Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

268 reviews

lindseygcarden's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Torture, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Murder, Blood, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Infertility, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Violence, Classism, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Incest, and Pregnancy

bubblybelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

wow. this is such a harrowing story that bears terrifying resemblance to modern day America. Octavia Butler’s words and infinitely quotable and leave me feeling simultaneously heartbroken and hopeful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Slavery, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Child death, Classism, and Trafficking

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Animal death, Gun violence, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, and Murder

Moderate: Police brutality, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual content, and Cannibalism

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: Gun violence, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

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

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

ashleybakerwrites's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is everything The Road by Cormac McCarthy wished it could have been. I'd say this is going to go down as one of those books that never really stops being talked about. It's my first Octavia Butler, but I immediately can tell why people are drawn to her writing style at the least. Loved the big concepts for a young girl- and although she was mature for her age- there were always things that kept it believable. It's definitely not a light read- read the TWs, nothing really happens "on-screen" it's talked about from a journaled perspective of what is going on. While the stuff about Earthseed may grate against some people's sensibilities, if you read this understanding it's not supposed to convert you to anything, you'll get around it. My favorite scenes were those that actually happened on the road. The village bits are so necessary for context, and Octavia really gets you into 'normal' before you are forced from safety. I loved almost everything about this book. I'd recommend the audio book- but I think you might experience this a bit more intensely by reading it more slowly. There is a way older, barely legal romance that develops at the end of the book- but in the time period/frame of reference it's respectful. Maybe could have done without that, but I think Octavia was trying to FOIL and be realistic with that one. So I wouldn't avoid the book because of that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, and Alcoholism

apple_atcha_reading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

I am a buffoon for waiting this long to read any of Ms. Butler's works. I finished this in February and immediately wanted to select it as my top read of 2024. Although this was written in 1993 taking place in 2024, it felt like Butler could have written this today based on current events.

This is a deeply unsettling and uncomfortable novel to read, but I still enjoyed it. It took me a few weeks to read on audio because I took breaks due to heavy content, but this is a novel I can see myself re-reading every few years or so. There's a graphic novel version I'm interested in reading for comparison as well.

The main character, Lauren, was on unlikeable, but in a relatable sort of way that made sense given her circumstances. She was making uncomfortable decisions that no one else in her community was willing to make, although she should never have been in such a position. Lauren, her family, her community, and frankly the world, are living in an extreme climate crisis where water is treated as a luxury commodity instead of a life giving necessity, and the police and emergency services are (expensive) for hire workers instead of working in the best interest of a community. (wow, this isn't familiar at all /s) These are just some of the extreme measures being taken against the regular people in this universe. Because of the extreme state of the world, there are "company towns" being constructed eerily similar to the mining towns of 1800s Appalachia or even slavery within the United States empire. Money is rarely given for payment, prices are intentionally inflated requiring workers to go into debt, therefore ensuring the workers are unable to leave because they owe the company labor (even though they were unfairly compensated and grossly overcharged for goods and services).

It was so frustrating to me that the adults in Lauren's life refused to acknowledge the truth surrounding them. Her father was the only one to admit that things were "bad", but no one else was willing to accept they lived in a dying town in danger of being

brutally attacked and killed.

Yes, Lauren was technically a teenager who shouldn't of had to worry about

climate crisis and murder and death

and a dozen other things, but she was at least willing to accept her reality and make efforts to improve her circumstances, which should have been her parents' responsibilities.

Lauren's relationship with Bankole was essentially my big issue with this novel. I'm not a fan of any age gap relationship, but especially not one where the older partner

could be the younger partner's grandparent

. It gives me the ick, but I was warned in advance by @katsmedialibrary that Butler's novels do tend to feature relationships of this nature.

Overall, this was an amazing work of literature. I know understand why Octavia E. Butler is such a well respected author and so many people say her work was so influential to modern science fiction writing today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Death, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Murder, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Ableism, Slavery, Sexual content, and Death of parent

annakagrace's review against another edition

Too heavy for me right now, but I do want to revisit it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Animal death, Gore, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Grief, and Child death

erikwmj's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Trafficking, Child death, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Torture, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Sexism, and Racism

dragon_s_hoard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Death, Slavery, Trafficking, Blood, Cannibalism, Police brutality, Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault

chadconnecticut's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

My first Butler novel, after being introduced to her work last year via BLOODCHILD. There really is no one out there doing it like she did, and this novel’s spirit, soul, and prescience are wound through every page. The current discourse surrounding science fiction, climate fiction, and dystopian genre fiction seems to hinge on the way the subject material treats its readers, with so many people grasping for work that tackles the intersections of political and climate breakdown with thought and maturity. 

And while there’s much handwringing over this, it seems anything current readers are grasping for is simply reinventing the wheel that Butler shaped nearly 30 years ago. This book is sobering and pulls no punches, but it also grounds itself firmly in the hope and possibility of community. 

Butler is one of the greatest to ever do it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Gun violence, Blood, Drug abuse, Animal death, Slavery, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

Minor: Rape