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Told from the perspective of an enslaved boy being raised in a Roman brothel, a stunning literary historical novel of identity, family, suffering, and freedom
In a brothel on the Spanish coast during the waning years of the Roman Empire, a young enslaved boy of unknown parentage is growing up. His world is a kitchen, then an herb-scented garden, followed by a loud and dangerous tavern, and finally, the mysterious upstairs where the "wolves" do their business.
The wolves, named after the muses and coming from across the vast empire, are Sparrow's surrogate family. They are his mothers and his sisters, his guides in a rough life, his solace from it. When he is not being told stories by his beloved 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. But a hard fate awaits Sparrow, one that involves suffering, murder, mayhem, and the scattering of the little community that has been his whole world.
Through meticulous research and bold imagination, James Hynes brings the entirety of a Roman city to vivid life, recreating old Pagan Rome as its codes and morals give way before the new religion of Christianity, and introduces readers to one of the most powerfully affecting and memorable characters of recent fiction. Sparrow is an enthralling, heartbreaking novel of identity, endurance, and love in a dangerous and changing time.
"Extensively researched, Hynes' examination of an empire grappling with survival and the growing influence of the not entirely beneficent force of Christianity raises questions about trauma, identity, and the creation of intentional family in the context of the sympathetic narrator's growing awareness of the world he is locked away from...A vivid portrait of a literal empire of pain." —Kirkus Reviews
"Sparrow is a stunning work of historical imagination. The story of a young man making his name in the dying days of the Roman empire, Sparrow is masterful in its portrayal of love, sex and friendship." ―The Observer
"Hynes renders this hidden world so powerfully and vividly." ―The Times (UK)
"A secret history that teems with the brutality, sensuality, and frailty of life in a decaying empire." ―Sydney Morning Herald
"Sparrow's voice is original and moving and the grueling work of the brothel becomes absolutely real. The wolves and their shifting relationships—by turns tender, competitive and bullying—are beautifully portrayed." ―The Guardian
"A bleak and brutal story, vividly told by Hynes, who has created a truly unforgettable character in the resilient Sparrow." ―Daily Mail (UK)
This information about Sparrow was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
James Hynes is the author of Next, The Lecturer's Tale, and Publish and Perish. His essays and reviews have appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, Boston Review, Mother Jones, and Salon. He attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has taught fiction writing at the University of Iowa, the University of Michigan, Miami University, Grinnell College, and the University of Texas. He lives in Austin, Texas.
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