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A review by znnys
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
5.0
For the most part, I found this book engrossing and beautifully written. It was difficult to put down - the author does a fantastic job at pacing mystery and enticing her audience to keep reading. However, it's also incredibly haunting and I'm not sure how likely I'd be to recommend it to someone. Not without giving some major trigger warnings first.
That said, I felt like the last 50 or so pages were incredibly rushed.
I understand (and am honestly grateful) that some details towards the end were better left without much detail, but it was frustrating to me that there's a significant amount of thought and prose gone into Alan Pace's death (arguably the least developed of the entire team), but the subsequent deaths are more or less glossed over - especially those of Sofia and Anne, who felt more or less like secondary protagonists considering how often the book was written from their perspective. You're told everyone but Emilio dies from the beginning, but it's frustrating to have it done in such an abrupt fashion. I felt like I got to know and like these characters, and they weren't even given the dignity of deaths that felt like closure.
That, I think, frustrated me the most, though it didn't detract from the overall emotional turmoil I felt by the book's end. As I said before, I'm not sure if I could recommend it, but it's given me a lot to think about - in terms of religion, and in terms of what chaos could erupt from a simple, and even benevolent act.
That said, I felt like the last 50 or so pages were incredibly rushed.
I understand (and am honestly grateful) that some details towards the end were better left without much detail, but it was frustrating to me that there's a significant amount of thought and prose gone into Alan Pace's death (arguably the least developed of the entire team), but the subsequent deaths are more or less glossed over - especially those of Sofia and Anne, who felt more or less like secondary protagonists considering how often the book was written from their perspective. You're told everyone but Emilio dies from the beginning, but it's frustrating to have it done in such an abrupt fashion. I felt like I got to know and like these characters, and they weren't even given the dignity of deaths that felt like closure.
That, I think, frustrated me the most, though it didn't detract from the overall emotional turmoil I felt by the book's end. As I said before, I'm not sure if I could recommend it, but it's given me a lot to think about - in terms of religion, and in terms of what chaos could erupt from a simple, and even benevolent act.