Take Me To Your Leader, Bookworms!
I know, I know. Cheap alien joke. I work with what I’ve got stored in the ol’ gray matter, and sometimes that ain’t much. Terrible jokes aside, today marks the halfway check in point for The Sparrow
The Sparrow
I’m finding all the Jesuit stuff rather fascinating, too. I typically avoid discussing religion because it always turns into A THING, but having been raised Catholic, I’m connecting with this story in ways I didn’t expect. Characters are having crises of faith all over the place and I just want to jump into the pages and give them hugs! It’s refreshing because though the religious aspects are presented with a hefty dose of skepticism, I haven’t found it to be disrespectful. Irreverent, maybe, but never mean-spirited. Some of the lines are downright cracking me up, too, especially when the characters get all philosophical. Here’s one of the many reasons I love me some Anne:
Faced with the Divine, people took refuge in the banal, as though answering a cosmic multiple-choice question: If you saw a burning bush, would you (a) call 911, (b) get the hot dogs, or (c) recognize God? A vanishingly small number of people would recognize God, Anne had decided years before, and most of them had simply missed a dose of Thorazine.
Seriously, how could I not be loving this book? I can’t wait to tackle the rest of this bad boy. I’ll be in touch with a wrap up post in a couple of weeks.
Talk to me, Bookworms. Do you ever start a book slowly only to have it grow on you like gangbusters?
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Shannon @ River City Reading
I don’t think you’re alone in thinking the book had a slow start. I know I struggled with it in the beginning and I’ve heard several others say the same thing. I flew through the last third, though, because I was SO desperate to know what happened. Hope you enjoy the rest of the ride!
Words For Worms
I’m taking a little break from it to sneak in some Diversiverse picks, but I’m torn. Just knowing how tragically it ends (thanks to heavy foreshadowing) has me biting my nails at every setback!
Leah @ Books Speak Volumes
I think I felt the same way at the start; it was a little bit slow at the beginning, but once it got going I couldn’t put it down.
I’m not religious, but I went to a Jesuit college, so I was really interested by that connection to this book.
Words For Worms
Glad to hear it wasn’t just me!
Hobbie DeHoy
I read The Sparrow probably sixteen years ago, and I did enjoy it a lot. The bit of dialogue that stayed with me the most was when the academic couple were splitting a gut laughing because they actually believed that the rhythm method worked. I guess this says something about me, but I’m sure I don’t know what. I heard Mary Doria Russell speak at a university banquet, and she was really very funny. If you ever have a chance to hear her speak, I’d recommend it for sure!
Words For Worms
LOL, ah yes. The rhythm method. Creating skeptics since time eternal! I would love to hear her speak, though I doubt she’ll be coming to my cornfield any time soon.
Trish
Hey, who gives and eff about an Oxford Comma! (now I’ll have Vampire Weekend stuck in my head the rest of the afternoon).
Back on topic. Yes, hugs all around. Yes, to Anne’s dinner parties. Yes to the laughs and wanting to know ALL THE THINGS (though I admit I also kind of want to put this one in the freezer because I DON’T WANT TO KNOW).
It took me a good 40 pages to get into the book and then I had to go back and re-read some of the sections to get a grasp on the characters, but holy smokes is this book good. Glad you’re enjoying it too!
Words For Worms
YES! I’m with you on half wanting to put it in the freezer. I mean, with the back and forth timeline I KNOW it’s all going to go hideously wrong, but I don’t want it to, because I want to hug everyone all the time! Siiiigh.
tanya (52 books or bust)
OK, i didn’t have problems getting into the book. I liked it from the start. Yes to dinner at Anne’s! And as for the major foreshadowing and what you think is going to happen, it didn’t happen as I thought it would. And I had to read the last quarter of the book in one sitting. i couldn’t put it down. I actually told my daughter to watch a movie so I could read!
Words For Worms
I’m excited to finish it! I took a break to sneak in some Diversiverse reads but I should be getting back to it this weekend.
Andi (@estellasrevenge)
I’m doing a happy dance because you’re digging it!
Words For Worms
I’m smiling now because I’m imagining that happy dance.
Sarah @ Sarah Says Read
Yay, glad you’re loving this! Be prepared, some stuff HAPPENS in the last part of the book.
Words For Worms
Pins and needles, Sarah! Gah!