deep thoughtz 004: the sparrow by mary doria russell + piff = deep thoughtz?
ey what's good guys it's dat Chiang Mai Elvis doin a lil bit o rebrandin here. apparently doesn't pay to flaunt a name a bit too foreign for the al-go-ri-thm but is all good im still chillin makin millions writin brilliance. hope u enjoyin the posts and hope ur havin a good day. put on som cranberries, som U2, relax, indulge in the positive vibes. here have som free wholesome content on me.
beautiful man, God's creatures along with all the chickens, cats, peacocks, and sharks.
finally finished the sparrow by mary doria russell (shout out to audible for the free trial the fuckin CHUMPS) and lemme tell u i had some pretty intense workout sessions listenin to this nice piece of catholic pie and usually not out of an impassioned moment of inspiration. before i continue however lemme have it understood now that mary doria russell seems like a very nice woman and i can appreciate anybody that is willing to risk expressing themselves to communicate with others. it is a very noble goal and should be encouraged by all unless that expression forms itself as becoming a livestreamer. now that i said that shit u know whatever the fuck it is i say next is gonna b some vicious shit and all ill say to that is when i described this book about a half-Taino half-CONQUISTADOR PRIEST that ALONG WITH A TEAM OF JESUITS goes INTO SPACE to FARM WITH ALIENS before getting SOLD INTO INTERGALACTIC SLAVERY up tо мой товарищ i realized i would b in for a ride.
really wanted to like this book cuz the cover gave me smashing pumpkins vibes. unforunately that was more true than i could've known.
first, what did i like? i was a little frustrated by the slow, thoughtful pace of the first two-thirds but it is refreshing to let these characters breathe, develop and have formative experiences and then discuss them (even if i didn't like any of em). i feel like a lotta sci-fi wants to have these momentous, emotional scenes of humanity but they usually rush to the good parts, with the implication that their characters fulfill a similar trope or role to, well, characters instead of being real people who do real shit like drink black espresso (the only way to live son). more books should b like the sparrow in this aspect. and once we did get to see rakhat it was a fascinating experience (although their social structure frustratingly sticks to human conceptions of social order).
alright time for the real shit: what the hell is up with literally no one thinking that maybe this whole "sending the somewhat diverse but still lead by a white texan team of super catholics into space" is a really bad idea? I mean there's a bit of discourse about the impossibility of it but we have plenty of historical context about how the concept of making first contact in the name of religious peace isn't exactly a "pure" or noble goal. even scorcese knows enough to present the image of jesuits and their goals as at least ideologically complicated. but no. the book goes in raw and thus the whole book has this lurking dubiousness to it, like that scene in rosemary's baby where the old ppl and that one asian guy all go hail satan only this book is definitely weirder. i won't even speak on the insane chess games one must play with themselves to not see how writing a mixed Puerto Rican man be the only character who suffers a truly horrific fate whereas his more acceptable comrades who sometimes make odd resemblances to the author get clean deaths and decent burials.
mfw the only decent asian character in this novel is australian. yes, with an accent
i could easily forgive the elementary theological debates between these absolute muppets and the diet racism that permeates liberal catholic ideology if the book was a riveting space romp of a read, but no it's boring af. such a great build up to this promised brutality as the result of conflicting alien cultures, why ruin it with these court room confessionals and repetitive mantras of just how cool n decent n honorable all these mothafuckas are? an alien species of sophisticated carnivores who LITERALLY make music about how awesome it is to have sex slaves and then sending it out into space? that shit is fucked up but more importantly interesting! An old white lady who is obviously just ONE of the stand-ins for the author getting naked and staring at herself in the mirror for the third time in the first fifteen chapters? well that is also interesting but uh i think the point is made.
thank all yall 4 readin, feel free to leave a hateful comment and email me some threatening pictures of my house. for more based content share this post on instagram and in your family group chats. c u all when i c u.
p.s. fuck chris d'elia none of my homies like chris d'elia. pedophile ass cracka gtfohere wit that shit on my fuckin tv. don't u EVER step into my fuckin house and play som goddam stand up comedy on my tv man.
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