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A review by nclcaitlin
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
3.25
2024: it is the end of the world and everyone is descending into madness and desperation. Outside the wall lies chaos.
Chronicled by diary entries from a fifteen-year old girl called Lauren who is disillusioned with her father’s obsessed on with religion, this book offers a bleak, dark look at a very possible future even if it is off by a few years.
Lauren’s voice shines through and offers stark observations on the life and people around her. Interestingly, she has hyperempathy syndrome meaning she feels what she sees others feeling or what she believes they feel. Even to the degree that she used to bleed if she saw blood.
Without persistence, what remains is an enthusiasm of the moment.
Without adaptability, what remains may be channeled into destructive fanaticism. Without positive obsession, there is nothing at all.
It seems common for Butler’s book to always have a really dark and shocking factor. Lots of rape, murder, drugs, torture, prostitution…. Whilst it’s extremely graphic, it also makes sense for the world she was trying to imagine.
However,
Very minor spoiler:
However, my main ick for this book was having Lauren have sec with a 57-year old man who reminded her of her father.
I felt this was an amalgamation of many books I’ve already read. Perhaps I am doing a disservice to Butler as she was the leading author in this, however I think my expectations were set to high based on others reviews.
My grandmother left a whole bookcase of old science fiction novels. The company-city subgenre always seemed to star a hero who outsmarted, over threw, or escaped "the company." I've never seen one where the hero fought like hell to get taken in and underpaid by the company. In real life, that's the way it will be. That's the way it is.
The ending felt extremely abrupt and lacklustre. I know it’s a duology, but I won’t be continuing based on some reviews with similar drawbacks as me.
Chronicled by diary entries from a fifteen-year old girl called Lauren who is disillusioned with her father’s obsessed on with religion, this book offers a bleak, dark look at a very possible future even if it is off by a few years.
Lauren’s voice shines through and offers stark observations on the life and people around her. Interestingly, she has hyperempathy syndrome meaning she feels what she sees others feeling or what she believes they feel. Even to the degree that she used to bleed if she saw blood.
Without persistence, what remains is an enthusiasm of the moment.
Without adaptability, what remains may be channeled into destructive fanaticism. Without positive obsession, there is nothing at all.
It seems common for Butler’s book to always have a really dark and shocking factor. Lots of rape, murder, drugs, torture, prostitution…. Whilst it’s extremely graphic, it also makes sense for the world she was trying to imagine.
However,
Very minor spoiler:
However, my main ick for this book was having Lauren have sec with a 57-year old man who reminded her of her father.
I felt this was an amalgamation of many books I’ve already read. Perhaps I am doing a disservice to Butler as she was the leading author in this, however I think my expectations were set to high based on others reviews.
My grandmother left a whole bookcase of old science fiction novels. The company-city subgenre always seemed to star a hero who outsmarted, over threw, or escaped "the company." I've never seen one where the hero fought like hell to get taken in and underpaid by the company. In real life, that's the way it will be. That's the way it is.
The ending felt extremely abrupt and lacklustre. I know it’s a duology, but I won’t be continuing based on some reviews with similar drawbacks as me.