Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

13 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

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

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

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

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

bootrat's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• 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

3.5

A reasonable sequel, but didn't quite live up to my expectations after the original. Plus having the added perspective of Olamina's daughter made me dislike her a lot more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Rape, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Murder

Minor: War

kurumipanda's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Outing, Murder, Genocide, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Death, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Rape, Gun violence, Violence, Confinement, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Medical content, Police brutality, Child death, Classism, Suicide, and Child abuse

Minor: Eating disorder, War, Islamophobia, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

While I enjoyed Parable of the Sower more, I still found this dystopian novel to be reflective in many ways of our present day society. This book is difficult to read. It is interesting and important. It is a tale of selfishness and selflessness, love and hate, truth and lies. It is mortifying to imagine life like this, but also just barely outside the scope of what could happen, which makes it some of the best dystopian literature that exists. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Violence, Sexism, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Murder, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Car accident, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Rape, Hate crime, War, Transphobia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Outing, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Animal death

plainpaige's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

I think I liked this book more than its predecessor, despite the often disturbing, challenging storyline. Butler again made predictions that seem to be coming true to some degree. I enjoyed this book's foray into the politics of a crumbling society, though I suspect it may be difficult for some people who endorse Christianity to swallow. I love a good cautionary tale, though, and if you can struggle through the hard concepts, you will be rewarded with a beautiful story of the human experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual harassment, Torture, Medical content, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual violence, Body horror, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Confinement, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide, Gun violence, Pregnancy, War, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, and Self harm

Minor: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Addiction, Excrement, Infidelity, Infertility, Cursing, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Alcohol, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Colonisation