Book Club

Sun., June 13, 1999

Name: The Auntie’s Book Group

City: Spokane

Group history: Group has been meeting for about five years, attracting anywhere from a dozen to 30 people at a time. It meets the second Tuesday of each month, with Auntie’s owner Chris O’Harra facilitating the discussion. Reads mainly contemporary fiction, the titles of which are suggested by O’Harra and other members, and the group as a whole votes on the proposed selections each fall. Is open to the public. For further information, call 838-0206.

Book reviewed: “Sparrow” (Fawcett Books, 408 pages, $12 paper) by Mary Doria Russell.

Group representative: Chris O’Harra.

The review: A curious blend of science fiction and spiritual odyssey about a band of devout Jesuit missionaries who travel to a distant galaxy to explore the life on a planet called Rakhat. “It’s a futuristic book,” says O’Harra, “but the emphasis is on character. It’s not driven by technology. It’s really about these people and how they grow.” Russell provides a lot of information about the Jesuits and the Catholic church overall. “But it covers everything. You can talk about religion, you can talk about the future, about community. It just has everything.”

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