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nojerama's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
dean_'s review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mxkanteven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Matter of fact, her works are the blueprint of what science fiction is now.
I can see shadows of Parable of the Sower in newer books like Dry by Neal Shusterman.
Her understand of the human condition, people’s reactions to oppression, excess & lack and the patterns of human behaviour is more insightful than most.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Slavery, Trafficking, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Butler, Octavia E.. Parable of the Sower (p. 245). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: sci-fi, speculative fiction, dystopia, post apocalyptic, classics
📚Page Count: 330
🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 01min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
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The very beginning of the book is very preachy, well a lot of this book is preachy because it's literally the story of a young woman creating her own religion. I'd say the story was overall enjoyable despite the preachiness of it all. I really enjoyed the way this was written and how, it started out hopeless, like a lot of Butler's works. Then, there's a little light at the end of the tunnel and the story suddenly becomes hopeful.
This is my second time reading Parable of the Sower and I finally understand that it's about community and keeping one another safe. Protecting one another in crisis. That is the answer to the question, "what do we do when disaster strikes?"
I also love the diversity in this book. The characters were very diverse like all other Butler books.
The beginning of the book was a bit slow even though the book was interesting overall. Therefore, I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
cuddlygryphon's review against another edition
- 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
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
clarissa22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexism and Sexual content
thehawksflight's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.25
For those familiar with the Handmaid's Tale, this title carries similar heft and pathos, and a similarly dystopian America. What makes this read distinct is the voice of the protagonist, Lauren. The framed narrative/diary style is a bit clunky and occasionally Lauren is very long winded, betraying brevity for over-explanation.
A product of the now-called Afrofuturism genre, this is nonetheless important reading even if you can't make it through to the end.
Though society has collapsed, poverty is rampant and extreme looting is the norm, Lauren embarks on a theological quest to re-invent herself in a new religion of her own making, and through the process of proselytising, change the world. She is a hyper-empath: able to feel the physical pain of other living beings, and has a strong desire to form communities wherever she goes, though finds great strain in her personal relationships.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Dysphoria
Minor: Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
lulu_canread's review
- 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 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.
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.courtsbooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
elia_elizabeth_'s review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism