Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

204 reviews

crybabybea's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

One of the greatest writers of our time for sure. Parable of the Sower is interesting because, while it's shelved as sci-fi, there's actually not many sci-fi elements to it, except for made-up drugs and side effects and a fictionalized setting. To me, it actually reads more like literary fiction; our time is spent inside the main character's head and her relationships rather than getting wrapped up in an action-packed plot. It read very similarly to I Who Have Never Known Men, but written with a feeling of tension rather than isolation.

Of course, there are moments of "action", in which the characters have to fight their way out of dangerous situations and survive, but the scenes move quickly without much detail, and instead the action serves to further the development of the main character, Lauren, and her relationships with her community. Lauren's narration is matter-of-fact and brutal. She observes the world through the lens of survival, and her idea of what it takes to survive evolves as she experiences more and more violence. Moving from quiet anticipation, to uneasy vigilance, to cautious magnanimity, her understanding of the world is showcased through her development of her spirituality called Earthseed.

Earthseed is something that I think can be analyzed in so many different ways and is definitely a huge reason why this book is as highly praised as it is. It highlights the knowledge of Black activists, but especially Black women. Motherhood in all of its forms is incredibly important to the formation of the burgeoning Earthseed community. Lauren also believes in the importance of intersectionality, embracing diversity and change. The questions of climate disaster and Lauren's seed collecting also point to indigenous wisdom.  In developing Earthseed, Octavia Butler critiques people's cautiousness around changing traditional values, beliefs, and systems, and instead asks us to listen to the people around us, especially those with diverse opinions and experiences.

There are so many layers to unpack with this book, that I'm sure have been unpacked by people much smarter than I am. There are parallels to so many things. It kind of started to feel a little meta because while The Parable of the Sower presents parallels to issues that have affected different marginalized groups (but especially those of the global south and Black Americans), Lauren is somewhat privileged, at least via class, and the people in her community refuse to see the danger closing in until it begins to affect them personally. Which, of course, is similar to the mindset of white people in America. Y'know the whole "first they came for the communists" kinda thing. 

Read it. It's still timely and clearly inspired many works of modern fiction. Be wary of trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

jadams89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

theodora_parianos's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

sjking's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book is so good, but so dark. Everyone should have to read this book. Given the current state of the United States, and World, this book felt more like non-fiction than fiction. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

desihre's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Kind of haunting to read a past book about our current year... scary and yet informative... I enjoyed reading her responses to a journalists questions at the back of the book about what gave her the idea for writing this book and she spoke about what she thought the US would be like as a 3rd world country expanding on things that were currently happening (1990's) to what the affects of it would be like years later (2025+). Great book.i wish there was more at the ending but it's meant to be that way & was expected.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Murder

balsamum's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Torture

Minor: Animal death and Police brutality

magicinavalon's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Probably the best dystopian novel I've read. All of the characters and the world itself felt so real. Harrowing and dark, but full of human endurance, compassion, and strength.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Death of parent

cromb's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Astutely observing trends in American society and taking those trends their most harrowing possible conclusions, Octavia Butler gives us an incredibly dark and depressing look at humanity at its worst, providing just enough hope and kindness to keep us from shutting the book and entering a depression-induced vegetative state.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Slavery, and Police brutality

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Trafficking

laur_shares's review

adventurous challenging inspiring tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship