Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

8 reviews

nonamenogender's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

3.5

I loved many aspects of this book. I think the slow descent into chaos is more realistic and frightening than a nuclear apocalypse. I think Lauren is an interesting and compelling protoganist. I love how we are experiencing this story through her journal entries, and Lauren's account is not 100% reliable. My biggest criticism of this book is how it portrays and discusses substance use. 

The crazies/paints/junkies in the book are all murderous psychopaths who take pleasure in burning things and people. They are portrayed as less than human, monsters. And their behavior IS monstrous, but we get no explanation for this other than the drug makes watching fire better than sex. None of the primary characters, other than Keith, who is also a monster, use drugs.

The moment I kept waiting for that never came was either for Lauren to meet a drug user who doesn't fulfill the mold established earlier, or for the crazies to be more than just junkies, and some kind of violent political group or criminal enterprise. But no, their violence is always senseless and brutal.

This wouldn't bother me so much if the drug "pyro" wasn't such a major part of the storytelling. It plays on the racist fears around the crack epidemic, but not in any way that challenges them. The only hint that how Lauren describes drug users is not accurate to the world she lives in, is that her perspective is often naive, and sometimes narrow minded. Butler says the parable books are what she imagined could happen if the worst of societies problems were allowed to continue unchecked. in that context, "pyro" is the least realistic aspect of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

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

gabriella_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

4.25

This was a great introduction into Octavia Butler for me. The writing style was gripping and the characters were fantastic. The plot was heavy but in a realistic way (especially for a dystopian, it made sense and is even more eerie to read in 2024). I wasn’t a big fan of the “starting a religion” stuff, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

maxicosi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• 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, Gore, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Abortion, and Outing

mac23's review

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

clare072's review

adventurous emotional hopeful 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? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cursing, Incest, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Abortion

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

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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

anni_l's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, and Death of parent

Minor: Vomit and Abortion