A review by ameliabee33
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

dark sad tense slow-paced

5.0

All that you touch/ You Change. All that you Change/ Changes you. The only lasting truth/ Is Change./ God is Change.

I have only read two books by Octavia Butler and both have been 5 star reads for me. Butler's writing sets the readernin the scene as if they are there themselves, it is no question as to why she is considered one of the best authors in the sci-fi/dystopian genre. 

Like "Kindred", this book will probably haunt me for a long time. The world has gone to shit, to put it mildly. People have not learned from our mistakes and everyone is paying for it- except the rich, they're just fine. In the 2020s, climate change and economic crises has led to water shortages, groups of vagabonds that do anything to survive, rabid packs of dogs, and people to live in walled communities, "protected" from the outside world if they are lucky. Lauren has grown up in one of these places, raised by her preacher father and suffers from hyperempathy. Lauren sees what is coming- destruction to all they have known- and the adults of her community fail to see it. However Lauren has prepared herself, through actions and through the belief of a new God, a new religion. Earthseed. 

What I believe haunts me the most about this book, is that I see it happening currently. While this was written before the 2020s, the way people behave and the decisions of people in positions of power make sense. They reflect the reality of what I see every day. It is terrifying. That we are so predictable. That we continue to not learn out of fear of the unknown without the ways we have always known. The old ways linger in our minds, the wanting of returning to the past is always there. The hope of returning is always there. That we, humans, will always find a way to adapt. Adapting is the only way to survive, basic "survival-of-the-fittest" Darwinian theory. Women will always be the first exploited. Will always have the most to fear. 

Altruism is the rise and downfall of humans. 

I have so many thoughts about organized religion, and how people will cling to faith when times are tough/scary. It is interesting how easy it is for the character Lauren to create a new religion and find purpose and followers so easily. How easily do people give in when they have a higher purpose for a God? Is it a cult or a religion? Is there a difference? Lauren's end goal is to end up in the stars, so it is much different from any religion I have been exposed to. 

I have so many thoughts about this book, and I am looking forward to reading this book again when I'm older. Like the foreword from N.K. Jemisin, I believe that I will have different takeaways each time I read it. Butler does an excellent job writing a novel that accurately reflects human nature and what would happen to the U.S. if certain events came to pass. Honestly this is one of the best dystopian novels I've ever read, because I was right there in Cali with Lauren as her family was taken from her and her life as she knew it was taken away. 

I can't reccomend this book enough. 

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