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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
Extremely unsettlingly believable apocalyptic rendition of a crumbling California.
Growing up in the 2000s, I've seen a ton of post-apocalyptic/dystopian/zombie movies and books, but never one set *during* the apocalypse. Set in California from 2024-2027, there are mobs of people stealing, setting fire to houses, breaking into houses, raping people, drugs, debt slavery, sexual slavery are all rampant and, if not living in a walled community, inescapable. Very few jobs still exist and most don't pay in cash but company credits, employers have set up company towns and pay in company credits and have all the power as employees are endlessly replaceable, modern medicine nor government really seem to exist much anymore, but there *are* still *some* normal jobs paying wages, cops exist but in a somehow more dystopian form than currently, property tax still exists, insurance somewhat still exists though it's rare it ever gets paid, firemen still exist though they come hours later and for a fee. It's a view of a desintegrating, deeply failing California several years into what is clearly an apocalyptic event.
Terrifying in how realistic and already relatable its depiction of the US as a whole and especially California specifically is. One of the first passages that set a dystopian scene is of our characters biking through a town lined with the homeless, drug addicts, and people who have clearly been raped. This hit way too close to home given the streets upon streets of tents in Sac, how inescapable the poverty and homelessness is here. At least half people I encounter on the streets whenever I take a walk here are homeless, and many passages from the beginning of the book (and the narratives people had to reassurance themselves and copy with living in such a world) already exist. Community as the last chain of defense to keep one protected and attend to the needs that government infrastructure should cover I also see to some extent here these days. Especially given that they pass through Sacramento and neighboring areas (Clear Lake and a small town outside Sac that's probably supposed to be Natomas, some towns near Monterey Bay, I tracked their progress on Google maps up the highways I'd traveled as they progressed north), the book only hit harder. Deeply unsettling, but difficult to put down. So realistic in how it developed on issues that seemingly already affected California when it was published in 1993.
The main characters and group dynamics also felt very realistic, and I felt for Lauren particularly, I think that though the most unrealistic aspect of the book, her hyperempathy did add an interesting additional dynamic to the book. I also enjoyed how realistically diverse the characters were. California definitely isn't mostly white people and this book to me quite accurately reflected that.
My one gripe would be with quality of the writing itself, a lot of sentences throughout were vague enough for me to be confused about how to interpret them until a few sentences later clarified what was meant and the writing itself wasn't especially descriptive nor pretty, and at least to me that would have made me enjoy it more. For instance The Past Is Red has absolutely tremendous writing quality *and* manages it while set in a post-apocalyptic world.
A quote from the author from the reading guide at the back of the book: "I imagined the United States becoming slowly, through the combined effects of lack of foresight and short-term unenlightened self-interest, a third world country", and she does so extremely realistically.
Growing up in the 2000s, I've seen a ton of post-apocalyptic/dystopian/zombie movies and books, but never one set *during* the apocalypse. Set in California from 2024-2027, there are mobs of people stealing, setting fire to houses, breaking into houses, raping people, drugs, debt slavery, sexual slavery are all rampant and, if not living in a walled community, inescapable. Very few jobs still exist and most don't pay in cash but company credits, employers have set up company towns and pay in company credits and have all the power as employees are endlessly replaceable, modern medicine nor government really seem to exist much anymore, but there *are* still *some* normal jobs paying wages, cops exist but in a somehow more dystopian form than currently, property tax still exists, insurance somewhat still exists though it's rare it ever gets paid, firemen still exist though they come hours later and for a fee. It's a view of a desintegrating, deeply failing California several years into what is clearly an apocalyptic event.
Terrifying in how realistic and already relatable its depiction of the US as a whole and especially California specifically is. One of the first passages that set a dystopian scene is of our characters biking through a town lined with the homeless, drug addicts, and people who have clearly been raped. This hit way too close to home given the streets upon streets of tents in Sac, how inescapable the poverty and homelessness is here. At least half people I encounter on the streets whenever I take a walk here are homeless, and many passages from the beginning of the book (and the narratives people had to reassurance themselves and copy with living in such a world) already exist. Community as the last chain of defense to keep one protected and attend to the needs that government infrastructure should cover I also see to some extent here these days. Especially given that they pass through Sacramento and neighboring areas (Clear Lake and a small town outside Sac that's probably supposed to be Natomas, some towns near Monterey Bay, I tracked their progress on Google maps up the highways I'd traveled as they progressed north), the book only hit harder. Deeply unsettling, but difficult to put down. So realistic in how it developed on issues that seemingly already affected California when it was published in 1993.
The main characters and group dynamics also felt very realistic, and I felt for Lauren particularly, I think that though the most unrealistic aspect of the book, her hyperempathy did add an interesting additional dynamic to the book. I also enjoyed how realistically diverse the characters were. California definitely isn't mostly white people and this book to me quite accurately reflected that.
My one gripe would be with quality of the writing itself, a lot of sentences throughout were vague enough for me to be confused about how to interpret them until a few sentences later clarified what was meant and the writing itself wasn't especially descriptive nor pretty, and at least to me that would have made me enjoy it more. For instance The Past Is Red has absolutely tremendous writing quality *and* manages it while set in a post-apocalyptic world.
A quote from the author from the reading guide at the back of the book: "I imagined the United States becoming slowly, through the combined effects of lack of foresight and short-term unenlightened self-interest, a third world country", and she does so extremely realistically.
challenging
dark
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Solid post apocalyptic story. Scary how it relates to the current political climate. And it is set in 2025
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A long and hard read, but particularly relevant in this day in age.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I got home from Universal Studios Halloween Horror Night at 1am. Then I finished the second half of the book and slept at 4am.
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-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:
Yes
i devoured the last 2/3s of this in an evening but it took me WEEKS to get into it for some reason. the novel started to really pick up when lauren’s journey begins. i don’t know what it is but i LOVE a journey, a trek. i loved the gathering of characters and followers and the casual conversations and connections the individuals made. part of me wanted to say there were too many characters that came out of the wood work but it’s been 24 hours and i’ve read a different book since then (and slept and worked and mommed) but i could still list off every Earthseed follower and their origin & relationship to the novel. sometimes i literally forget the main character’s name in the time between finishing a book and writing a review so for me, that speaks VOLUMES of the writing and tale and characters Butler created. i read this on Libby but am determined to purchase both Parable novels and own and cherish them for the rest of my life before i start #2. PLUS there are so many incredible themes & bits i don’t have the bandwidth to discuss that absolutely should be discussed, like the near – future dystopian world building, injustice, real life parallels, the horrifying politics of it all. ANYWAY feels like this book is five stars, even though I wanted to dock it because I didn’t get into it in the start, but considering my recall of even the first slow, 30%, there was a lot in this book that stuck with me and there’s a very good chance i’ll increase my rating to 5 stars within the next 24 hours lol.