Ahira's Hangar

One of the interviews with the author in the back of one of the two books (I believe it was Children of God) sort of addressed this (the civilization issue) a little bit.

I am going to try to avoid spoilers here as much as I can, which means that my answer will not be as full as it otherwise could be...I hope that Fisty will go on and read the second book, as it is as good (though different) as the first. And I do not want to spoil the experience for him.

In that interview Russell speaks of an art exhibit they held in Cleveland years ago. I also saw that very same art exhibit, which is why that particular answer sticks in my mind.

It was an exhibit of the art, particularly the Faberge eggs and other "toys" made of gold and precious gems that had belonged to the Russian royal family. One piece really sticks in my mind. It was this basket of violets that Empress Alexandra kept on her desk. It was made completely of precious metals and gems. The petals were made of amethysts, for example. You could not believe how beautiful this little basket was.

My children were very young (in elementary school and preschool) and the exhibit was horribly hot and crowded but the pieces of art in this exhibit were so beautiful that they were quiet little angels, enraptured by what they were seeing. I'm just throwing that in there so you can get an idea of the sheer beauty of those creations. If you know toddlers and art museums...

Anyway, Russell's point was that Tsarist Russia was a terrible place for the vast majority of poor and repressed people who lived there. There were a few nobles and royals who lived on the labor and suffering of others like parasites, and lived lives of luxery we cannot even imagine. Yet Tsarist Russia still managed to produce some of the world's greatest art, music, and literature. And what replaced the Tsars certainly wasn't any better - different, certainly - but not any better for most of the people who lived out their lives in the Soviet Union under Stalin...and that great flowering of the arts under the Tsars in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century dried up...(though I believe she answered that before the West fully discovered at least one great Soviet composer in Shostakovich).

So there is a sort of precedent in the relationship between the two sentient races if you look at human history. Louis the Sun King in France gave us Versailles but I sure wouldn't want to live in France under his reign.

Perhaps the peasants in most of human history were not actually eaten or turned into leather by the upper classes, but they were certainly used in many other ways...perhaps even every other way.

As for the Jesuit thing, I do not know enough of their history or their current activities to even discuss that, though they do seem to be a very wise and learned and impressive group of people in the book. I would also like to know more about the Jews who were kicked out of Spain in the middle ages and what happened to them, as I thought that was also a pretty interesting bit of religion/history. Did some of them really end up in Muslim countries as valued people and live there for centuries? ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Preface this comment saying I'm in no way an expert on Jewish history. I can comment on Duchess's comment regarding the Jews expelled from Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella (yes it was that Fredinand and Isabella) directly after the reconquista. Those, Jews migrated to many lands Holland (for example, the philosopher Spinoza was a descendent of thos immigrants), Italy and many parts of North Africa and the Middle East, when they immigrated Middle Eastern areas they integrated into the existing Jewish communities and perserved some part of their linguistic tradition (Ladino, a language that bears a similar relationship to Castilliano as Yiddish bears to German). Their traditions became part of the heritage called today Sephardic.

Maybe since Ms. Russell is a convert to Judaism, that'll be her next book, regarding the Jews expelled from Spain, since she's already written a book about Italian Jews during WWII. taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Plan C - http://planc.bravepages.com/main.html
Buff_fans_Chicago http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/buffy_fans_chicago/<i>Edited by: taraswizard at: 3/25/06 12:11 pm
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Here's the response I got from the Jesuits:

Dear Mr. Kniffin,

Yes, Russell does present a positive image of the Jesuits in her novel. There were a number of book reviews written by Jesuits when the novel was published (1997). You might want to search the web for those. By and large, Jesuits thought Russell did a good job in the novel...

I hope this helps!

Thomas P. Gaunt, S.J.
Socius
Jesuit Conference
1616 P Street, NW Suite # 300
Washington, DC 20036
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Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

That's really cool, that they got back with you. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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I haven't been able to find a review by a Jesuit yet. Difficult to figure out how to search for it. ____________
Highdrake's mastery of spells and sorcery was not much greater than his pupil's, but he had clear in his mind the idea of something very much greater, the wholeness of knowledge. And that made him a mage.<i></i>

I went through page after page of book reviews via Google, and this was the closest I could find to a Jesuit review:
www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art9-sparrow.html

There are extreme spoilers in that review for both The Sparrow and for Children of God!! ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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New points. Recently a local book group discussed The Sparrow. A few of the readers said 'there was to much religion in the book', and few disliked it for the excess of religion.

In Cheryl Morgan's review Ms. Morgan says the book "makes Catholics look stupid". taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Buffy fans Chicago
my livej<i></i>

Funny, I thought it was very respectful to Catholicism. And I enjoyed the more serious religious elements of it. Ah well, tastes do differ greatly. ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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Speaking to Ms. Morgan's idea of the novel making Catholics look stupid is, speculation is that her subtext was that the mistakes made by the contact team were made due to their dedication to Catholic values. taraswizard
Allan Rosewarne N9SQT/WDX6HQV
Chicago area
W/T forever, always
Buffy fans Chicago
my livej<i></i>

Yes, perhaps - but so much was also shown of Catholic virtues.

I was so impressed by the way they showed so much love (both tough and tender depending on what was neded) to the broken priest. (I do not really want to get into major spoilers, but was very impressed by the way that situation was dealt with). ******************************************************

Our lives are the songs that sing the universe into existence.~David Zindell
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