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

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

In Parable of the Sower, Butler introduces us to Lauren Olamina, a teenage girl navigating a dystopian California in 2024 (published in 1993). In the discussion guide at the back of my edition, Butler names her inspiration quite succinctly - she’s not a psychic, the doom and gloom of Lauren’s world was a natural extrapolation of all the failures of the world she existed (and we continue to exist) in. The “growing rich/poor gap…throwaway labor…our willingness to build and fill prisons, our reluctance to build and repair schools and libraries…our assault on the environment…global warming…food-price driven inflation…increased vulnerability to disease.” You get it.

Through her fight for survival and the birth of her belief system - Earthseed - Lauren learns a lot about community and community building, loss, safety, love, and power. The parallels are never ending - policed borders causing increased violence and racial polarization, economic instability collapsing class and privilege across the nation, refugees being marched from city to city in pursuit of “safety” from oppressive forces, capitalistic exploitation of the working class, and a despotic president to top it all off.

Butler’s questions capture it best: Where are we going? What sort of future are we creating? Is this the kind of future you want to live in? If It isn’t, what can we do to create a better future? Individually and in groups, what can we do?

Perhaps we’d be in a better place if more of our individual and group actions came in response to these prompts, and that is a great guide to keep in mind as we enter this season of hibernation and annual renewal.
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