Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

42 reviews

decklededgess's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

trigger warnings: incest, rape, physical abuse, death of family, gore and injury description, sexual content, drug use and abuse, arson and fire, racism, sexism, murder, enslavement, cannibalism, child abuse, trafficking, suicide, gun violence, and more probably.

Before I get into my doom and gloom reaction let me just say that terrifying as this book is, it's incredibly well thought out and the cause and effect of what leads to the situations in this book are rooted in very realistic patterns. The cast of characters are really interesting and it was something to see how desperate they were for happiness that they were pushing through the nightmare of their lives. It's also a fascinating look into how law and morality breaks down when safety, freedom, food, and shelter aren't a guarantee. It's a lot.

I am incredibly (insert adequate word here) to see a book that is set three years into our current future exist in exacerbated conditions of today. It feels like a cold bucket of water tossed over my head knowing this book was written in 1993 and we are living in a reality predicted nearly thirty years ago by an author who said THIS is exactly how it'll get worse if things don't change...uh. oof.

Anyways. Read for your own awareness and preparation. It's a book of survival through some really dire fucking situations and it's a little sobering to realize maybe perishing before it gets this bad is the ideal way because no way in hell am i doing any of THIS.

RIP to my nerves bc I am living in a nightmare.

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starccato's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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bookcaptivated's review

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dark hopeful reflective tense 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? No

4.0


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dugfromthedirt's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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ellenwilberg's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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ardour's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0


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jazdewills's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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? No

4.25

I enjoyed this. Most apocalypse stories are the big event triggers societal collapse. This one is the slow, frog-boiling end of the world we're experiencing the beginnings of now is a combination of really interesting and absolutely terrifying. 

I've previously read Kindred by this author, and I need to know, was Octavia Butler a time traveler, or just prescient?

(I will be continuing on with the series.)

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anni_l's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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lizzie24601's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-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? No

2.0

Maybe I would've enjoyed this more if I had read it as part of an English class or book club. The first 200 pages are a slog, filled with a confusing list of neighborhood residents and a setting that I never really got a grasp of. It seems to be apocalyptic, and yet Lauren's dad still goes to work every day. Lauren's odyssey doesn't even begin until over halfway through the book, and although the pace is much faster and the characters who join her group are interesting, Lauren never really builds any emotional connections to any of them. And Lauren lacks any real flaws to make her an interesting character. Even her sharing, which is supposed to be central to her character, never really hinders her at all. In the few instances where it knocks her out, her companions take care of her and she never really suffers any consequences.

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mscalls's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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