Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

La parábola del sembrador by Octavia E. Butler

70 reviews

reads2cope's review against another edition

5.0

 “Do you think our world is coming to an end?” Dad asked, and with no warning at all, I almost started crying. I had all I could do to hold it back. What I thought was, “No, I think your world is coming to an end, and maybe you with it.” That was terrible. I hadn’t thought about it in such a personal way before. I turned and looked out a window until I felt calmer. When I faced him again, I said. “Yes. Don’t you?”

I can't believe it took me this long to read Parable of the Sower, but any time since it's publication has been the perfect time to read. On Instagram, @bookishcrimson pointed out how Zarah recommended sucking on a plum or apricot pits to stave off thirst while Palestinian mothers are giving their babies dates to suck on because of the lack of milk and all other foods in the genocide on Gaza. 
Every time the political race came up in the book, it felt so much like the USA race today. Describing one of the candidates as "a symbol of the past for us to hold on to as we’re pushed into the future. He’s nothing. No substance. But having him there, the latest in a two-and-a-half-century-long line of American Presidents make people feel that the country, the culture that they grew up with is still here — that we’ll get through these bad times and back to normal.” That exactly explains the current candidates to me.
The disease and environmental collapse is so obviously on-point that it hardly feels worth mentioning. COVID-19 has been on constant high waves, disabling and killing people in horrifying numbers? Ignore it. Every season is warmer than ever and every marker for irreversible damage is being met? "'These things frighten people. It’s best not to talk about them.” “ But, Dad, that’s like… like ignoring a fire in the living room because we’re all in the kitchen, and, besides, house fires are too scary to talk about.'"

The only thing I didn't like about this book was Earthseed. While I understand Laura wanting to have a clear mantra to help her through societal collapse, the "belief" in Earthseed seemed less religious to everyone around her and more a unifying idea. By which I mean, her friends and fellow travelers were happy to hear about it and agreed with some basic points, but no one gave up worshiping a different God or fully believed in the space travel promise of Earthseed. I was annoyed that Lauren wanted to make a religious cult rather than a commune, but as her main focus was survival, it didn't take up too much of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Child death, Rape, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, and Drug abuse

bohemianhermit04's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Cannibalism, and Cursing

gustgustgust's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

This book shocked me. It was written in the '90s and yet it felt prophetic. If it was written in this year, people would say it was too on-the-nose. 

The story is beautiful. the main character, Lauren Olamina, is such a beautiful, complicated character. The relationships are complicated and dense and tentative. The real shining moment is just the world Bulter weaved. It felt not only like it happened, but that I was watching it happen in front of me. It's not for me to adapt, but it is definitely something that would make an incredible series if given full opportunity to be as dark, grim, and haunting as it needs to be. 

The only thing that knocked it down for me was there was a lot of violence, and I understand that the world needed it so it's just a personal taste thing. I don't think anything was don't to scandalize or be outrageous, it was true to the world, I just got pulled out going "oh no, this is too much, too real" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Child death, Death of parent, Torture, Classism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Murder, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault

daysanchez's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative 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: Addiction, Body horror, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Blood, Child death, Drug use, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Violence, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Animal death, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Cursing, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Torture, and Sexual content

mutua1core's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Racism, Slavery, Gore, Police brutality, Pregnancy, War, Animal death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual content, Addiction, Gun violence, Classism, Sexual assault, and Violence

theemeraldgirl23's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

A fantastic speculative fiction novel about our current times and what would happen if California became a dystopian wasteland. Lauren Olamina is a tremendous and refreshing protagonist from her view on God and community. It was unlike any book I've ever read before. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Pregnancy, Slavery, Murder, Body horror, Gun violence, Rape, Cannibalism, Addiction, and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, Excrement, Incest, and Infidelity

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark reflective sad

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Rape, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Suicide, War, Sexual violence, and Incest

Minor: Fatphobia, Excrement, and Vomit

Adult/minor relationship warning is also for a relationship between a grown adult and an 18-year-old.

julieallison's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Slavery, Incest, Physical abuse, Torture, Child abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Cursing, Cannibalism, Child death, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Addiction, Classism, Death, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, and Drug use

katrinarose's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? No

4.0

While a little slow to start, this book absolutely gripped me. It’s definitely the best bleak post-apocalyptic survival book I’ve read (although in this story there’s no distinct apocalyptic event, it’s just the degradation of society). It reminds me a bit of The Book of the Unnamed Midwife, and I think it’s impossible Parable of the Sower didn’t inspire it, but this came first and was done better. 

I really liked Lauren as a character and the development of her religion. She is a very stoic character for all the trauma she experiences but yet I don’t find it that unbelievable - between her religious beliefs and the fact that the whole story is her journal she wrote (she could be writing in a more serious tone than if we got a first person POV narration) - I think it makes sense. I admire her a lot. The other characters aren’t quite as well-developed as her but I liked how every character had something unique to add. 

I do wish there was more explanation for how the world devolved to this point (yet they still had to pay property taxes while arson and murder were everyday occurrences?) but it didn’t take away much from the story. Overall this was depressing and full of triggering topics but very hopeful at the same time, and I would recommend it for anyone interested in a semi-realistic dystopian.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Child death, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Sexual content, Cannibalism, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

katadamz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

This will be a book that haunts me. I suspect it will cause nightmares for years to come. I think for that alone, this is an excellent novel. Prescient, as well. 

I’m still tossing around what I think about the portrayals  romantic relationships in the novel (both mixed race and age gaps). I wonder if those are just jarring against how accurate the rest of the novel felt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Slavery, Trafficking, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Sexism, Rape, Cannibalism, Child death, Racism, and Sexual assault