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A review by babyhairs
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
so so many content warnings for this just as a heads up!
i picked up this book after having it recommend by so many people, and i really feel like i understand much more about octavia butler’s work and how some of the patterns that play out in her books reflect the present day.
CONTENT WARNING FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. i had no idea what this book was about and the descriptions of brutality, violence, general gore i don’t even know how to categorize were really hard to get through for me. just be emotionally prepared for this one. it’s worth reading but it’s not light by any means. i had to take lots of breaks so it was a slow read for me.
also… the themes i found hard to engage with were that the main character, who is 15 to 18 years old over the course of the book, has a long term sexual relationship with a 57 year old man, and it’s framed positively and even justified at multiple points. the reasons given (her maturity, etc) made my skin crawl. i also thought earthseed being a church/cult and all of the related metaphors that come from religious communities was an angle i personally had to move around. i know this book contains much more depth than these two points, so though these things made me very uncomfortable i did get value out of reading the book and appreciate all of the other commentary the author is bringing to the table.
i picked up this book after having it recommend by so many people, and i really feel like i understand much more about octavia butler’s work and how some of the patterns that play out in her books reflect the present day.
CONTENT WARNING FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING. i had no idea what this book was about and the descriptions of brutality, violence, general gore i don’t even know how to categorize were really hard to get through for me. just be emotionally prepared for this one. it’s worth reading but it’s not light by any means. i had to take lots of breaks so it was a slow read for me.
also… the themes i found hard to engage with were that the main character, who is 15 to 18 years old over the course of the book, has a long term sexual relationship with a 57 year old man, and it’s framed positively and even justified at multiple points. the reasons given (her maturity, etc) made my skin crawl. i also thought earthseed being a church/cult and all of the related metaphors that come from religious communities was an angle i personally had to move around. i know this book contains much more depth than these two points, so though these things made me very uncomfortable i did get value out of reading the book and appreciate all of the other commentary the author is bringing to the table.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment