Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy

14 reviews

donnaofbadness's review

4.0

dark reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Classism

gremlin_wranglr's review

4.75

adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic

neleusb's review against another edition

3.0

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

loved the novel version and im not sure that this holds up. the art style is SO compelling (if not a little inconsistent with size and perspective) but i couldnt get past the vast majority of the text being pasted journal entries. it worked in the novel but bored me in the graphic novel version- i loved the moments that didnt rely on the journals and had dialogue or visuals to tell the story. overall a good refresh before i read the novel’s sequel but i dont know that ill come back to this version. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Slavery

Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Classism

Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail

whatthemel1's review

4.0

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-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: Yes

---

“I think necessity drew me to the series” - John Jennings (265). Great adaptation of a brilliant author’s work. It has been interesting to reflect on graphic novels and the “narrative power of comics” (267) — the genre’s conventions that Duffy and Jennings used to bring Butler’s story to life in a new way. I do feel the graphic novel was not able to fully capture elements of Butler’s original work, but that would have been an impossibility. As an educator using this graphic novel in an undergraduate seminar, I am especially appreciative of the wonderful teaching resources at the conclusion of the book. I eagerly await reading the authors’ Parable of the Talents adaptation, to be released in April 2025.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Classism

Minor: Vomit

eugenegm's review

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

 The Parable of the sower has become even more prophetic as time has moved on. Our world is more like Butler's world than ever before, and if we don't act now to make the changes we need to, we can all look forward to a world that is nothing but rape, torture, and endless enslavement to the rich. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Xenophobia

zantoryu's review

4.75

dark tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Murder, War, Classism

jjvaldezbooks's review

4.0

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

slightly less my style of book than kindred. i feel like if I had more biblical knowledge I might have vibed with it more but I'm a long-lapsed Catholic 

devastating story of a young woman trying to survive the end of capitalism/her world. it's not quite hopeful, but god does it make you grit your teeth and want to do something about this shit

intrigued by the real world study of Earthseed as a religion that I've seen online, excited to go back and explore that

(I didn't like the art again. sorry.)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Torture

hannahgarstang's review

---

Learning about Earthseed through the characters dialogue was quite comforting, despite the dystopian world this is set in. The dialouge felt like transcriptions of real conversations. 

The graphic art was chef's kiss and the story had a good pace. 

Lauren is the most observant, insightful and wise protagonists I've ever read. She is so practical and knows how to read a room. 
The age gap relationship was uncomfortable though when you remember she's only 18 years old at that point. 

This dystopian forewarning felt relevant and reflective of issues we face today. Climate change,  unregulated exploitative industry, systemic racism drivrn by the state and the patriarchy are real risks for people's wellbeing currently. I couldn't help but reflect on the examples of modern day slavery. The reflection of police brutality or the harrowing statistics of child abuse, drug abuse and sexual assault. And then on top of all of that, the fact that climate change disproportionately negatively impacts those of lower socioeconomic communities, often BIPOC communities. The emphasis on struggling to access fresh potable water sources felt especially relevant as climate change has a general rule of the dry get drier and the wet get wetter. Meaning drought prone areas are genearlly going to be especially vulnerable as the climate continues to warm. I've heard predictions that instead of fighting wars over oil we will start fighting wars over water one day. The colour selection of red and orange felt very appropriate given this context. 

The message was pretty clear to me. Work together with your communities to prepare for change because change is inevitable. Prepare for climate change with both mitigation and adaptation. Prepare for natural disasters like earthquakes(my community lives on a fault line), floods (the tragedy that was the flooding up north in Hawkes Bay last year), unprecedented forest fires (I won't be forgetting the horror that was the 2020 forest fires in Australia), and more. And address the very clear inequalities that currently exist.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Colonisation, Classism

librarymouse's review

3.75

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

There were some parts of this book I really liked and others I really didn't. The 39 year age gap between Lauren and her love interest who she first recognizes through associating him with her father is one of the major dislikes. I like both characters, but the situation is uncomfortable, especially when he is made out as a sympathetic, likable character. I'd had this book and the novel it was adapted from on my to read list for a while, and I'm glad I got around to reading this for school. It's really neat to see the roots of the literary solarpunk movement as it's rooted in afro futurism and the questioning of the continuing hegemony of colonial structures that are still being offered as solutions to the climate crisis today. It is weird to be reading this in 2024, though.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

Moderate: Dysphoria

trippalli's review

2.5

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Very dark and violent, a graphic novel adaptation of a Octavia Butler classic. It's heavy in philosophy of God and belief systems and religion in an internally violent submission post apocalyptic living hell on earth.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism