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Sparrow

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Sparrow

By: James Hynes
Narrated by: Theo Solomon
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About this listen

As an empire burns, he will rise from the ashes.

Sparrow, the Sunday Times bestselling historical epic by James Hynes, is the incredibly moving story of one boy’s journey to freedom in the harsh world of the Roman Empire.

Raised in a brothel at the edge of a dying empire, a boy of no known origin creates his own identity. He is Sparrow.

Sparrow’s world consists of a kitchen and herb-scented garden, a loud and dangerous tavern, and the mysterious upstairs where the wolves, the women who have shaped his world, conduct their business. Where freedom is only for a privileged few, Sparrow’s life is hard-edged and violent.

But change is coming.

The world outside his garden is about to be reshaped, and as an empire crumbles, murder and mayhem will come to Sparrow’s door. As the only family he’s ever known scatters, will Sparrow fall – or fly?

‘Truly unforgettable' – Daily Mail
‘Masterful in its portrayal of love, sex and friendship' – The Observer

©2023 James Hynes (P)2023 Macmillan Publishers International Limited Ancient Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Wolf

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Critic reviews

"Utterly engrossing, vivid, and honest, this coming of age story reaches across millennia to grab us by the throat." (Emma Donoghue)

"An unnerving, exhilarating, unflinching portrayal of sex, slavery and sisterhood, takes the reader to one the most pitiless backstreets of the Roman Empire in its final years only to discover there - between the violence and the suffering, amid the Decline and the Fall - enduring tenderness and love. This is a novel of ancient times for our times. And it is splendid, a work of scorching distinction." (Jim Crace)
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Overall an enjoyable book, kept me reasonably interested. Were some slower sections. Great descriptive detail, really brought the time and place to life - not to mention the main character’s experience.

Enjoyable

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For a nearly eighteen hour long book, this was peculiarly riveting. Even more so when you realise there are hours during which nothing much happens. And yet, those hours draw you in with their descriptions of life at the tavern / brothel which forms the central locale of the novel. They make you care about the various characters, especially the young boy who narrates from old age what it's like to be a nameless slave living on the Spanish fringes of a slowly dying Roman empire.

The trundling, closely-observed nature of the general narrative makes any points of conflict stand out all the sharper. And be warned, some incidents may be distressing, especially the one which turns the boy into a 'wolf'. And under all of this is a pervading sense of uncertainty, of instability, of the idea that a slave is disposable, a possession that might be sold, or damaged, or thrown away on a whim.

Having spent all that time building layer upon layer of realism, I thought the ending was a cop-out. Maybe I missed something, but I don't think so. That apart, this was a surprisingly satisfying read. Theo Solomon as narrator helped. A lot. He caught a boy's tone perfectly and managed to differentiate all the other characters (there's a lot) with conviction.

Strangely compelling

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What a wonderful book! This is one where you pick it up and you live this boys’ brutal world and revel in his small triumphs. I listened to the whole thing in 4 days.
I note one reader has found this book too violent. I have a son and can safely say I found a few of the scenes to be very confronting but I have to defend the author and say the violence and abuse was not gratuitous and what is there was actually necessary for us to understand the desperate reality of a slave in this situation.
All in all, you are just rooting for this wee boy the whole way through the story which for me is a true sign of an author’s success in drawing the reader right in to the story to walk the cobbles with the protagonist.
It is an utterly immersive story of human resilience with a good scattering of humour too. Buy it, you won’t regret it!

Gripping, immersive experience.

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This is a brilliant book. The ancient city of Carthago Nova is vividly brought back to life and all the characters, good and bad, are entirely believable. The narration is spot on.

Wonderful

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I enjoyed the story overall, mainly for the glimpse in to life in ancient times. I found that it was somewhat drawn out and tiresome in parts but overall a good story. Difficult to listen about the abuse of a child and the normalisation of such way back when. My main gripe, being totally honest, was the voice the narrator used as the young boy. I appreciate the narrator is an adult but the whiny tone made it hard to endure at times.

Enjoyable but drawn out

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I wish I'd known more about this book before I purchased it. I found it too graphic and disturbing for my taste. I stayed with if to chapter 50 then decided I didn't really want to go any further. For those of you who haven't read it, if you don't want to read about a young boy being abused, in the most horrible of ways, maybe give it a miss. Maybe the book goes on to be poignant and a comment on slavery but it just wasn't for me.

Nasty

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When I first read the back of this book I thought it sounded great so went ahead and downloaded the audiobook. I have been left very disappointed. I’m sure the story is fine, although tedious in places. The biggest problem is the narration is awful. The female voices done by the male narrator are comical and have ruined it for me. Very disappointing.

Awful narration

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