Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

76 reviews

machen27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

There are so many ideas in this book and it's prequel, Parable of the Sower. Both are difficult reads because they  unflinchingly depcit the terrible things humans can do to each other, yet they also ask about how we make the world better than it was in spite of all of this. This book also deals more with parenthood, though to say more would be to spoil it. More than anything though, the book feels important, especially now in 2022.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Sexual assault, War, Xenophobia, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide

Sometimes one must talk about terrible things. The harrowing world Butler creates is worth engaging with, is meant to evoke discomfort. Do not avoid it because it may make you uncomfortable.

dreamnotoftoday's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Slavery, Torture, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Suicide, and Child death

lilcoppertop's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Outing, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, and Trafficking

mimeticats's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A beautiful book and the perfect sequel to Parable of the Sower. The book continues to examine the implications religious change and innovation within crisis in new and broader ways. It’s main characters only grow in complexity. The narrative is expertly woven to be compelling in its own right as well as exploring its themes and drawing out the characters’ contradictions and conflicts, both internal and external.
As you know from the prologue, the text includes/is framed by the comments of Lauren Oya Olamina’s daughter. This creates for further layers of tension and a different distance and framing to all of the extracts included.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexual violence

Minor: Suicide

alexhempstxck's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

This is a new favourite <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Slavery, Self harm, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

 5 ⭐ CW: violence, murder, rape (lots of it), gang violence, slavery, child sexual abuse, prostitution, child death, suicide, extreme religious conservatism

"The human species is a kind of animal, of course. But we can do something no other animal species has ever had the option to do. We can choose: We can go building and destroying until we destroy ourselves or or until we destroy the ability of our world to sustain us. Or we can make something of ourselves. We can grow up."

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler is the second book in the Parable duology. In this book we find Asha Vere (Lauren's daughter) compiling a book of her mother's writings along with some journal entries of her father and her uncle. Interspersed between the journal entries are Asha's thoughts and reactions to both her mother in general and the things she wrote about. Although this was an exploration of a mother daughter relationship, it doesn't have a happy ending. I think it shows the complexity of relationships along with the conflicting duties of self, family, community, and purpose.

We start out back at Acorn, Lauren's Earthseed community, as she tries to grow the community and push them toward Destiny. "The Destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars." Acorn is eventually found out and followers of the ultra conservative presidential candidate, Jarret (who runs on the slogan "make America great again. Sound familiar?), raids Acorn, steals their children and enslave the rest. Those left alive suffer unimaginable brutality all in the name of "civilizing heathens."

Although Parable of the Talents is just as gut wrenching a read as Parable of the Sower, it again leaves you with a sense of hope. This book is a profound piece of hope and an ode to the resiliency of humans. Throughout the book, Lauren talks about humans needing a purpose to motivate them to become better, to become more than what they are. It's not enough to just survive. Just like in the 1960's when people wondered why should we waste time and resources in space with so much suffering on Earth, we do it, because we can, and we must if we are to grow up.

I could be here all day breaking down every prophetic thing Butler wrote or how eloquently she breaks down religious evangelicalism as a play for power and control that ultimately will lead to the break down of civil and human rights. Everything Butler writes is poignient, and similarly to Earthseed, a collection of truths. Butler also weaves in themes on environmentalism and the importance of education and community. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Rape, and Child death

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual violence, and Suicide

virginwhocantdrive22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

haileybones's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Murder, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Vomit

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, War, and Xenophobia

chilicrispy's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Violence, Trafficking, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, War, Xenophobia, Vomit, Slavery, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Kidnapping

astridrv's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

I almost gave up halfway through because of how horrific and depressing it got - much more so than the first book, which is really saying something. But I loved the complexity of that too, where I am used to saga's going "upwards", Butler made the brave choice of having someone who's arc is to build see everything destroyed and go through worse than ever before. I'm not sold on the second perspective we get in the book, and I would have loved the last chapters to last way longer (there is a slight pacing problem between micro and macro story there) but otherwise this is definitely the most remarkable work of fiction I read this year. I will never forget Earthseed, and the claustrophobic,terrifying, hopeful, strong, heart wrenching, generous, crushing journey it was to share this story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, and Homophobia

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Grief, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Misogyny