Flight of the Sparrow

A Novel of Early America

By: Amy Belding Brown

Narrated by: Heather Henderson

She suspects that she has changed too much to ever fit easily into English society again. The wilderness has now become her home. She can interpret the cries of birds. She has seen vistas that have stolen away her breath. She has learned to live in a new, free way…

Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1676. Even before Mary Rowlandson was captured by Indians on a winter day of violence and terror, she sometimes found herself in conflict with her rigid Puritan community. Now, her home destroyed, her children lost to her, she has been sold into the service of a powerful woman tribal leader and made a pawn in the ongoing bloody struggle between English settlers and native people. Battling cold, hunger, and exhaustion, Mary witnesses harrowing brutality but also unexpected kindness. To her confused surprise, she is drawn to her captors' open and straightforward way of life - a feeling further complicated by her attraction to a generous, protective English-speaking native known as James Printer. All her life, Mary has been taught to fear God, submit to her husband, and abhor Indians. Now, having lived on the other side of the forest, she begins to question the edicts that have guided her, torn between the life she knew and the wisdom the natives have shown her.

Based on the compelling true narrative of Mary Rowlandson, Flight of the Sparrow is an evocative tale that transports the listener to a little-known time in early America and explores the real meanings of freedom, faith, and acceptance.

©2014 Amy Belding Brown (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Excellent

Beautifully written! The descriptions were so detailed I could feel them in my heart. Narration was wonderful...there could not be a better narrator for this story. The historically accurate account left me wanting to know more of Puritan life in early America.

not for me

my understanding is that this book was written following a diary...if that is the case, i guess you can't veer from the story line. it was not a fave, but many in book club enjoyed it very much.

Great story but hard to listen

The performance is wonderful. The story is gripping. However, the gruesome details of man’s inhumanity to man, makes for a hard listen. The heroine is lovable, and you want her to get some happiness and peace. Her trials are beyond terrible; her faith, while stoic, is tested repeatedly. It’s worth a listen, even if, like me, you fast forward through some of the inhumanities.

Insightful

I couldn't stop listening to this book! I finished it in less than 24 hours actually.

A gem of a tale

The language of Godliness at the onset of the story began to turn me away until I returned to a synopsis of the story and why I was initially intrigued. The belief and lifestyle of the native Americans upon the heroine and how it changes her spoke deeply to my spiritual journey.

Amazing Story

Well get past the first 2 chapters and the story takes a turn from just condemnation of American Indians to something totally different. I really was going stop reading it but I am so glad I didn't! Opening our mind to other ways of thinking is awesome. I am married to a Native American which is why I reacted so strongly. Finished the book and reccomend it for everyone!!!

Disappointed

Female characters were not likable, relatable, or well-written. Male characters were cliche. Interesting premise so disappointed in the execution. Narrator added to the triteness of the whole thing. Overall, ok but not great.

Enthralling!

This book was engaging and robust. I found myself going for extra walks so that I could get back into the world of Mary and John. Worth the listen!!!

Story of captivity

I enjoyed the story and the bits of early American history and kept asking myself who is really captive, Mary or the native peoples in the early chapters of the book. I came to detest the Puritan Christianity and its despicable treatment of the natives but also Mary’s submissiveness to both her husband and her community.

Even though she challenged some of the conventions of her time, I wanted her to be more assertive to help the native peoples when they were corralled and starving. Some of the natives had been kind to her during her captivity with them, yet she rode away back to her comfortable lifestyle without further mention of how she could help them until her new husband gave her a suggestion.

That said, I couldn’t stop listening to know how Mary would come to bridge the two worlds she had lived in.

Compelling and Moving

A beautiful story that doesn’t shy away from hard topics. Historical fiction at its best, weaving truth and fabrication that feels to best represent what might have happened.