Book Thoughts: Sparrow (James Hynes)

Well researched and written, if a bit on the slow side…

★★★★☆ – CALSPIE 8.11

Title: Sparrow
Author: James Hynes
Genre: Fiction / Historical Fiction
First published: 2023
Edition:  Hardback, published by Picador in 2023 – independent bookshop edition

FROM THE BLURB: Sparrow tells the story of Jacob, son of no one, last survivor of an abandoned British Roman town. Raised in a brothel on the Spanish coast in the waning years of the Roman Empire, a boy of no known origin creates his own identity. He is Sparrow, who sings without reason and can fly from trouble. His world is a kitchen, the herb-scented garden, then the loud and dangerous tavern, and finally the mysterious upstairs where the ‘wolves’ – prostitutes of every ethnic background from the far reaches of the empire – do their mysterious business. When not being told stories by his beloved ‘mother’ Euterpe, he runs errands for her lover the cook, while trying to avoid the blows of their brutal overseer or the machinations of the chief wolf, Melpomene. A hard fate awaits Sparrow, one that involves suffering, murder, mayhem, and the scattering of the little community that has been his whole world.

***

It took me a little while to get into this one. It’s a slow story, full of detail and meticulous care is taken over the narrative. This was wonderful, but at times it made it drag a little bit.

The strength of this story is in the characters. We follow Sparrow as he grows up between the ‘wolves’ in a brothel in the dying days of the Roman Empire. His story is not a fun one, but it does well in steering away from too much misery and sadness. Sure, in many ways this story is quite tragic, but the book manages to not become too sentimental and I actually appreciated that.

The choice of letting Sparrow tell his own story from Brittania in the future was an interesting one. Of course it lets you know from the start that he survives the story he is telling.

The book spans less time than I had expected it to and I am sure there could be another part of this story. The ending made me want to know what happened next for sure.

Although I felt that the book was a bit longer than it need to be, I did really enjoy it and the writing was solid.

4 out of 5 stars

***

CALSPIE: 8.11

• Characters: 9
• Ambience: 9
• Language: 8
• Story: 8
• Pacing: 7.5
• Interest: 8
• Enjoyment: 8