I am a sucker for a historical fiction and I was really glad to finally get to this book. I loved the way that it was written! The way it was written felt fresh to me even though it was based in Ancient Rome. I have read a lot of historical fiction based in Ancient Rome and I think that this one is very original and a different aspect that I haven't read about before. I would definitely recommend this story to a friend!

As a reader, I got a sense of the place and time that the book is set in, largely due to the rich writing. Each time Sparrow ran to the fountain to fill the buckets, went to the marketplace, or ran his errands, I could very clearly envision the streets of Carthago Nova. I also felt the odd dynamic as the paganic Roman Empire started to crumble as it transitioned towards Christianity. While Hynes was successful at crafting a rich, lifelike world, I did feel that his descriptive writing slowed the pace down in certain areas, particularly at the start of the book where it took a while for the story to get going.

I enjoyed Sparrow by James Hynes. The characters were authentic. The unnamed orphaned enslaved boy is the narrator. His voice provides a different and captivating worldview of the last days of the Roman Empire in Spain. I recommend this historical novel which keeps the reader engaged.

Goodness this was an emotional and harrowing read. I don’t think I was quite prepared for just how visceral this reading experience would be.

The prose was, without a doubt, stunning, and the characters both vivid and beautifully portrayed, but I could never quite commit my whole heart to them, for the certain knowledge it would get broken.

Sometimes that’s exactly what you want in a novel, sometimes you need just a dash of hope. A powerful and impactful read, just not entirely what I needed it to be.

‘Sparrow’ by James Hynes is a unique novel. It is a harsh and unrelenting story, often harrowing to read, about a slave boy in a brothel in a Spanish city on the edge of the fading Roman Empire. It is a slow burner told in retrospective by the grown boy, now a man called Jacob. So, we know he survives but we don’t know how.
In the city of New Carthage [now Cartagena in Spain] towards the end of the Roman Empire, Pusus, the slave name for ‘boy,’ is growing up in Helicon, a taberna with a brothel upstairs. Pusus thinks this is the name he was given by his parents, until he learns that slave names refer to the job done by that slave. His nickname in the household is Mouse. He lives a hard life but the women of the taberna, particularly cook Focaria and wolf Euterpe [one of the whores] try to shield him. Euterpe tells him stories, in part to distract him, in part to educate him but as Pusus sees more of the world outside Helicon he’s unsure if her stories are true or not. As he is exposed to the harsh realities of slave life he begins to resent her untruthfulness.
One day Euterpe tells a story about a small bird, a sparrow, and Pusus realises he is like a sparrow who is ‘not excellent at anything, but just good enough at everything.’ Being a slave means his body, his time, his privacy and everything about him belongs to his Dominus, his master, and Audo, the bully who manages the brothel. Only his thoughts are still his own. So Pusus imagines himself as a sparrow flying high, flying free, up high in the sky, looking down at life in the taberna and the small thin slave boy below.
His first job is as house boy, scrubbing floors. The taberna and its enclosed garden are his world, he’s not allowed beyond the heavy wooden door to the street. Next, he is sent out to the local fountain to fill the heavy water buckets. Then he is trusted with money to visit local merchants and buy bread and fish and deliver dirty sheets to the laundry. With each new freedom comes a wakening awareness of the wider world of Carthago Nova. Until the day comes when Pusus is renamed Antinous and moves upstairs into his own cell amongst the wolves.
The story moves slowly, tiny detail built on tiny detail. It is told retrospectively by the elderly Jacob, how old he is we don’t know, as he reflects on the ups and downs of his life at Helicon. Jacob is educated, he reads the philosophers and histories and reflects on his life as a boy. The Roman Empire ended in AD476 but Sparrow’s life speaks also about today’s class distinctions, racism, selfishness and corruption. The detail of life in Carthago Nova is honest and tough, the sophistication of the mansions, the grinding poverty of the slaves and the free people who live hand to mouth. The neighbours of the taberna, tradesmen such as fullers and bakers, are often customers of the wolves upstairs. There is a clear strata to society which reminds me of the 1966 Frost Report sketch ‘I Know My Place’ featuring John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. Watch it at You Tube.
There is much pain, mental and physical, and always the threat that if Pusus doesn’t pick himself up he will be sold at the slave market. There is also sex, friendship, betrayal, abuse, violence, ambition and corruption. I honestly can’t say I enjoyed this story, it is too brutal for that, but it tells a story of a time long ago, and a time that is now.
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Unfortunately I never really got going with this and gave up a few chapters in. I can't therefore give much useful feedback. As a historical novel it was well written but it never really grabbed my attention enough, or made me invested in the main character to persevere.

Wow what a bleak story and yet I still give it 4 stars, sometimes that is exactly what you want from a novel!

This felt like a well researched and accurate portrayal of the life of a boy who grows up in a brothel and eventually ends up working there alongside the women he thinks of as family. Quite harrowing at times but a compelling read. The dynamics between some of the characters were really interesting, including the heartfelt Euterpe who only wants the best for him, Focaria who doesn't hold back from the harsh realities of their world, and Melpomene who is a really interesting character and shrewd business woman who is very multi-dimensional.

The ending for me was a bit of a let-down, it felt like the author wasn't sure how to end it so it felt a bit rushed and like a bit of a cop-out. I would have liked to know where he went next and how he got to his current situation as narrator of the story.

