Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

106 reviews

gmortg3's review

dark emotional reflective tense medium-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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

notartgarfunkel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

Whew, this was hard to read. Butler created a very brutal near-future for these characters, and she does not pull any punches in her descriptions of that world. Big CW for just about any tough topic you can think of; I won’t list them here, but if there’s anything that’s particularly triggering for you, you may want to do a little research before picking this up. But if you’re able to, it’s very much worth reading.

I kept thinking of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road as I read this. The post-apocalyptic world is just as well-developed and you root for the main characters in the same way as they struggle to survive. I’d even say it’s a more interesting book because it considers race, gender, social inequality, etc. (not to mention the main character, Lauren’s, hyperempathy). It seems like the only reason Parable of the Sower is not as widely read as The Road is because it’s by a Black woman author with characters that are mostly people of color. I think it’s more worth reading for that reason.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, and Death of parent

Moderate: Incest, Racism, Suicide, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

brookbrook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I felt this was the book I hoped to pick up every time I read a dystopian novel as a kid. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

vivvs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Racism, and Classism

very heavy

chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

challenging sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicide

Minor: Cursing, Incest, Infertility, Excrement, and Pregnancy

lulu_canread's review

dark sad tense slow-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

4.5

The Parable of the Sower is a dystopian sci-fi set in 2025 and follows the life of Lauren, beginning with her life as a young girl. She lives in a gated community, not out of wealth, but out of necessity. This book was originally written in the 90s, and imagines the 2020s as a hellish landscape of climate crises, lawlessness, and deprivation (sometimes this feels not too far off!).
The book follows Lauren's childhood and her growing understanding of the world she lives in while the adults around her grapple with what used to be. Her father, the baptist preacher/spiritual leader of her neighbourhood instills in her a religion, but Lauren struggles to reconcile it with the harsh world around her. Her first act of defiance and of independence is to stray, first just in thought, from her father's view of god to her own - god is change, unavoidable and irresistable - thus begins her religion of Earthseed. This spiritual journey follows Lauren as she grows and her world changes.
At times this story reads like a parable or biblical text, other times the accuracy of Octavia Butler writing reads like a dire warning. This book is harsh and brutal, it doesn't shy away from the horror a dysfunctional world like this one would be. Yet Parable of the Sower is ultimately a book about survival, of endurance, and of hope. I am not a sci-fi or even much of a dystopian reader but I was totally captured by this amazing novel and unable to put it down.
Two warnings before you dive in:
Firstly, take the content warnings seriously for this book. I don't want to turn people away or off this masterpiece but massive content warnings, like all the content warnings. As I stated - this book is harsh and cruel at times.
Second, Octavia Butler was unable to finish the Earthseed series before she died. While there is a second novel published, Parable of the Sower concludes (without spoiling it for you) in way that you can stop reading and be satisfied with pausing the narrative there. I haven't read the second book and cannot vouch on whether or not you would find a similarly good pause for the series at that point. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery

Minor: Addiction, Mental illness, Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Please, please, please take the content warnings seriously for this book. It is a fantastic read, but it is rough going as Octavia Butler does not hold back in the trauma department of her dystopian world. Make sure you read all content warnings on multiple reviews as I am sure I have forgotten some.

avalazarov's review

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Gore, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder

lara_bk's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Cannibalism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Blood, and Pregnancy

evewasinnocent's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

god almighty. i find myself thinking like lauren at least in regards to god. is this scary? is this a warning of what’s to come? what is the fate of your world if your god has become change? what is it if your god is stagnant? Butler writes dystopia like it can be real. not like anything i’ve read before. everything feels too far away, too glitzy. i have to remember though this is only dystopia for the US

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism