Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

113 reviews

hayleyvharrington's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Gun violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death and Racism

thatchickcanwrite's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

My first 5-star read of 2025. So poignant, and it genuinely felt almost prophetic at times with how similar some of the events in the book are to current events; and only a few of those felt like extreme versions of current events. Many of them felt like...right now.
But, to speak of the story itself, I really fell in love with the main character. Her sharing ability reminded me of the importance of radical empathy and of the importance of building community and mutual aid. It was introspective, soft at times, terrifying at times, spoke of the lengths that parents will go to to protect and care for their children (as well as some horrible things parents can do to children), and overall nigh impossible to put down.
I read this via audiobook, but am planning to get a physical copy that I can reread and annotate later in the year; see how much is still the same as in this incredible and yet terrifying book!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

bookish_beauty's review

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction

dariogd's review

adventurous dark hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

janaaax's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I did not enjoy everything about this book. I sometimes did not understand the charactermotives and it is for sure the most violent and brutal book I have ever read and I usually do not enjoy these things but this book left a deeply but rather pessimist Impression on me. It feels so true, certainly to close to the truth to be comfortable but I will remember it for a long time and I liked the thoughts about earthseed about God is change and working, creating and forming a better world is praying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Cannibalism

indiawrites's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I figured I would read this book in light of everything that is going on in the U.S. politically. It has been a while since I enjoyed a book this much. I enjoy reading dystopian novels and hearing the year "2025" written as if it's light-years away was kind of jarring. Butler does a great job of developing characters and relationships. There is also a clear understanding of the MC motivation. I feel like this is something I should have read in school if it weren't for the sex scenes. It cover the social, economic, and political downfall of the U.S. It is kind of creepy reading some of the beliefs of the President from the novel in comparison to our newly installed felon in chief. I highly recommend this novel to anyone that is looking for a good read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Suicide

binca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

kyrajohnson's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

It's not often a dystopian novel haunts me the way that Parable of the Sower did/does. Octavia Butler paints a clear, terrifyingly realistic picture of where modern society could be headed - it is a cautionary tale; a strong warning to anyone living under late-stage capitalism. Harrowing depictions within the book -- hyper-individualism & in-fighting, forced labor & corporate enslavement, dangerously dwindling resources due to unsolved climate catastrophes, bloodthirsty & useless law enforcement, and a crumbling government -- all feel somewhat inevitable (if not already present in some form) as today's elite ruling class plunges us all further into disaster. 

I took a small quarter-star off because, though Butler made pretty clear the causes of a crumbling America in her book, I found myself wanting to know more of the timeline of & details behind its deterioration. Though perhaps that would have detracted from the primary story she was aiming to tell - one of brave resistance, community-building, and persevering hope in a bleak & tragic world. That story is extremely compelling, and I think anyone reading it can take its lesson of radical optimism and apply it to today's world.

I will be reading the sequel posthaste!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse and Suicide

Minor: Racism and Rape

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

rickycbc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, and War