![]() ![]() ![]() in anthropology, does an excellent job creating alien cultures and thinking through the conflicts and misunderstandings that might result when very different cultures meet. The characters-a mix of Jesuit priests, scientists of varying faiths, and the aliens they meet-are well-drawn and almost universally sympathetic. I’ve always loved books that begin by showing a tragedy and then gradually reveal how it happened, and Russell executes that perfectly here as the plot builds to its riveting conclusion. I first read this book for a book club about fifteen years ago, and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. Emilio’s account is interspersed with flashbacks to paint a heartwrenching picture of a project that started out with the best intentions but ended in death and scandal. He is forced to give his superiors an analysis of the mission’s failure. Emilio Sandoz, a priest and linguist who is the only survivor among the mission’s crew, has just returned to Earth physically mutilated and spiritually broken. ![]() ![]() The Sparrow (1996), by Mary Doria Russell, opens in 2059, in the aftermath of a disastrous Jesuit mission to make first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. ![]()
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