Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

61 reviews

gabriella_'s review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

This was a great introduction into Octavia Butler for me. The writing style was gripping and the characters were fantastic. The plot was heavy but in a realistic way (especially for a dystopian, it made sense and is even more eerie to read in 2024). I wasn’t a big fan of the “starting a religion” stuff, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Vomit, Ableism, Animal death, Classism, Drug use, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Body horror, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Child death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, War, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence

ams5x9's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Rape, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Violence, Sexual assault, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Abandonment, Blood, and Animal death

Minor: Incest, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Cannibalism, Racism, and Police brutality

bubblybelle's review

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

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

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

dragon_s_hoard's review

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

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Grief, Child death, Sexual assault, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Vomit, Violence, Outing, and War

mattyb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Violence, Drug use, Blood, Rape, Police brutality, Death, Body horror, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Gore

Moderate: Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Chronic illness, Addiction, Kidnapping, Slavery, Rape, Sexual content, and Abandonment

szjsabrina's review against another edition

5.0

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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

carolita25's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Child death, Abandonment, Death, and Violence