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A review by lulu_canread
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
dark
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
4.5
The Parable of the Sower is a dystopian sci-fi set in 2025 and follows the life of Lauren, beginning with her life as a young girl. She lives in a gated community, not out of wealth, but out of necessity. This book was originally written in the 90s, and imagines the 2020s as a hellish landscape of climate crises, lawlessness, and deprivation (sometimes this feels not too far off!).
The book follows Lauren's childhood and her growing understanding of the world she lives in while the adults around her grapple with what used to be. Her father, the baptist preacher/spiritual leader of her neighbourhood instills in her a religion, but Lauren struggles to reconcile it with the harsh world around her. Her first act of defiance and of independence is to stray, first just in thought, from her father's view of god to her own - god is change, unavoidable and irresistable - thus begins her religion of Earthseed. This spiritual journey follows Lauren as she grows and her world changes.
At times this story reads like a parable or biblical text, other times the accuracy of Octavia Butler writing reads like a dire warning. This book is harsh and brutal, it doesn't shy away from the horror a dysfunctional world like this one would be. Yet Parable of the Sower is ultimately a book about survival, of endurance, and of hope. I am not a sci-fi or even much of a dystopian reader but I was totally captured by this amazing novel and unable to put it down.
Two warnings before you dive in:
Firstly, take the content warnings seriously for this book. I don't want to turn people away or off this masterpiece but massive content warnings, like all the content warnings. As I stated - this book is harsh and cruel at times.
Second, Octavia Butler was unable to finish the Earthseed series before she died. While there is a second novel published, Parable of the Sower concludes (without spoiling it for you) in way that you can stop reading and be satisfied with pausing the narrative there. I haven't read the second book and cannot vouch on whether or not you would find a similarly good pause for the series at that point.
The book follows Lauren's childhood and her growing understanding of the world she lives in while the adults around her grapple with what used to be. Her father, the baptist preacher/spiritual leader of her neighbourhood instills in her a religion, but Lauren struggles to reconcile it with the harsh world around her. Her first act of defiance and of independence is to stray, first just in thought, from her father's view of god to her own - god is change, unavoidable and irresistable - thus begins her religion of Earthseed. This spiritual journey follows Lauren as she grows and her world changes.
At times this story reads like a parable or biblical text, other times the accuracy of Octavia Butler writing reads like a dire warning. This book is harsh and brutal, it doesn't shy away from the horror a dysfunctional world like this one would be. Yet Parable of the Sower is ultimately a book about survival, of endurance, and of hope. I am not a sci-fi or even much of a dystopian reader but I was totally captured by this amazing novel and unable to put it down.
Two warnings before you dive in:
Firstly, take the content warnings seriously for this book. I don't want to turn people away or off this masterpiece but massive content warnings, like all the content warnings. As I stated - this book is harsh and cruel at times.
Second, Octavia Butler was unable to finish the Earthseed series before she died. While there is a second novel published, Parable of the Sower concludes (without spoiling it for you) in way that you can stop reading and be satisfied with pausing the narrative there. I haven't read the second book and cannot vouch on whether or not you would find a similarly good pause for the series at that point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Child abuse, Alcoholism, Rape, Child death, Sexual violence, Slavery, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Cannibalism, Suicide, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Trafficking
Please, please, please take the content warnings seriously for this book. It is a fantastic read, but it is rough going as Octavia Butler does not hold back in the trauma department of her dystopian world. Make sure you read all content warnings on multiple reviews as I am sure I have forgotten some.