Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

32 reviews

lemonsaurus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

"A sower went out to sow their seed; and as they sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell upon the thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And others fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bore fruit an hundredfold. " - The Bible, Authorized King James Version, St. Luke 8 5-8

This is a classic for a reason, and should be required reading, frankly. The present Butler describes is only scifi in that it was speculative in the time she wrote it. While things are not this bad in the US yet, I still qualify that with the word 'yet', and the many parallels to our current situation are a constant reminder that we may not be walking in the general direction of North through the rotting corpse of our country, but we are within a stones throw of it. Lakes dried down to fractions of their former size is actively occuring, drinking water is scarce and only getting scarcer. We have a president named a version of Don, elected in 2024, on the platform of "Make American Great Again", in some cases gladly offering up our own rights in the name of a promise so esoteric and decoupled from our actual current situation it almost feels like we place votes on what best fantasy novel we want to believe is true the most. 

"I wish you could have known this country when it was still salvageable"

The question begs, if the country ultimately ended up in the situation it was in, was it ever really salvageable? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Incest, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

novel_nymph's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

3littlewordz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

4.5

I was utterly spellbound reading Parable of the Sower. There was an uncomfortable level of parallels between the book Octavia Butler wrote in 1993 to society today, particularly after starting this book for the first time on July 20, 2024. Even at her young age, Lauren Olamina knew that society would continue to devolve, even when the adults in her neighborhood kept their heads in the sand. The book was unsettling for me for so many reasons, most importantly because I am not ready for this type of collapse of society, and we're incredibly close to this occurring if things don't change SOON. Octavia's vision was so easy to visualize because we're so close to it!  

Lauren's narration was clear and poignant - she knew what was coming, and knew what to do when the time came. She also had a quiet, determined resolve that made her a survivor and contributed to her philosophy. She also welcomed community/chosen family, even in circumstances where trusting new people could prove deadly.

I did wonder why Earthseed was approached as a religion instead of a philosophy. It would seem "God is change" and her assertion that her 'religion' was change wouldn't rise to the definition of a religion, but I'm looking at it from my understanding of religion. She spoke a bit about Destiny being among the stars and at times it did seem she meant this literally, so maybe that's where religion comes in. Bankole actually mentioned this during her first explanation of Earthseed.

My only ick is the age gap between Lauren and Bankole. This is the second book of Octavia's that I've read where she introduces either an actual large age gap or the appearance of one. This is one of the few tropes I hate to see in books. I understand that Lauren probably gravitated to Bankole because he reminded her of her father, but no. Nah. I don't want to see it. I want to read more of Octavia's work, but not if that will continue to be included.

I wonder what a newer version of this story (complete with the influence of social media) would look like.... how much mis- and disinformation would be included to make everything 1000x worse. Either way, this work can be utilized as a look into the future, both as a warning and a deterrent. I hope as many people as possible take it as such. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

kjcrary's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

ikiteahill's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? No

5.0

This book was hard to read. It's billed as scifi/fantasy but it's really more focused on a dystoipian society. Taking place in the USA starting in the year 2024, it's an alternate universe but parts of it hit really close to home with how eerily similar they are to society today. Some of the content was hard to stomach. But it brings up such interesting philosophical concepts. Like, what is God? What is religion? What does that do for people? What is human nature? How do we respond as a species under threat? You have to be in the right mindset to read this one but it's worth reading. I think this one will stick with me for a while, even if I'm not sure I'm ready to read the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

yesthattom's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

jayjayjers's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

nogoodtulip's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0

Set in a very plausible and not-too-distant future collapsed american society, Parable of the Sower is enthralling in its character’s struggle for survival against a world consumed by destitution, violence, and corporate oppression. The blossoming of our main character Lauren’s new religion of Earthseed and the vision of a new and transformed world that it brings drives the story forward and teaches us that we cannot build something new without first risking everything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

emissaryorca's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative 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

4.75

Normally when I sit down and devour a book in a single day it's for one of 2 reasons: the pacing and narrative rhythm are so airtight I get swept into content rather than the mechanisms of its delivery; or that the delivery/playfulness of prose, composition, and structure are so engaging to me I just have to see what kind of wordcraft comes next. Parable is absolutely a standout example of the former. Yet again Butler's exploration of faith and humanity intersected ignites inspiration in a way I seldom experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia

chadconnecticut's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

My first Butler novel, after being introduced to her work last year via BLOODCHILD. There really is no one out there doing it like she did, and this novel’s spirit, soul, and prescience are wound through every page. The current discourse surrounding science fiction, climate fiction, and dystopian genre fiction seems to hinge on the way the subject material treats its readers, with so many people grasping for work that tackles the intersections of political and climate breakdown with thought and maturity. 

And while there’s much handwringing over this, it seems anything current readers are grasping for is simply reinventing the wheel that Butler shaped nearly 30 years ago. This book is sobering and pulls no punches, but it also grounds itself firmly in the hope and possibility of community. 

Butler is one of the greatest to ever do it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Blood, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

Minor: Rape