---
product_id: 119128905
title: "The Sparrow: A Novel (The Sparrow series Book 1)"
price: "$4.71"
currency: USD
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/119128905-the-sparrow-a-novel-the-sparrow-series-book-1
store_origin: US
region: United States of America
---

# The Sparrow: A Novel (The Sparrow series Book 1)

**Price:** $4.71
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Sparrow: A Novel (The Sparrow series Book 1)
- **How much does it cost?** $4.71 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/119128905-the-sparrow-a-novel-the-sparrow-series-book-1)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: to make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end. Praise for The Sparrow “A startling, engrossing, and moral work of fiction.” — The New York Times Book Review “Important novels leave deep cracks in our beliefs, our prejudices, and our blinders. The Sparrow is one of them.” — Entertainment Weekly “Powerful . . . The Sparrow tackles a difficult subject with grace and intelligence.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Provocative, challenging . . . recalls both Arthur C. Clarke and H. G. Wells, with a dash of Ray Bradbury for good measure.” — The Dallas Morning News “[Mary Doria] Russell shows herself to be a skillful storyteller who subtly and expertly builds suspense.” — USA Today

Review: God is in the Why - “Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing it.” “But the sparrow still falls.” The fascinating premise of Mary Doria Russell’s book attracted me, that once an extraterrestrial intelligence is discovered a few decades from now, the Society of Jesus (aka the Jesuits) is the first to send a contact mission. It struck me as an original approach to a first contact story and makes sense. While governments and private corporations jockeyed for advantage and tried to get out of their own way, the Jesuits quietly did what they have done for centuries. They set out to bring the knowledge of God to the aliens, or to find out whether such knowledge is universal among all God’s children. Beginning at the Arecibo telescope with a gawky SETI astronomer, the revelation that we’re not alone travels quickly among a circle of friends with extraordinary talents and connections. THE SPARROW is a character-driven story that draws the reader into the lives of people embarking on an historical expedition. I’m not Roman Catholic, but I appreciated the insight into the life of a Jesuit priest. Service, celibacy, and honor are explored alongside secular issues. This is not a ‘Christian’ book, per se, but more an exploration of how intelligent people approach the concept of why an omniscient and omnipotent God allows terrible things to happen, whether he simply watches atrocities or orchestrates them for some purpose hidden from us. This is a wonderfully-written thinker’s book that encourages the reader to examine the logic of whether God exists, what evil looks like, whether one society’s morality is more valid than another’s, how faith and science can overlap and complement one another, and too many other concepts to list in this review. Russell has an impressive background in anthropology, and it shows in this compulsively readable, thoroughly approachable speculation on how interaction with an alien culture impacts humanity in general, and one man’s faith in particular. Without giving too much away, I’ll say that the book begins with a disaster having taken place. Details of the events are shrouded in mystery, but one thing is clear: it’s not going to end well. I spent most of the book enjoying the intelligence and humor of the dialog and character interaction, falling in love with Russell’s characters, and living in a kind of dread for the hard ending I knew was coming. The main character says at some point in the story, “God is in the why.” This is reflected in the way the author chooses to structure the novel. We know the ending from the beginning of the book, but the book isn’t about what happens, it’s about why, and the effects of the ‘why’ on one physically, emotionally, and spiritually ravaged man. The profound sadness of this book lingers, along with grand ideas that I can keep and turn over in my mind like exotic artifacts. My conclusion: at the point where science can no longer answer there are mysteries we have to accept–assumptions that must be made–in order to go on living and working and loving. For some, I think, this is what is required to bridge the gaps in our knowledge that otherwise would lead to despair. Another word for this is faith.
Review: A tragic tale full of wonder, mystery, and the search for meaning. - Father Sandoz is the Job of the future, except he failed his test. From page one, we know him to be the sole survivor of a first contact mission to the planet Rakhat, four light-years away. His friends are all dead, his alien hosts were slaughtered, he is ill and maimed, and his spirit is broken. What had begun as a beautiful leap of faith ended in unimaginable misery, and he is judged culpable. This story, told from the beginning and the end simultaneously, slowly reveals how the Jesuit mission to Rakhat failed, but the meaning - or as the author would say, the poetry - lies in the why. The Sparrow is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It is a well-written and potent mix of science fiction and theology, highlighted by masterful world-building and peppered with shrewd banter. The characterization is thorough and compelling; the twists are unpredictable yet felicitous. It is truly incredible writing, and I may certainly read more by this author. However, I am conflicted about the choice of structure: starting us at the end. How could I allow myself to become attached to characters I knew would not survive? And yet, if I had to watch them all die one by one, without warning, I would have been appalled by the tragedy. As it is, I failed to connect with the characters and still found it to be a sad story. Amazing and stirring, but sad. As a parable, though, it is superb. It provides a powerful example of warped faith overstrained. Faith based on the law of sowing and reaping expects temporal rewards, is audacious enough to presume the mind of God, and is destined for disappointment. “... God will reach toward us if we reach toward Him ...” This is the root of the myopic “problem of evil” which has plagued religious faiths for millenia. The various responses to the “problem of evil” are named theodicy (vindication of providence). There are several such arguments in Christianity. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the answer is Karma, either from this life or another. Judaism has a soul-making theodicy: suffering is natural and provides growth opportunities for the sufferer as well as virtue exercises for their neighbors. However, my favorite theodicy is that of Alan Watts. ”When we examine our bloodstreams under a microscope we see there’s one hell of a fight going on. All sorts of microorganisms are chewing each other up. And if we got overly fascinated with our view of our own bloodstreams in the microscope we should start taking sides, which would be fatal. Because the health of our organism depends on the continuance of this battle. What is, in other words, conflict at one level of magnification is harmony at a higher level. Now could it possibly be, therefore, that we—with all our problems, conflicts, neuroses, sicknesses, political outrages, wars, tortures and everything that goes on in human life—are a state of conflict which can be seen in a larger perspective as a situation of harmony?” - Alan Watts, The Myopic View of the World

