Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

135 reviews

mac23's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Abandonment, Animal death, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Sexual violence, Child death, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Cancer, Death, and Classism

happylilfaerie's review against another edition

dark reflective sad

2.5

The more I think about this book the less I like it. Americans have “become” evil and are raping, torturing and cannibalising each other. Where does evil come from? Why are women and girls being raped every page but not a single man is raped? Drug users are usually seeking an escape and to be able to cope with life, in this book they are evil people who want to set others on fire, why? 

None of the interesting aspects bought up were explored - hyperempathy, company towns, how to live off the land, and building community in disaster.

The masses walking on foot from one part of the country to another to seek safety and resources echoes very familiarly to me as an Iraqi. Just look at Falisteen right now. We help each other, protect each other, share our food etc.  I suppose a population as savage and uncivilised as the west couldn’t be expected to know how to behave when resources become scarce. 

Why was the unethical relationship between a teenager and a 57 year old, a whole 40 years older, normalised and made to seem okay? That man is a predator, I don’t give a shit how “mature” the child seems. 

The side characters kind of blurred together, instead of personality and development, they were given sob backstories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Sexual violence, Rape, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Torture, Slavery, Violence, and Sexual assault

audwild's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Slavery, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Gore, Death, Racism, Addiction, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, and Kidnapping

ib_ratton's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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? No

5.0

Leave it to Octavia Butler to predict the fall of civilization in 2024...

I love literary apocalypse books like these! The character focus, the slow changes of society to ruin, and the need for man to band together to create something better are themes heavy in this book. And although they're not any original ideas, the writing is truly unique and makes the story extremely compelling. 

Trigger warnings for just about everything as the book touches on some gruesome topics. But if you like Books like The Road by Cormac McCarthy, you'll enjoy this one even more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Pedophilia, Slavery, Rape, Trafficking, and Cannibalism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content

romanticmelody's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Classism, Police brutality, Gun violence, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Death

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Slavery, Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Rape

bloodiedorange's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

1.5

The book started off entertaining and easy to read. I enjoyed the plot, and savored bits of the political climate.

However, as this novel trudged on, the main character became increasingly annoying, entitled, and controlling. She believed her 'Earthseed' to be absolute truth, and continued to share it with anyone she could. I didn't like this at all. Then, toward the end, she, a newly eighteen-year-old girl embarks on a romantic and sexual relationship with a fifty-seven-year-old man; a man older than her father. No, this is not talked about much. Characters make some comments on the age gap, but I suppose in apocalypse, 'mature' children and old men make the best of pairs. 

Also, it isn't even science fiction. Drugs and mental illness don't count.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Drug use, Death of parent, Gore, and Adult/minor relationship

ifigeneiatsa's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Wow. I have so many thoughts about this book. I don't think I've ever read a dystopian book that is so realistic. It is a book that shows you how it would be like living through an apocalyptic event. You feel like you are there with the characters, experiencing every moment. It is scary how close to our known reality this is. Most dystopian novel describe a society far ahead in the future which bares little similarities to our world. In this book, Butler describes a society that is slowly failing. There was no big event, an asteroid or a pandemic that started this decrease. Instead it was the shortages in raw materials. A lot of the infrastructures are still in place, the police, universities, money, but they are flawed. It is also scary to see how corporations are taking advantage of people and basically using them as slaves. There is no true bad guy, there is not a sole person you can blame and put all your anger to. There is extreme violence everywhere. I also found the religious aspect really interesting. Aside the dystopian theme, this novel describes the birth of a prophet, Lauren, as she begins shaping Earthseed. It is fascinating the see it develop. It is a comment on how religion is born out of necessity. The need to survive during hard periods and hope that things will become better.
The only part of the story that I really did not like was that the main character (18 years old) engaged in a sexual relationship with someone who is over 40 years her senior and it was described as a good/ common thing. This is deeply problematic and it isn't described as a both thing in the novel. Truly disappointing.
Overall, it is scary how real and close the world that Butler described in the 1990s, is to today.

Quote: "Why personify change by calling it God?"

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

katadamz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.75

This will be a book that haunts me. I suspect it will cause nightmares for years to come. I think for that alone, this is an excellent novel. Prescient, as well. 

I’m still tossing around what I think about the portrayals  romantic relationships in the novel (both mixed race and age gaps). I wonder if those are just jarring against how accurate the rest of the novel felt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Slavery, Trafficking, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Sexism, Rape, Cannibalism, Child death, Racism, and Sexual assault

frankieclc's review against another edition

3.5

This book is absolutely not for the feint hearted. Clearly a well thought out book, and fairly well written but boy did I not enjoy a moment of reading it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Racism, and Slavery

Minor: Incest

niebezpiecznygroszek's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Drug use, Grief, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Death of parent, and Rape