Reviews with content warning for Grief - Parable of the Talents

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

77 reviews

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

dark sad

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

4.0

This sequel was filled with heartbreak and despair. Previous reviews warned me but I still wasn’t prepared. You have to really be in the right mindset to read this, because it’s so depressing. The ending was bittersweet for such an emotionally exhaustive book.

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hayleemarie's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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sweaterdad's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.75

Such an important and timely book despite the fact it’s 25 years old. I literally cannot believe Butler predicted the campaign slogan used by Trump. That’s just one of many things she predicted, though. Such a genius!

Although I really appreciated it, I often found myself having to put it down—primarily due to the copious mention of sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse.

I think the social upheaval, economic disparities, and climate disasters also hit super close to home and would sometimes cause me to panic or feel worried about our current world.

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rorikae's review against another edition

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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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maggie6832's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.75

I finished this book and knew deep in my heart that this was going to be a book that stayed with me for a long time. I also was filled the desire to immediately read everything else that Butler has ever written.

I liked this book more than I remember liking the first book, though I was a big fan of that too. But this one is just so interesting in how it frames the whole narrative with Larkin/Ashe writing it years after all these events have happened and being very critical of her mother. And I would love to think some more about how Lauren manipulates people and how even though I agree with her that humanity needs a purpose to unify us and I like her as a character, her daughter has a point when she says that she seduces people, she’s a cult leader, that there are so many problems still on earth to solve! It’s such a shame we never got a third book in this series, but I’m very grateful to have this second one! What a fascinating character and story. And of course, it also shows us hope for a fairly dark future set very near (it’s already begun to overlap with when they say things first got bad, in fact) our present with alarming similarities (climate change, a demagogue tyrant of a president whose followers commit horrific acts of violence that he makes only veiled attempts to stop).

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