Book Review: Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

Dreamers of the Day

Author: Mary Doria Russell

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Date of Publication: December 16, 2008

Pages: 288

     If you are not familiar with Mary Doria Russell, she is a very versatile author who has published science fiction, westerns and historical fiction.  All of her books are well written and are character driven.  She is also very entertaining to follow on Facebook.  Dreamers of the Day was published in 2008 and is a historical novel set in the early 20th century.  

     The main character is Agnes Shanklin, a spinster who lives in Cleveland, Ohio.  The first section of the book describes her early life with a domineering, belittling mother and her family's battle with the Great Influenza of 1918.  Agnes is her family's sole survivor.  In the final two thirds of the book Agnes takes control of her life, decides to travel and arrives in Egypt during the Cairo conference in 1921. There she is caught up in a fantastic cast of historical characters including T. E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, his wife Clementine and Lady Gertrude Bell.  Agnes finds herself embroiled in conversations regarding rule of the Middle East following World War I.  Arab self-rule comes in conflict with British, French, Jewish, Palestinian and German interests in the area.   The Cairo Conference of 1921 was held from March 12-30 and was convened by the British to sort out conflicting policies regarding the Middle East.  The outcome of this conference defined British and French jurisdictions and created the country of Iraq.  It has been said that you cannot understand the modern conflict in the Middle East without first understanding the politics and the aftermath of World War I and this book helps shed light on that subject.  

     An amusing secondary "character" is Agnes' noisy and fussy pet daschund Rosie.  Agnes goes everywhere with Rosie, including the Middle East.  The problems of traveling with this dog not only allows Agnes to meet some of the famous characters but provides several comic episodes as well.  Agnes and Rosie's excursion on the Nile in a fishing boat is a highlight of the entire book.

     Another hallmark of this author's books is her incredible attention to detail, a result of tireless research.  She has obviously done her homework here, presenting a mesmerizing tour of many famous sites, including the pyramids of Gaza and the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.  Agnes becomes very perplexed by the commercialism and crowded, tourist trap nature of the holy sites in Jerusalem (and this was in 1921!).  This is part of her description of visiting the Holy Sepulchre:

"The farther into the shrine we moved, the staler the air became.  Around the periphery of the shrine, the morning processions were assembling, and at least two kinds of incense began to waft toward us.  The cloying scents mixed with the sort of crowd odor that silently proclaims a variable devotion to the principles of good hygiene.  Arab workmen were taking a break from their morning's task, smoking hashish near a side altar.  Eating and joking, they contributed woozy laughter to echoing wails, a rumble of muttered commentary, and the occasional shocking guffaw.  Chants, chimes, and clanking metal chains added to a growing cacophony.  Prayers and conversations grew louder in response."

     Dreamers of the Day was entertaining and educational at the same time.  I enjoyed it quite a bit and would recommend it (and any other of this author's books) highly.

Book Review: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

The Sparrow

Author: Mary Doria Russell

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Date of Publication: September 28, 1997

Pages: 405

     The Sparrow is this author's first novel and was published in 1996.  She has subsequently published a sequel and three more novels.  Mary Doria Russell earned a PhD in biological anthropology from the University of Michigan.  She was raised as a Roman Catholic and has converted to Judaism.  Her science background as well as her religious heritages are readily evident in this novel.

     The Sparrow has a fascinating premise.  What if an intelligent alien species was found and before earthly governments could respond, a religious order organizes an expedition to meet and greet these celestial neighbors?  Ms. Russell uses the Jesuits as that order since they have a long history of missionary work.  Francis Xavier, for instance, was the first Christian missionary to travel to China and Japan in the 1500s.  A team of scientists and Jesuits is assembled and launched on an asteroid to the planet Rakhat in Alpha Centauri, the closest solar system to our own (4.37 light years away).  The mission is a success on some levels but eventually accidents occur, conflicts arise and Father Emilio Sandoz, S.J. is the only survivor who returns.

    This is science fiction of the highest order, suffused with a heavy dose of Ignatian spirituality.  Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jeuits) after an early life as a soldier.  A mystical experience during convalescence from an injury lead Ignatius to a life of service to the Pope and to his fellow man.  As the author states in the prologue: "The Jesuit scientists went to learn, not to proselytize.  They went so that they might come to know and love God's other children.  They went for the reason Jesuits have always gone to the farthest frontiers of human exploration.   They went ad majorem Dei gloriam: for the greater glory of God."  

     Father Emilio Sandoz is the main character, but there are many excellent secondary characters as well.  One of the many strengths of this novel is the depth of all of the characters.  The main purpose of The Sparrow, though, seems to be as a platform to look at difficult theological questions.  Early on Sandoz is asked "How do you experience God?"  to which he gives a straightforward Jesuit response: "I would have to say that I find God in serving His children."  Russell also asks how do humans respond when confronted directly with the presence of God in their lives and what does it mean to find God?  How do you reconcile the concept of God with evil that surrounds us as well?

     The ending of The Sparrow was unexpected and disturbing.  The Sparrow is a challenging read but very well researched and tremendously well written.  The inclusion of basically a primer in Ignatian spirituality was unanticipated but appreciated.  I'm glad I read this, I'm still thinking about it and I look forward to reading the sequel Children of God.