The Sparrow

Today's book is a recommendation of a co-worker at my previous job: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. He and his wife are both crazy about this book- she says its her favorite book ever. Although they assured me it isn't science fiction, I have to say it does have science fiction elements, but there is also more, as the novel is an exploration of cultural misunderstanding. The book is the story of a mission to Rakhat, the home of the first discovered extra-terrestrials. The mission was funded by a Jesuit group and half of the members are Jesuits themselves. From the first pages, the reader learns that things went disastrously wrong and the details of the story slowly unfold as the only survivor, Father Emilio Sandoz, gradually reveals what happened on Rakhat. This book also has a sequel, Children of God.