Where do I start with this book? It is gritty, atmospheric and very, very real - too real, at times, and I did find some of the chapters quite harrowing. However, none of the sex is gratuitous and all builds to enhance a picture of a harsh lifestyle for Sparrow, our young narrator; his story was very hard to follow sometimes and readers should be aware of this and check trigger warnings. Told in the first person, Sparrow has to quickly grow up and learn to adapt to the circumstances he finds himself in.

Well-researched, but extremely dark, the setting is compelling and felt authentic. I have read (and loved) Elodie Harper's 'The Wolf Den' and expected something similar; 'Sparrow' is more violent and the scents of the city almost leapt off the page. Both books felt realistic and had characters who were both compassionate and cruel, yet in Sparrow there is less hope and the darkness is not balanced with enough moments of hope.

The tug of war over Sparrow's emotions between Focaria and Euterpe are compelling and the later relationship that develops with Euterpe was unexpected. I found the harsh reality of life in the brothel with little chance of redemption quite difficult to read in places.

The ending feels a little rushed as if Hynes was not quite sure how to resolve this novel and it was not a totally satisfying end; however, it was definitely worth the journey and a book I shall ponder over for some time to come!

I really loved this book. The language and description made setting and characters so vivid, bringing back to life a city and a reality that we would struggle otherwise to imagine. James Hynes' novel depicts a world full of opposites: power and powerlessness, beauty and ugliness, love and hate. It is as compelling as it is, sometimes, unsettling.

This was a harrowing read, but fascinating too. The world and era are really brought to life. One of those stories that stays with you.

I thank Net Galley and the publisher for a review copy in exchange for a fair review. I enjoyed this book, which is a very detailed story of a young boy from the Middle East, who grows up in the Roman Empire is New Carthage in Spain. He grows up in a tavern / brothel, first just existing, then working with the cook, then working in the tavern, until eventually becoming a prostitute himself. The descriptive writing is excellent and the characters very richly drawn. The snag with the book is that it does not really end. It is narrated by Sparrow from a monastery in Britain, but we are given no clues as to how and why he got there, after the escape from New Carthage at the end of the book. Is this the first in a series? I found this fairly unsatisfactory despite the good writing and entertainment provided.

The novel "Sparrow" depicts the life of a slave growing up in Spain during the Roman Empire. The story is narrated by the protagonist, Sparrow, who shares his experiences of growing up in a brothel. Despite being well-written, the novel is quite lengthy. However, I found myself giving up on it after reading more than half of it. Sparrow's story is constantly depressing, and the abuse suffered by him and the prostitutes is relentless. Personally, I would have preferred the story to have more warmth and humanity to balance out the darkness.

We purchased the beautiful indie special of this wonderfully written book and whilst the subject matter (it’s so dark) makes it a tricky hand-sell it is an incredibly well written and well researched novel that stays with you. I hope it wins awards - it should - and I look forward to reading more from James Hynes.

Set in the Spanish coastal town of Carthago Nova in the waning years of the Roman Empire, Sparrow is the bold reimagining of an ancient, pagan time, on the cusp of Christianity, and specifically the story of a young slave boy, raised in a brothel by prostitutes.

Narrated by Jacob, now an elderly man reflecting on his youth as ‘Sparrow’, in acknowledgment of his ability to mentally ‘fly’ from the sadistic acts inflicted on him, it is a shocking, deeply affecting read. Including graphic descriptions of child rape, it is not for the faint-hearted.

The horror, however, is balanced — perhaps even vanquished — by the tender threads of love and sisterhood that weave through Hynes’ immaculately researched and headily evocative narrative. It is these — and the unforgettable character of Sparrow — that cling long after one finishes this spellbinding novel.

I was sent a copy of Sparrow by James Hynes to read and review by NetGalley. I enjoyed this novel; it was really interesting being from a young boy’s point of view but being told first person when he was at the end of his life. The book was well written with a great sense of place and the characters were well drawn and quite believable. No-one can know what life was really like that long ago but I felt this novel gave a good flavour of the time and the circumstances the protagonist found himself in.

Sparrow is a well written novel about a slave called Sparrow growing up in Spain during the Roman Empire. The story is narrated by Sparrow and details his life growing up in a brothel.
The novel is long and after getting more than half way through I gave up as I found Sparrow’s story constantly depressing and the abuse both he and the prostitutes suffered relentless and personally would have liked the story to be tempered with more warmth and humanity.

A grittier darker story than The Wolf Den by Eloise Harper. I felt slightly removed from the main character and the story moved at a very slow pace, but was convincingly detailed. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I didn't get on with this at all. Although I'm sure it was historically accurate it was just unrelentingly grim. Far too much sex and violence so I didn't finish it despite being well written.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Initially I found this book a little hard to get into, but stick with it and the narrative will sweep you into the story of Sparrow, a boy growing up in a brothel. Hynes has obviously researched his topic meticulously and the world of Carthago Nova jumps off the page. However, there is sometimes the temptation to just describe things rather than moving the plot along - long lists of smells and sounds that perhaps aren't needed in the narrative. Some of the sexual acts in the story are violent and abusive, so do be warned about that. But overall, a glimpse of a life in Roman Spain that is not often seen in historical fiction.

I received an advanced reading copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, Picador, and the author James Hynes.
This book is beautifully written, painting a vivid picture from the first page and completely involving you in the lives of the characters in the taverna. It's also a fascinating insight into the daily routines of Cartagena in approximately 300AD. Completely captivating and heartbreaking. 4 stars.