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A review by elderlingfool
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
challenging
dark
sad
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
4.5
This is the second book in the Earthseed duology and it’s as good as the first one and well worth reading. Even though the third book was never completed, these two stand on their own and the ending is good enough even if it is a bit open. In the case of this book, Asha Vere’s arc feels a bit incomplete, but the character work is good enough for the reader to imagine with some level of accuracy what happens to her after there are no more pages left to read.
The first book is about Lauren Olamina that invented a new religion. In this one we follow her daughter as she reads her mother’s journal entries about the events that happened after the first book. So, this book has two narrators, but we mainly continue Lauren’s story.
Like in the first book, there are many clever observations about society, politics and religion. This book feels so real that I hesitate to call it a dystopia. It addresses homophobia, children being taken from their parents in order to be educated as christian, rape, the hypocrisy of the church and other such topics. It’s an heavy read, but a necessary one.
The only complain I have about this book is that there is a lot of telling instead of showing. This is an issue I have with the second half of the first book too, but it’s even more noticeable here. Due to this, a lot of the secondary characters were forgetable even though there are some really complex and strong ones in this text.
Overall, the good outweights the bad by a lot so this is still an excellent book that more people should read.
The first book is about Lauren Olamina that invented a new religion. In this one we follow her daughter as she reads her mother’s journal entries about the events that happened after the first book. So, this book has two narrators, but we mainly continue Lauren’s story.
Like in the first book, there are many clever observations about society, politics and religion. This book feels so real that I hesitate to call it a dystopia. It addresses homophobia, children being taken from their parents in order to be educated as christian, rape, the hypocrisy of the church and other such topics. It’s an heavy read, but a necessary one.
The only complain I have about this book is that there is a lot of telling instead of showing. This is an issue I have with the second half of the first book too, but it’s even more noticeable here. Due to this, a lot of the secondary characters were forgetable even though there are some really complex and strong ones in this text.
Overall, the good outweights the bad by a lot so this is still an excellent book that more people should read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Rape