Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

27 reviews

yesthattom's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Trafficking, Murder, Medical trauma, Torture, Slavery, Sexual assault, Racism, and Mass/school shootings

jayjayjers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Slavery, and Rape

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Child abuse

nogoodtulip's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

5.0

Set in a very plausible and not-too-distant future collapsed american society, Parable of the Sower is enthralling in its character’s struggle for survival against a world consumed by destitution, violence, and corporate oppression. The blossoming of our main character Lauren’s new religion of Earthseed and the vision of a new and transformed world that it brings drives the story forward and teaches us that we cannot build something new without first risking everything.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Addiction, Drug use, and Xenophobia

emissaryorca's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Normally when I sit down and devour a book in a single day it's for one of 2 reasons: the pacing and narrative rhythm are so airtight I get swept into content rather than the mechanisms of its delivery; or that the delivery/playfulness of prose, composition, and structure are so engaging to me I just have to see what kind of wordcraft comes next. Parable is absolutely a standout example of the former. Yet again Butler's exploration of faith and humanity intersected ignites inspiration in a way I seldom experience.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexual violence, and Death

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking

Minor: Rape

szjsabrina's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Rape, Murder, Child death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Hate crime, Ableism, Grief, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Sexism, and Blood

Minor: Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Vomit, and Police brutality

Father is deemed dead by disappearance.

Minor religious trauma

tayngerous's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Animal death

Moderate: Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Addiction, Drug abuse, Rape, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Racism, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Child death, Cannibalism, Death, Classism, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Incest and Pedophilia

marieqc's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

For some reason I thought this was gonna be like divergent but better written and more interesting and I was sooooo wrong lmao
it's at 4.21 stars and like I cannot understand it. it's kind of boring, slow, super bleak. it was a struggle to finish it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Slavery, Rape, Trafficking, and Torture

itsnai's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Death, Classism, Blood, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Rape, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Torture, Slavery, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Animal death, and Adult/minor relationship

finn_1312's review

adventurous dark reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Racism, Trafficking, Torture, Slavery, Rape, Sexual assault, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Blood, Animal death, Police brutality, Addiction, Death, and Drug abuse