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#tob24 long list

Sparrow is probably one of the toughest reads I've read all year. My emotions were all over the place with this unflinching story of a young boy growing up in a Roman brothel. It is a wonderfully written historical fiction that will leave you utterly drained yet satisfied when finished.

If you are a fan of books like Shuggie Bain, this book reminded me of that in the way it brutally attacked my emotions.

Sparrow follows an African boy enslaved in Spain during Roman times as he grows up in a brothel. The first half is slow and could have done with some editing, but the second half is terrific. I‘m glad I hung on to get to it. This is a tough read emotionally and I needed something light to follow it up. #tob24

An honest and engrossing tale about a young boy growing up as a sex slave in a brothel in the Spanish city of New Carthage in the last years of pagan Rome. Every page leaves you feeling horrified at the boy‘s situation and hopeful that it will change. The story telling is captivating and the characters are vivid. The novel highlights both the best and the worst of humanity. Read it. You‘ll have a better understanding of humanity.

One of the things I love about my #Goldsboro books with the #PREM1ER program is often I get titles I know nothing about so I can go into it blind. This was a story I wasn't expecting and as a result I really enjoyed it. Historic fiction worth getting your hands on.

First Goldsboro PREM1ER pick 💕💕

I know nothing about this book at all!

#endpapers

James Hynes's latest novel, to be published in May 2023, sounds excellent:

“Sparrow tells the story of Jacob, son of no one, last survivor of an abandoned British Roman town. Raised in a brothel on the Spanish coast in the waning years of the Roman Empire, a boy of no known origin creates his own identity. He is Sparrow, who sings without reason and can fly from trouble.“

https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/james-hynes/sparrow/9781529092394