Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

92 reviews

nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

chanlo1994's review against another edition

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

4.75

I wouldn't have picked this up if didn't get the free audiobook credit for it. It was fascinating to see a 90's perspective of 2024, which is the year I read this book, and the author's predictions of what the world would come to in a worst case scenario. Aside from the very extreme dystopian ideas, there are some parallels to today's world. I think we're lucky our government system hasn't failed us (yet) and this book is a stark reminder of what could come should we, as a community and society, fail. Not just each other, but ourselves. In the book, it's mentioned how "backwards we've become" and I know, with recent events, we've definitely heard that a time or two.

It is heavily Christian based, but it also expands from those teachings.

Pretty much if The Purge exists all day every day for years on end, this is what it would be like. I wouldn't be surprised if The Purge was partially inspired by this book.

Oh, and it's most certainly a book about the formation of a cult. Lol. But a good cult? It's yet to be seen.

Side note: because it was recorded in 1999, the end credits are delightfully dated lololol. Saying we could fax them to order a new book and such. I loved it lol.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

Minor: Hate crime and Kidnapping

This is a heavily triggered book for nearly every topic.

pat_reads_slow's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Classism

mfarmer214's review

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

pweav's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

I will never get tired of this series. So incredibly well done and such truly prophetic work that made Octavia Butler my favorite author of all time.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Rape, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

denissedae's review

challenging dark 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? Yes

4.5

A dark look into the future of what America could be.

I read this after the 2024 election. And the plot of the story starts in the same year. 

In the story, the cause for the destruction of society began before my current time and differs from what is actually happening. But I can see hints and pieces of how our lives now can easily, EASILY become the reality that the characters live. It’s scary and daunting.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Rape, Police brutality, and Abandonment

sabiecee's review

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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

4.25

Jarring, real, and thought-provoking. Having a hard time to coming to terms with it still.
The main character's relationship at the end and the weird age gap is making me really uncomfortable though, and I'm hoping that doesn't last long in the next book 😭

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jenna0818's review

adventurous dark 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? No

3.0

I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I found it very dull and matter of fact, with less reflections and commentary than I had hoped. It was just reporting one terrible event after another, an apocalypse world unraveling while the protagonist barely emotes and starts a new faith that doesn’t quite make sense.  This book was likely prescient in 1993, it was certainly shocking to start reading about the 2024 election when I started the novel blindly at that exact day, but in 2024 it feels lacking in its inner world building and character development that would make the chaos of the events feel more meaningful, real, and scary. It feels like a chore to think of reading the sequel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Police brutality, Cannibalism, and Medical trauma

viporras's review

challenging 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

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

---

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