Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

63 reviews

cadence99's review against another edition

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

4.25

To hear the phrase “make America great again” flowing from the pages of a book published in 1998 is haunting to say the least. I greatly appreciated the exploration of Christian extremism in relation to Laurens Earthseed, but as with the last book, I really wish there was more explanation for what appears to me as an incredibly  flawed and power imbalanced relationship between Bankole and Lauren

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Grief, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Torture, Gore, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Violence, War, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Suicide

salemander's review against another edition

5.0

this book was so heartbreaking and painful. very terrifying how realistic this feels for the beginning of 2024, octavia butler is a genius. 
i very painfully related to asha and understood her complex feelings with her mother and the ways she prioritized earthseed, even if i wanted to fucking kill marc.
i think i would have be an earthseed hater but also i would absolutely join. community is everything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, War, Suicide, Trafficking, Violence, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Slavery, Misogyny, Murder, Incest, Pedophilia, Torture, Ableism, Child death, Death, Police brutality, and Miscarriage

katrinarose's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

This book was absolutely traumatizing but incredible at the same time. I couldn’t put it down. The character of Lauren continued to fascinate me and despite the bare writing style of the author (and the somewhat-detached voice of Lauren’s journal writing) I felt connected with Lauren and the people in this book. Some people complain that the Earthseed religious parts are annoying or repetitive but I disagree. As an agnostic, I thought the ideas were logical and compelling, especially in the world they found themselves in. I even think there’s value in some of the teachings in our world. The only negative thing I can think of to say is that there’s a section of the book that is extremely difficult to read due to the violence (of all kinds), and even though there’s a year of journal missing for that time, that much felt overwhelming. However, the book overall was so good and I finished it feeling hopeful. I’d recommend this to any adult who feels like they could stomach a difficult read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Sexism, Confinement, Death of parent, Rape, Slavery, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Murder, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: War and Alcohol

eve81's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Death, Medical content, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Racism, Rape, Torture, Infertility, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, War, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Classism, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Xenophobia

mamaquiereleer's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Slavery, Sexual assault, and Trafficking

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Kidnapping, Child death, and Gun violence

Minor: Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Suicide

iloveolaf's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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 abuse, Child death, Lesbophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

jujubeees's review against another edition

5.0

It’s such a tragedy that the world didn’t get to see this trilogy completed.

I have big feelings about this book:
I hate that

Olamina’s daughter sided with her uncle over her mother, though I certainly understand that her life has not been ideal

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Slavery, Child abuse, Death of parent, Rape, and Religious bigotry

corriejn's review against another edition

dark sad

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

Enjoyed this one a bit less than the first book (Parable of the Sower).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Death

Moderate: Medical content and Pregnancy

Minor: War

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

'Parable of the Talents' by Octavia Butler is an important sequel that builds upon all that was laid out in 'Parable of the Sower.' The story follows Lauren as she finally begins to build the community that she has dreamed of with Earthseed at its center. As her group begins to grow, it catches the eyes of those following the religion set out by the fascist president of the United States. 
Somehow even more so than with Parable of the Sower, Parable of the Talents is a harrowing story. Lauren's life is an incredibly hard one and this book has every trigger warning possible. Butler dives into what the world would look like as it falls apart and how different people would choose to find their place. Some find it in fascism and having power over others. Other people seek out small communities and look to the stars. 
Lauren is never the most likable character, which is part of what makes her such a fascinating protagonist. She has a very strong goal but this goal often comes before other people, including her direct family. Butler does an exceptional job of creating a character study of one woman seeking to find power and influence in life through what she believes is a calling. The other perspective that runs through this novel (which I won't spoil) is a helpful contrast to Lauren's perspective. After an entire book of Lauren's journals with Parable of the Sower, I think one of the reasons why Parable of the Talents is somehow even better is because of this contrasting point of view. We get to see how other people view Lauren and how some of the choices she makes look to those who are not in her own head. 
This is one of the best duologies that I have ever read. Butler is considered one of the greats in SF for a reason. This book is a must read, especially regarding how scarily close some aspects are to our current reality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexism, Murder, Body horror, Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Blood, Child abuse, Trafficking, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Violence

Minor: Pedophilia, Death of parent, and War

derik_rochlitzer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Classism, Death, Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Drug use, Genocide, Grief, Abandonment, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny, Rape, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, and War