and it's massive amounts of suffering and think there's a chance I might be exempt from starvation, violence, disease, or poverty.

Yet it's so easy when you believe in God to believe He is coordinating events. When things go well or as we'd like, it's easy to want to think that God is bestowing a favor upon us--that this is His plan. And perhaps sometimes it is. But if God is coordinating the good in our lives, it must also mean he's behind the suffering, the difficult times, the hardships. And we can believe He has a purpose in all of it (which I do though I don't expect to EVER know the reasons for it this side of heaven), but we have to be willing to accept that we might not ever know it and that it might not be about us. Or we can see God as hands-off, a deity who knows us intimately, but still lets us fall.

Sorry for the long tangent, but that's much of what The Sparrow explores. How does a person of religious faith interpret the events of their life--especially when they are doing what they are doing for the service of God? What weight does their belief have on their decisions and actions? It's a big question, and it's not necessarily just for one who believes. Lack of belief also informs a person's actions.

There are scenes in which Sandoz finds himself automatically thinking of God and trying to turn his mind away. This is something I have experienced....I don't know how not to believe. Even when I'm down or unsure or doubtful I believe in the midst of it all. God is always there, in my thoughts, in my heart.

The Sparrow is a haunting, thought provoking book about the very core of belief. It's not for the faint of heart, it's a book that will make you both fall in love and shatter your heart.

I do want to say that while this book explores questions of belief I think even if you have none it would be just as compelling, not all of the characters are of faith and the story is an interesting look at what could happen if we ever discover life on another planet. It's a book that raises questions and doesn't necessarily offer answers. Also, the book was published in 1996 and the events start in 2016...I'm not sure we'll have the technological advances Russell supposed we would have by then.

I suspect this book will stay with me for a long time, and I will probably read the sequel soon. And the title is perfect.

Rating: 5/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Profanity
Source of Book: paperbackswap
Publisher: Ballantine Books (Random House)

Review: Married with Zombies by Jesse Petersen

The entire premise of this book is impossible to resist, a sort of guide to marriage counseling through the eyes of the zombie apocalypse.

Sarah and Dave are having marriage problems and have been attending marriage counseling. Both are somewhat ready to throw in the towel but when they arrive at counseling, they notice everyone is missing. Upon going into their counselor's office, they see her feasting on the couple that goes in before them. And, well, the zombies have arrived.

The story then follows what Sarah and Dave do as zombies begin to take over their city of Seattle. And while they are forced together in this crisis, they begin to deal with some of their marriage issues.

Each chapter starts with a little marriage tip for the zombie apocalypse such as my favorite, "Put the small stuff into perspective. It's better to be wrong and alive than right but eating brains." And the book is really funny. While I might get in a little bit of trouble for saying this, it reminds me of the best of chick lit...a strong snarky first person female voice that is instantly likable and a pleasure to read. Another one of my favorite funny bits, when Sarah has to tell her neighbor she killed her zombieified boyfriend "I shifted, throughly uncomfortable with what I'd done. Hallmark didn't exactly made a card for this situation (well they do now, but not then) so I wasn't sure what to say to her so that she'd understand I hadn't done this out of spite."

Lest you think it's all fun and games, well it's not. It is a zombie apocalypse so there are some horrifying moments and LOTS of gore. Never enough tragedy to bring the tears I so dearly love to shed during most zombie books, but not all fun and games.

A very fun way to spend the afternoon and best part? Flip This Zombie, book 2, is out in January.

Rating: 4/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Profanity, lots of it. Gore. Zombies
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher
Publisher: Orbit

Review: Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

Imagine that some scientists are performing an experiment but things don't go as planned. All of the sudden, everyone in the world passes out and has a vision...of their lives twenty years in the future. The visions are less than three minutes long and they are returned to present consciousness. But the world is in chaos--since everyone passed out planes crash, cars crash, people on the operating table die due to doctor neglect. And no one knows what happened or why or what the visions mean.

Armed with some knowledge of their future selves, the characters are forced to make decisions about their present and to grapple with important questions such as...can the future be changed? What should they do with what they know? Should they replicate the experiment to gain more knowledge of the world in the future?

This is the premise of Flashforward. I decided to read this book when I learned it would be made into a television show. I always like to investigate the source material first! The book was published in the late 90's but is actually set in 2009 which made some things very interesting. For example, in Sawyer's 2009, bookstores are little more than coffee shops where you wait for your book to be printed on demand. We're not quite there yet! Also, blu-ray wasn't even mentioned and videos were still pretty present.

This is a science fiction book which means that there are a few sections where the scientific explanations drone on and on and my eyes glazed over. Seriously. But several different theories as to the nature of time and time travel are presented.

I found the first part of the book to be absolutely riveting as each character grapples with what their foreknowledge means. I loved the questions presented and spent a lot of time thinking about them. As I mentioned there were a few parts that got a bit draggy. And I really didn't like the ending much at all. But overall it was a very enjoyable read and I'm glad to have read it.

If you could see three minutes of your future 20 years down the road would you want to? I came to my own conclusion while reading the book but I want to hear your thoughts first!

Rating: 4/5
Things You Might Want to Know: Brief strong language and some sex
Source of Book: I bought it!