A review by danielledeal
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark emotional informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

While reading, I kept returning to something said in the introduction: that in trying to write a warning about the trajectory of society as she saw it, Butler didn't intend to write a guide book for handling the dissolution of our country as we know it - and yet that's what it seems she has done. I had to pause fifty pages in and examine why it didn't feel "that dystopian" to me, because so many of the circumstances and fears that are described are simply a exaggerated version of life in our country currently - and honestly not even that exaggerated for some people. Unlike the dystopian novels I've read before, in which the government or the landscape feel wholly removed from our current world (even in examples like the Hunger Games where there are references to the US as we know it today) which allows some separation of reader and story, Butler tells this story from a setting that feels all too familiar to us.

Within the story itself, it's easy to get frustrated with Lauren at times. She's so young, and she feels that she's creating a plan for survival that we as readers know her father and others in the community have been using for decades (side-eyes white liberals). Her preparations nonetheless save her in the time of need, and her focus on adaptability keeps her alive on the road and in some difficult situations. Which brings us to Earthseed. As someone with a general aversion of religion, I sometimes found myself rolling my eyes at Lauren's insistence to return to her ideas, her verses, and trying to convert others to her belief. At the same time, I understand her interest in 'discovering the truth' of a new God; if the one she's been taught to follow her entire life is negligent and uncaring enough to allow the world to reach such a state of fear and death and pain, why not look for a God who at least provides an opportunity to change your circumstances. Earthseed to me served as a foil for those of religious persuasion who like to say "God will take care of it" and do none of the work themselves; we don't see this reflected in Lauren's dad, as you might expect, but it is in their community; there's a moment when Lauren is talking to her neighbor Joanne about her preparations and Lauren describes Joanne as sounding 'bored' of their conversation, choosing instead to live in ignorance than be fearful but ready. 

It is deeply disturbing to read in the decade the book supposedly takes place but highly recommend. The ending gives you a bit of hope - even when the characters themselves are hesitant to admit to such hope - that in a time of great need a community can come together to protect each other and ease some of the burden of survival. If that's not a lesson for the 2020s in America, I don't know what is. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

There's so many content warnings. This is not a light-hearted dystopian novel where everything works out in the end. But it's worth reading if you're prepared for how dark it is.