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pettigrew143's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Slavery, Cannibalism, Suicide, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
conspiracycrows's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Evil, angry, barbaric
And
Kind, good, thoughtful
You will find the phrase "god is change" drifting through your thiughts no matter your religion, because no matter your religion something about it rings true.
The one true constant in this world is change.
And in accepting that we can begin to use that change.
I hope, pray, and work to make sure a future like the one in this book never comes to pass. That as much as this world changes, I can at least guide my small portion of it to something softer.
If enough of us do that, perhaps we can make a world that is kinder, that is softer.
A world where someone with hyper empathy, whether the extreme syndrome detailed here, or the real life symptom of some neurodivergent people like myself, do not have to be afraid of seeing the world around us.
Graphic: Cursing, Murder, Body horror, Drug abuse, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Blood, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Suicide, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Trafficking, Child death, and Gore
Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Classism
gmortg3's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Stalking, Incest, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Body horror, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Slavery, Colonisation, Hate crime, Suicide, Trafficking, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Butler, Octavia E.. Parable of the Sower (p. 245). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.
📖Genres: sci-fi, speculative fiction, dystopia, post apocalyptic, classics
📚Page Count: 330
🎧Audiobook Length: 12h 01min
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
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The very beginning of the book is very preachy, well a lot of this book is preachy because it's literally the story of a young woman creating her own religion. I'd say the story was overall enjoyable despite the preachiness of it all. I really enjoyed the way this was written and how, it started out hopeless, like a lot of Butler's works. Then, there's a little light at the end of the tunnel and the story suddenly becomes hopeful.
This is my second time reading Parable of the Sower and I finally understand that it's about community and keeping one another safe. Protecting one another in crisis. That is the answer to the question, "what do we do when disaster strikes?"
I also love the diversity in this book. The characters were very diverse like all other Butler books.
The beginning of the book was a bit slow even though the book was interesting overall. Therefore, I'm giving this 4.5 stars out of 5.
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Child death, Cannibalism, Cursing, Grief, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Slavery, Addiction, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Physical abuse
cuddlygryphon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Grief, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Death of parent, Excrement, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Vomit, Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Gore, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Domestic abuse, Grief, Excrement, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death of parent, Incest, Cannibalism, Death, Medical content, Mental illness, Drug use, Murder, Pregnancy, Slavery, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Trafficking, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Xenophobia
brookwilson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Suicide, Pedophilia, Cannibalism, Slavery, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
lulu_canread's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
The book follows Lauren's childhood and her growing understanding of the world she lives in while the adults around her grapple with what used to be. Her father, the baptist preacher/spiritual leader of her neighbourhood instills in her a religion, but Lauren struggles to reconcile it with the harsh world around her. Her first act of defiance and of independence is to stray, first just in thought, from her father's view of god to her own - god is change, unavoidable and irresistable - thus begins her religion of Earthseed. This spiritual journey follows Lauren as she grows and her world changes.
At times this story reads like a parable or biblical text, other times the accuracy of Octavia Butler writing reads like a dire warning. This book is harsh and brutal, it doesn't shy away from the horror a dysfunctional world like this one would be. Yet Parable of the Sower is ultimately a book about survival, of endurance, and of hope. I am not a sci-fi or even much of a dystopian reader but I was totally captured by this amazing novel and unable to put it down.
Two warnings before you dive in:
Firstly, take the content warnings seriously for this book. I don't want to turn people away or off this masterpiece but massive content warnings, like all the content warnings. As I stated - this book is harsh and cruel at times.
Second, Octavia Butler was unable to finish the Earthseed series before she died. While there is a second novel published, Parable of the Sower concludes (without spoiling it for you) in way that you can stop reading and be satisfied with pausing the narrative there. I haven't read the second book and cannot vouch on whether or not you would find a similarly good pause for the series at that point.
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Rape, Child death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Cannibalism, Suicide, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Trafficking
Please, please, please take the content warnings seriously for this book. It is a fantastic read, but it is rough going as Octavia Butler does not hold back in the trauma department of her dystopian world. Make sure you read all content warnings on multiple reviews as I am sure I have forgotten some.elia_elizabeth_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Cannibalism, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Slavery, Abandonment, Addiction, Classism, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, and Rape
sentunderscore's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Child death, Sexual violence, Death, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
evewasinnocent's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Child death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Slavery