The first thing the reader needs to know about this novel is that it is quite slow for a sci-fi novel. As Sandoz recovers, he begins to tell the story of what really happened to him and to the expedition team sent to Rakhat, all while exploring questions about what it means to believe, and what it means to be human. The thread connecting those two points in time is Father Emilio Sandoz, SJ: the only survivor of a disastrous Jesuit-funded and -led mission to the distant planet of Rakhat. It jumps between two timelines: one set in 2019, and the other set in the 2060s. Therefore, it is not entirely surprising that I was drawn to Mary Doria Russell’s novel The Sparrow. Given Christianity’s global reach and its pervasive presence in Western history and culture (and therefore, thanks to colonialism, in other histories and cultures as well), having some knowledge and experience of it, even if I no longer practice it, is handy because of the kind of insight such knowledge and experience provide. And though there is plenty about Christianity’s approach to the world that I do not like, the philosophies it has produced and continues to espouse are still interesting. The history of Christianity fascinates me to no end, as does the art produced under its influence.

And do not get me started on the false sanctimony of certain individuals, who like to pretend they are superior to everyone else just because they attend Mass on a regular basis, but in fact are some of the most deeply unlikable people anyone could ever have the unfortunate privilege of knowing.Īnd yet, despite all of that, I am regularly drawn to it, as well. Nor does it help that the Church interferes with politics in this country, sometimes directly, but often indirectly through politicians and interest groups, who block everything from better sex-ed and access to contraceptives to a divorce bill under the guise of religious piety. There is also the heavily homophobic slant as well, which I dislike not for my sake, but for the sake of my friends. Most of the time, I am ill at ease with it: Christianity, after all, is a very misogynistic religion, and in the years since I graduated from high school I have decided that I want to have as little truck as possible with a religion that punishes me for having breasts and a uterus.

My relationship with religion – specifically, Roman Catholicism as practiced in the Philippines – is a little complicated. Trigger warnings for this novel can be found at the very bottom of this review.

Mary doria russell the sparrow movie