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #46,431 in Kindle Store ( See Top 100 in Kindle Store ) #92 in Literary Sagas #195 in U.S. Historical Fiction #335 in Historical Literary Fiction |

## Images

![The Sparrow: A Novel (The Sparrow series Book 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91UcChehDGL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ God is in the Why
*by S***L on February 26, 2014*

“Not one sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing it.” “But the sparrow still falls.” The fascinating premise of Mary Doria Russell’s book attracted me, that once an extraterrestrial intelligence is discovered a few decades from now, the Society of Jesus (aka the Jesuits) is the first to send a contact mission. It struck me as an original approach to a first contact story and makes sense. While governments and private corporations jockeyed for advantage and tried to get out of their own way, the Jesuits quietly did what they have done for centuries. They set out to bring the knowledge of God to the aliens, or to find out whether such knowledge is universal among all God’s children. Beginning at the Arecibo telescope with a gawky SETI astronomer, the revelation that we’re not alone travels quickly among a circle of friends with extraordinary talents and connections. THE SPARROW is a character-driven story that draws the reader into the lives of people embarking on an historical expedition. I’m not Roman Catholic, but I appreciated the insight into the life of a Jesuit priest. Service, celibacy, and honor are explored alongside secular issues. This is not a ‘Christian’ book, per se, but more an exploration of how intelligent people approach the concept of why an omniscient and omnipotent God allows terrible things to happen, whether he simply watches atrocities or orchestrates them for some purpose hidden from us. This is a wonderfully-written thinker’s book that encourages the reader to examine the logic of whether God exists, what evil looks like, whether one society’s morality is more valid than another’s, how faith and science can overlap and complement one another, and too many other concepts to list in this review. Russell has an impressive background in anthropology, and it shows in this compulsively readable, thoroughly approachable speculation on how interaction with an alien culture impacts humanity in general, and one man’s faith in particular. Without giving too much away, I’ll say that the book begins with a disaster having taken place. Details of the events are shrouded in mystery, but one thing is clear: it’s not going to end well. I spent most of the book enjoying the intelligence and humor of the dialog and character interaction, falling in love with Russell’s characters, and living in a kind of dread for the hard ending I knew was coming. The main character says at some point in the story, “God is in the why.” This is reflected in the way the author chooses to structure the novel. We know the ending from the beginning of the book, but the book isn’t about what happens, it’s about why, and the effects of the ‘why’ on one physically, emotionally, and spiritually ravaged man. The profound sadness of this book lingers, along with grand ideas that I can keep and turn over in my mind like exotic artifacts. My conclusion: at the point where science can no longer answer there are mysteries we have to accept–assumptions that must be made–in order to go on living and working and loving. For some, I think, this is what is required to bridge the gaps in our knowledge that otherwise would lead to despair. Another word for this is faith.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A tragic tale full of wonder, mystery, and the search for meaning.
*by J***N on December 30, 2020*

