Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

53 reviews

badbadwolf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Slavery, Abandonment, Classism, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Infidelity, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Confinement, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking

erins_bookrecs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Trafficking, Violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry

nnpp's review against another edition

challenging 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Homophobia

areesastock704's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Suicide, Racism, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, War, Grief, Violence, Torture, Rape, Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia

bisexualwentworth'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? Yes

5.0

Oooooooh I liked this one even more than Parable of the Sower. I loved the non-linear narrative and the multiple contrasting points of view. I loved how Lauren Olamina's daughter's experiences and viewpoints complicated the narrative from Olamina's journals. 

This book is just as dark as the first one. Many horrifying things happen. It is a true dystopian exploration of a possible future from an author who keenly understood the many horrors at play in the United States. Some of it is so on the nose that it was hard to read. Some, especially the technology stuff, felt unlikely at times, but much more grounded than in almost any other near-future dystopian or sci-fi books I've read. Octavia E. Butler was just that good.

Also, this book has multiple central queer characters, which I never see mentioned when people are discussing it. Don't expect happy queer stories--Butler is as realistic about violent homophobia as she is about all other aspects of this world--but it is very present in ways that felt good and right as well as being harrowing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Suicide, War, Blood, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Torture, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Death, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Racism, Death of parent, Gore, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Vomit, Medical content, and Drug abuse

Minor: Incest

victoria29's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

It’s a great story but a tough read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Torture, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Racism, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Child abuse, Rape, Death, Classism, Violence, Slavery, Addiction, and Drug abuse

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

cheyison's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Violence, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Addiction and Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia, Death, and Homophobia

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