| Plot Summary of The Sparrow |
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"In 2060, the sole survivor of an 8-person expedition to Rakhat, a planet in the Alpha Centauri system, returns to Earth. The expedition was cosponsored and financed by the Jesuits, and the order tucks him away in a hospital and then a spiritual retreat. The press has a field day because Father Sandoz apparently was found in a brothel and he killed a little alien girl the day of his discovery on Rakhat. _The Sparrow_ travels between the questioning his superiors put him through, his early service in his native Puerto Rico (around 2014-15), and the expedition itself (circa 2039), which included three other priests, a young astronomer, a physician, her engineer husband, and a former child prostitute turned computer expert and pilot. The author, born a Catholic and converted to Judaism, and possessor of advanced degrees in cultural, social, and biological anthropology, brings her entire past and education to bear in this highly intelligent, witty, and deeply moving story about faith, doubt, and the fatal errors of ethnocentrism on a stellar scale."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Sparrow |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 10%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 23.3%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 26.7%
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?
- science fiction story
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story
Yes
Plotlets:
- exploring a wondrous planet or phenomena
- generally friendly contact with alien(s)
- stranded on alien planet, fighting aliens to survive
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Religious overtones?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- religious figure
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male Alien
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Terrain
- Jungle
- Mountains
- Forests
A substantial portion of this book takes place on a non-Earth planetary body:
- inhabited by friendly aliens
- unfriendly aliens
- primitive aliens
- big overbuilt futuristic city
Takes place on Earth?
Yes
Planet outside solar system?
Yes
Style
Person?
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only)
- a fair amount of scientific explanation
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
- weird alien sex
- major character becomes a sex slave
How much dialogue?
- significantly more descript than dialog
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