eleanorrainbow 's review for:

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

3.0

adventurous challenging dark hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

---

I gave three stars because of what a legend Octavia Butler is and how incredibly insightful her speculative/scifi was. It was a little too gloomy and faith-based for my personal preferences. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Slavery, Cannibalism, Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic

This book is full of heavy content, including descriptions of children being physically, sexually assaulted and tortured. Multiple descriptions of rape, killing and/or suffering of animals, neglected/mistreated corpses, cannibalism and more. The main romance is between a JUST turned 18yo woman and a man who's 1 year younger than her dad (47?). Which is treated as fine/normal/romantic. It's also a little to religious/faith/cult based for my enjoyment. I finished the book because it is compellingly written and Octavia Butler is renowned for her excellence. Very little hope/relief from the distressing content. Wouldn't recommend.