Father Sandoz is the Job of the future, except he failed his test. From page one, we know him to be the sole survivor of a first contact mission to the planet Rakhat, four light-years away. His friends are all dead, his alien hosts were slaughtered, he is ill and maimed, and his spirit is broken. What had begun as a beautiful leap of faith ended in unimaginable misery, and he is judged culpable. This story, told from the beginning and the end simultaneously, slowly reveals how the Jesuit mission to Rakhat failed, but the meaning - or as the author would say, the poetry - lies in the why. The Sparrow is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. It is a well-written and potent mix of science fiction and theology, highlighted by masterful world-building and peppered with shrewd banter. The characterization is thorough and compelling; the twists are unpredictable yet felicitous. It is truly incredible writing, and I may certainly read more by this author. However, I am conflicted about the choice of structure: starting us at the end. How could I allow myself to become attached to characters I knew would not survive? And yet, if I had to watch them all die one by one, without warning, I would have been appalled by the tragedy. As it is, I failed to connect with the characters and still found it to be a sad story. Amazing and stirring, but sad. As a parable, though, it is superb. It provides a powerful example of warped faith overstrained. Faith based on the law of sowing and reaping expects temporal rewards, is audacious enough to presume the mind of God, and is destined for disappointment. “... God will reach toward us if we reach toward Him ...” This is the root of the myopic “problem of evil” which has plagued religious faiths for millenia. The various responses to the “problem of evil” are named theodicy (vindication of providence). There are several such arguments in Christianity. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the answer is Karma, either from this life or another. Judaism has a soul-making theodicy: suffering is natural and provides growth opportunities for the sufferer as well as virtue exercises for their neighbors. However, my favorite theodicy is that of Alan Watts. ”When we examine our bloodstreams under a microscope we see there’s one hell of a fight going on. All sorts of microorganisms are chewing each other up. And if we got overly fascinated with our view of our own bloodstreams in the microscope we should start taking sides, which would be fatal. Because the health of our organism depends on the continuance of this battle. What is, in other words, conflict at one level of magnification is harmony at a higher level. Now could it possibly be, therefore, that we—with all our problems, conflicts, neuroses, sicknesses, political outrages, wars, tortures and everything that goes on in human life—are a state of conflict which can be seen in a larger perspective as a situation of harmony?” - Alan Watts, The Myopic View of the World

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An amazing, award-winning story well worth reading
*by B***L on May 14, 2019*

Like at least two others who have read and reviewed this book, I purchased it because I had read something else by Mary Doria Russell and had enjoyed it very much. Then I realized that it had been categorized as science fiction. I don't have a problem with science fiction but I also don't read it often and for some reason I hesitated to begin reading this. Still I eventually reached a point where I reached for it, determined to find out why this author wrote this form of story, when I had so enjoyed a WESTERN by her. And it pretty quickly became evident. It is a book on the future with its very beginnings apropos of today (and the early part of the book does indeed begin almost this year — what a shock!). Simply and most obviously, this is a book about the human spirit and the search that all of us seem to go through for a sense of place, of worth and meaning. So much more than I ever envisioned when I bought the book or began the book. The story kicks off in the year 2059 with a Jesuit priest who has been 'rescued' from a mission to the planet Rakhat. Remember that this is indeed the beginning of the book and as a plot will finish the story, but it really begins with a group of disparate people who slowly come together: the Jesuit Emilio Sandoz who has spent his career in the Society of Jesus, traveling the world as a linguist but never staying for very long until he returns to the place where he grew up, the small village of La Perla in Puerto Rico. It is there that he meets the others: A retired engineer and his physician wife; a technician working at a listening station seeking transmissions from other worlds and Sofia Mendez, an artificial intelligence specialist. They form strong bonds and relationships with each other and it is those ties that bind when the technician hears singing from a distant planet. He shares the discovery with his friends but it most strongly resonates with Sandoz, who has struggled with his faith but sees the songs as a sign that it is God's will that this group of people not only have come together for this moment but that it is for them to travel to the planet and learn about the creators of the songs. Needless to say, the book is told in flashbacks, the report that made it back to Earth and from Sandoz himself, who is the sole survivor of the trip, as a broken man barely holding together mentally, as well as physically. And it is to him to make sense of the trip and the experiences he faced. This is the main focus and what sets this book far from being just — if you can say that without demeaning the genre — science fiction. For ultimately this is a story about a man who in one of the characters words came very close to God, who felt the rapture of belief and then has his faith perhaps irreparably shattered by what happens during the trip he once thought was planned by God. It is what makes this so hard to write, to frame and give a true reflection to what this book is all about because whether we are believers or not, we feel and know what Emilio Sandoz is going through. As others have said this is really a philosophical novel. Nancy Pearl of "Library Journal" describes it as about the nature of good and evil and what happens when a man tries to do the right thing, for the right reasons and ends up causing incalculable harm. I agree. This is an amazing book and well worth all the honors that it has received. It's sometimes difficult reading. The story is haunting and beautiful and very sad.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/119128905-the-sparrow-a-novel-the-sparrow-series-book-1](https://www.desertcart.us/products/119128905-the-sparrow-a-novel-the-sparrow-series-book-1)

---

*Product available on Desertcart United States of America*
*Store origin: US*
*Last updated: 2026-09-18*