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eamador'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
stevia333k's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I came into this book wondering how to deal with a civil war situation & I came out wanting to get a good cry in about the social constructs of family. (Looking back I actually had a similar reaction with THG #1) I came to this book to cry, yet that topic shift startled me. While the plot does rely on certain technologies that don't exactly map onto our world it still has helpful info & strategies. For example the laying low & collecting info etc was inspiring & helpful in affirming lessons I had gotten.
I've also learned the teacher praxis was emphasized again. While I often hear this in reference to the GPCR & MLM (including Peru) it seems that Maoism's arena can be more generally described as "civil warfare" & political terror against people's war.
As a white disabled queer muslima feminist, this shit hits hard, especially considering that the 10 generations of enslaved people who were mentioned had muslims when they were kidnapped. Like holy shit this book touched on a mood. I read about half this book on a Friday, but it took nearly 2 weeks to read the first half. I've been busy but still.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
stephanieridiculous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
While I did not care for the new format of this book, I think it's better than Parable of the Sower. Or maybe more accurately, it's more relevant to America in 2022, and for my particular context, is more relevant to what American Christianity is becoming (has been for a long time.)
Some bullet point lists:
Things I didn't care for:
-As mentioned, I didn't really enjoy the new format. Having commentary on the journal entries didn't really work for me, even if I was very interested in the information they provided. I'm a stickler for consistent POV's, so in particular I didn't care for adding new ones in the 2nd book.
-I feel like the editing was a little less tight on this one. There were a couple of small inconsistencies that I feel like should have been caught (mostly having to do with how Sharing worked)
-I'm not sure if the characters just didn't pull me, or if the amount of violence in general made it hard to feel any particular loss, but lots of bad things happen to important characters and I didn't really feel the weight of it. I cry while reading books all. the. time. and I didn't shed a single tear, despite from significant blows. I am unsure if that's a reflection of me or the writing.
Things I did care for/or got to me:
-There is still the pure shock factor that I didn't much care for in book one, but it's used much more effectively here. While I felt Parable was making a point, it felt like a vague general one, where Talents is making a very specific, and very relevant, point about America, the government, zealous religion, and particularly violent Christianity. Butler gut punches you with the reality of violence in a way that really drives home how close we are to it in the real world.
-The world felt more balanced here than it did in Parable; more tangible and believable.
-As a Christian in America in 2022; the Crusader's are a harrowing potential - that I 100% believe could actually happen/is already happening to some extent. Butler's writing of a Christian fanatic running for president is horrifying in it's accuracy & I am much more haunted now by the phrase "Make America great again." In particular, I think the way the Crusaders are depicted is so accurate it hurts. The hypocrisy, the blind faith, the stupidity - just open Twitter and you'll see the same thing in real time. It's so so so sad to see it lived out in real life, and it's disheartening. Maddening.
-I really did like the ending. It felt resolved, but not clean. It's messy and disappointing, but also hopeful. I was a little worried about how the book could resolve satisfyingly given the scope of Earthseed, but I think it addressed things well.
I think the resurgence of these books is 100% spot on, and with some caveats for caring for your mental health, I'd definitely encourage my (white) Christian friends to try and read these two books, but especially Talents.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
madscientistcat's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Child death and Torture
Moderate: Rape
apollos_books'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? Yes
5.0
this book as all the content warnings though. like literally. read with care and caution
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
mye8503'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Murder
ambarleti'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Incest, Sexual violence, and War
Minor: Addiction and Xenophobia
lectrixnoctis'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
3.0
In 2032, Lauren Olamina endured the destruction of her home and family and realised her vision of a friendly community in northern California based on her recently founded a religion, Earthseed. The fledgling community supplies shelter for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to "make America great again." In an increasingly separated and dangerous nation, Lauren's subversive territory minority religious coalition led by a young black woman--becomes a mark for President Jarret's rule of terror and oppression.
Years after, Asha Vere reads the diaries of a mother she never knew, Lauren Olamina. She struggles to negotiate with her mother's estate as she searches for solutions to her past. She is caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to guide humanity into a better future.
This book is written as a diary and employs the identical style as the first in this duology, getting the same issues with it. The protagonist has the propensity to distance herself from what transpired to her through her diary documenting as a way of self-therapy. However, it does not necessarily ensure an engaging read because of how healing this factual representation of events can be. The lived experiences make for a fascinating story, but the tone is not there to empathise with the individual you are meant to be sympathising with.
There is a silver lining, yet Where the first piece of the series was a monologue by Lauren Olamina, new narrators are brought into this volume. Lauren's spouse gets a pair of pages, and so does one of her brothers, but these contributions are so small they are entirely meaningless in hindsight. The star narrator of this novel is Olamina's daughter. She delivers a new and fresh mindset, which is not an unexpected feeling she grew up without and far away from her mother. This voice offers the reader a break from Lauren's self-indulgent narrative and, for those like me who had hardships relating to the self-declared Messiah, a representative of reason one could connect to.
I do not doubt that this book, like the first one, is an absolute classic and a dystopian masterpiece; however, I had The same problems with this book as the first one.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
martinza's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Kind of a How to establish an opposing cult under christian nationalism
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
jessthanthree's review
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide and Pregnancy