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

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

A stunning work, gripping, remarkably prescient for its time. Butler may have had the timeline off by a few years, and been too optimistic about the pace of climate change, but she clearly saw the coming downturn of society that we're living through. We would all do well to read this enthralling book and follow its characters' example of preparing for, finding, building, and protecting community when societal safeguards fail. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cannibalism, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Death of parent