The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1)
by Mary Doria Russell
Sam lent it to me and I finished it within about 36 hours. Completely engrossing, almost impossible to put down. Makes you work for the answers.
Some very interesting and thoughtful things on religion. And exploration. I don't expect to understand it all right now---I've promised to have a discussion with Sam and her housemate who's also read it. But the story works on many, many different levels.
I still haven't figured out/decided about the end.
One complaint---I was certain that the deaths were going to be absolutely devastating. (I don't think that's a spoiler; you learn it on the back cover.) The (human) characters were so beautifully and artfully drawn that I nearly teared up every time I thought about it. But when they came---it just didn't have the impact. They were somehow remote. Maybe it's a problem on my end; who knows.