The Sparrow

Wow. Just wow. Michael is passionate about his dissatisfaction with the book's ending, but I wouldn't change a thing.

I spent every spare minute of Saturday and Sunday reading this book. Saturday night, my sleep was restless, and all my dreams involved the book. Four days later, I'm still thinking it over in the shower, while driving, while snuggling with the kids.

The Sparrow is the tale of a Jesuit priest who is the only survivor of the first human envoy to the planet Rakhat. It wrestles with some big theological questions, including, what does it mean when you feel you are following the direction of God only to end up in a horrible, horrible place?

The author was raised Catholic and converted to Judaism. She said, "When you convert to Judaism in a post-Holocaust world, you know two things for sure: one is that being Jewish can get you killed; the other is that God won't rescue you."