Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

622 reviews

micaelabrody's review against another edition

4.5

not much i can say that anyone hasn’t said better, but. one of the few books about god that managed to not feel very christian even as it explicitly draws on christianity. butler is a master at the use of brutality contrasted with hope - without feeling saccharine or cheap. she has an economy of language in her prose that makes the violence feel more impactful and visceral, and of course immediate (reading that “2024” at the beginning of the book was downright chilling). while i know i read fledgling in college for a class i don’t remember this so it really was like a great intro to one of the greats’ work. i do wish i’d been able to read this when i was less busy with both work and mania and looking forward to reading it again one day.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Rape

angielina's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Gun violence

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

Minor: Rape

bree_reads_too_much's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Fitting that I read this book in 2024 the year this book begins in. I finished it while listening to the sirens outside that never seem to cease, as I live in a city and a state with a large drug and houseless problem. 

This book written and published, I believe in the early 90’s about a dystopian near future (2024-2027) and is about faith, question faith, community, perseverance and survival. I found it powerful, dark, painful and terrifying at times because with the state of the world we currently live in, this reality feels far too inevitable. Even as I was gutted by the terrible things these people saw and lived through, I couldn’t put it down.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Rape, Murder, Violence, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

caseybones's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful 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? No

4.25

I put off reading this book for years because all I’d heard was how traumatizing it is and how difficult to read. I didn’t find that to be the case. The subject matter is distressing and difficult to face but nothing is overly graphic or unnecessarily explicit. Nothing feels gratuitous.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Child death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, Child abuse, and Cannibalism

hanawashere's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship

htoo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

It’s really a 3.75 but I’m rounding it up to four because it’s Octavia E. Butler and I’ve enjoyed her other works. The story takes a while to get into, things didn’t start getting interesting until halfway through the book. I kind of procrastinated in finishing this book because of the writing/narrative style. The prose was okay but not profound in any way. I find the Earthseed poetry cringy. To be honest, majoring in English has lowkey ruined reading certain books for me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Trafficking, Rape, Cannibalism, and Pedophilia

abi_lowe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cannibalism, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Racism, Addiction, and Gun violence

eed8's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Animal death, Cannibalism, Rape, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Drug abuse, and Racism

happy_birthday's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

a very worthwhile post-apocalypse! a lot more shooting poor people in the face than I expected

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Slavery, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Child death, and Trafficking

it'd be a little easier to list the content warnings this book doesn't have

albearcamus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

A tale of suffering, survival and humanity. Definitely a fascinating depiction of life in a world ravaged by climate change and bad politics (sounds familiar). Butler blends intersectionality into a tale that makes you feel for the characters and their survival. 
I found it excellently written, smooth and easy to read. The characters were mostly realistic and the situations believable for the world they’re in. 
Definitely recommend. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, and Slavery