Kristin D. (kdurham2813) reviewed Flight of the Sparrow: A Novel of Early America on + 753 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
A historical fiction set in a time and place that I am not sure I have ever read - Mary is a wife of a pastor at a time when the man of the house is REALLY the man of the house. She has blindly followed the path until her world is turned upside down by native americans who are pillaging towns and taking hostage the women and children. She is taken into their home and her preconceived notions are shot to hell!
My absolute favorite parts of this book were the moments where Mary was second guessing everything she thought she knew both about her own "people" and the native people. Like many people she had never put herself "in their shoes" and in doing so found some perspective and saw the truths and falsehoods in the stories that the English settlers were sharing amongst themselves. As a religious studies major in college, I loved the sociology of religion or in this case in societal groups and how one group can judge another before even understanding one another. This book took me back to my college days and reminded me to keep my judgements in check.
A historical fiction set in a time and place that I am not sure I have ever read - Mary is a wife of a pastor at a time when the man of the house is REALLY the man of the house. She has blindly followed the path until her world is turned upside down by native americans who are pillaging towns and taking hostage the women and children. She is taken into their home and her preconceived notions are shot to hell!
My absolute favorite parts of this book were the moments where Mary was second guessing everything she thought she knew both about her own "people" and the native people. Like many people she had never put herself "in their shoes" and in doing so found some perspective and saw the truths and falsehoods in the stories that the English settlers were sharing amongst themselves. As a religious studies major in college, I loved the sociology of religion or in this case in societal groups and how one group can judge another before even understanding one another. This book took me back to my college days and reminded me to keep my judgements in check.
Lauren T. (littlegirl) -
Helpful Score: 1
On one hand, I enjoyed the story, on the other, I had a lot of problems with it. It was fast paced, well-written and kept me interested. My main problem with it was that it seemed to fall victim to racist native american stereotypes. While I have no doubt that the battles between the colonists and native americans were bloody and fierce, the author goes to great lengths to describe many acts committed by the native americans in great detail - throwing babies in the air and clubbing them? Scalping people alive? Burning women and children alive? The author does, however, try to point out some of the war crimes the colonists are alleged to have taken part in - beheadings,scalpings, setting fires to villages - they're presented more as "hearsay" among the colonists and aren't described in vivid detail. I'm sure much of this has to do with the source material she was working from, but the first part of the book was a little gruesome and disturbing....
