Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

350 reviews

thislibrarianisreading's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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 abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

mollison's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

alysereadsbooks's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

I loved reading this! Octavia Butler was definitely ahead of her time and with how dystopian the world  seems, this gave me comfort while also unnerved me. I'm excited to read the second book in the series. I didn't love the Earthseed stuff, but I understand how it adds depth to the overall storyline. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

takarakeireads's review against another edition

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

4.0

phew... this is a rough book to read because Octavia is a genius and she basically predicted the world we live in now 30 years ago

The book starts in 2024... a dystopian society, told from the perspective of a teenage girl's journal, who is trying to create her own new religion. Even though some really horrible things happen in the book, the overall tone is rather matter-of-fact and for that reason the storytelling arc fell a tad flat (it's just very different from typical plot pacing that I've read, so maybe that's why). I have to see how it ends so... yeah I'll read the sequel :')

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Rape, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Grief, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Classism

maryellen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape

erinmure5's review

medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a great book, and it definitely makes you think. I would not describe it as a “fun read” or a “good time.” Be prepared for feelings of existential dread amidst the hope and resilience, especially given today’s socio-political climate. Speculative fiction at its finest.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

mintyr's review

adventurous challenging inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Slavery, Trafficking, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual violence, and Grief

vee_eb's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? No

4.5

Prescient novel. Butler drew from real history and then current events to accurately predict what the 2020s are shaping up to be. And it's dark.

Favourite quote:
"It's better to teach people than to scare them, Lauren. If you scare them and nothing happens, they lose their gear, and you lose some of your authority with them. It's harder to scare them a second time, harder to teach them, harder to win back their trust. Best to begin by teaching."

The only thing I would say is that because I'm not religious in the slightest, some of the belief system doesn't make much of an impression on me as I shy away from religion in all forms. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Classism

vegankat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

maxxx79's review

adventurous dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail