Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Teaser Tuesday

It's Teaser Tuesday, yo. You know--grab, open, pick, tease.

Here it is, straight from The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, (c)1996.

"There were many possibilities but once you grasped what a man was looking for, you had the beginnings of understanding. At a loss, he studied the exotic face, half-hidden by dark hair and bed linens, and whispered, 'So what, in the name of Jesus, is he?'" (p. 170).

Summary of The Sparrow: "The Sparrow is a novel about a remarkable man... who undergoes an experience so harrowing and profound that it makes him question the existence of God. This experience, the first contact between human beings and intelligent extraterrestrial life, begins with a small mistake and ends in catastrophe. Sandoz is the only surviving member of a crew that went to discover a new planet. Like other great explorers of the New World, they were confronted by a civilization so alien and incomprehensible that they were individually compelled to wonder at what it means to be human. On his return, Sandoz must face a Jesuit inquiry and public condemnation as he is accused of the most heinous of crimes..."

8 comments:

Lisa (Southern Girl Reads) said...

Great teaser! I read it several times to make sure I got it. :)

Lisa said...

What a great teaser! I'll be adding that one to my wish lsit.

Wanda said...

Interesting teaser ... without the summary, I would have found it funny.

Shana said...

Heather, thanks for the teaser.

I've only read one book by this author - A Thread of Grace - but I loved it. It was historical fiction. I think The Sparrow is a completely different genre, right?

Shana
Literarily

Anonymous said...

Some good lines, these! I like!

Here is mine!

Wendi said...

Wow - what a great teaser! A family friend (and one of my high school teachers) told me this was one of her favorite books! I've got it around here somewhere - it just keeps getting moved.

:) Wendi
http://wendisbookcorner.blogspot.com/2008/10/teaser-tuesday-19th-wife-by-david.html

Brooke from The Bluestocking Guide said...

This sounds intriguing! Thanks for stopping by earlier.

avisannschild said...

I've gotta admit that The Sparrow makes it onto my list of most disturbing books I've ever read...