The Sparrow - 2

I finished reading The Sparrow, which Jesse wrote up a couple months ago. I figured I better make a new post rather than a comment, since the original Sparrow post rolled off the first page of the Blog into some semi-lost archive!

I liked this book better than Jesse seemed to - he described the plot very nicely, referring to the parallel stories told pro- and retrospectively, leading up to the reveal. Unlike Jesse, I was not disappointed in the reveal - rather, I was disappointed in the conclusion to the reveal! Without serious spoilers, it's sufficient to say that the main character, the Jesuit priest Emilio Sandoz, and his friends all experience the events leading up to their expedition to meet the alien species on a relatively nearby planetary system as a series of extraordinary "coincidences" that seem clearly to represent the will of God. These events nurture Sandoz' tentative faith, but his horrible experiences on the alien planet shatter it. After his return, some really likable members of The Society of Jesuits nurse him to some physical and emotional health, seeing his plight summarized in Matthew 10:29

Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.

I guess this says more about me than the book, but I found the shattering of Sandoz' faith more powerful and convincing than his semi-redemption. Still, I felt this book was very interesting and I liked grappling with this age-old question of why bad things happen to good people.

Jesse's review here

Lauren's review here