tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843833519373801339.post5765398131217658362..comments2020-08-22T09:23:05.149-07:00Comments on Ruminations of a Remembrancer: Review and Analysis: The Sparrow, by Mary Doria RussellLorinda J Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16985567506994751475noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843833519373801339.post-1319580167667539912014-04-08T08:10:18.078-07:002014-04-08T08:10:18.078-07:00Yes, I knew she converted to Judaism and that was ...Yes, I knew she converted to Judaism and that was another reason her books interested me. because I developed a huge interest in Judaism a few years ago. As a spiritual humanist, I don't subscribe to any dogmatic faith, but I found that Judaism had more qualities that I could support than most religions do.. Thanks for visiting! Lorinda J Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985567506994751475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843833519373801339.post-37934671712910718962014-04-07T17:32:24.384-07:002014-04-07T17:32:24.384-07:00I don't know if you realized this but soon aft...I don't know if you realized this but soon after writing The Sparrow, Russell converted to Judaism after about 20 years of atheism. I think this may be the main reason she does not address 'god the son' in her novel. I found that Sandoz's character had trouble accepting the farther stretches involved in Christianity and perhaps that is symbolic of Russell's own personal struggle of the same nature. Maybe she could find no reasoning or explanation behind a son of God while the rest of the Jewish teachings and old testament were explicable to her. However this would also conflict with the end idea I found of the unknowable being an essential part of life, faith and meaning. Overall I have not really worked through my ideas but maybe they will offer you an alternate perspective!Elizabethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843833519373801339.post-50265529836837644562012-10-30T17:51:09.689-07:002012-10-30T17:51:09.689-07:00Thanks for taking time to read my post, Max! I ap...Thanks for taking time to read my post, Max! I appreciate it!<br />I've read the Blish book - own a copy, actually. But I read it back in the '70s when I was spending more time reading than I have in recent years, and I could not tell you one thing about it, unfortunately.<br />People who prefer hard science fiction, space opera, and shallow adventure tales will never "get" The Sparrow. My opinion is, they should study science and not even venture into fiction.<br />I don't believe in that relationship of god with the world, either (as anyone knows who is reading my series of Mythmaker posts), but speculation on the subject can still be illuminating. And my books often deal with myth, and I consider the Christian myth and its positive points to be just as fair game as the Iliad and the labors of Hercules.Lorinda J Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985567506994751475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843833519373801339.post-17697012338707506532012-10-30T16:00:09.399-07:002012-10-30T16:00:09.399-07:00You should definitely read The Children of God, I&...You should definitely read The Children of God, I'm glad to see you've ordered it. Less well written, but extremely interesting in the way it approaches issues of faith, is James Blish's A Case of Conscience.<br /><br />Dwelling on the accuracy of star portrayal in The Sparrow is such a misreading of the text I don't know where to start with it. Whoever wrote that review was focussing on entirely the wrong aspects of the novel. The title alone should have been a clue, a reference to the idea that god observes even a sparrow's fall. I agree with your interpretation, of the book as a form of inquiry into the nature of god's relationship with the world (a relationship I don't believe in, but that's neither here nor there).Max Cairnduffhttp://www.pechorinsjournal.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843833519373801339.post-88301710974899652712012-10-30T08:01:37.158-07:002012-10-30T08:01:37.158-07:00Gee, you read this quick! And thanks as always fo...Gee, you read this quick! And thanks as always for the positive comments! I've ordered The Children of God, and also the first Thursday Next book, The Eyre Affair. I'm going to read it first, as a change of pace. Someone else (before I met Mary Pierce) recommended Jasper Fforde to me a long time ago, but I never got around to reading him. Expect to find it a lot of fun. Lorinda J Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985567506994751475noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4843833519373801339.post-88957738309109594002012-10-30T07:53:46.161-07:002012-10-30T07:53:46.161-07:00I am glad to see confirmed in your review the simi...I am glad to see confirmed in your review the similarities I'd noticed between your TQ and Doria Russell's The Sparrow. Both works, in my opinion, fall securely within the realm of literary Sci-Fi. I think you'll enjoy Doria Russell's sequel, The Children of God, which is every bit as intense -- and offers a satisfying conclusion to Sandoz's saga.<br /><br />And I'd add that *both* The Termite Queen and The Sparrow are what sic-fi ought to be.<br /><br />A very fine post!Jack A Urquharthttp://www.jaurquhart.com/noreply@blogger.com