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A review by iconvergara
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
4.0
I have mixed feelings about this book.
What I don't like about it is that it is centered around a young girl so convinced of her own beliefs that she even teaches people of it, even though she has little knowledge of the world and its previous condition. She tends to be dogmatic when it comes to her belief system and that irritates me. She does not realize she is no different from anyone starting a cult. "God is change" - fuck that.
I've realized something about humans in a survivalist society. Humans in this condition is predictable and have one goal - to survive. Compare that to humans living in a time of peace which provides room for more self-expression and more meaningful exploration of the meaning of life. The trade-off is depression when people struggle to find a purpose in the virtually limitless number of paths available. However, the other side is fulfillment.
For times of war or chaos, it's more about survival. There is little space to explore deeper psychological problems and insights because it will all be in vain if you're dead.
I did learn one very important thing - to prepare for the coming disaster by educating yourself. And then to help others by teaching them knowledge needed to survive, instead of scaring them. Because if you scare people of a coming disaster, and nothing happens, you lose their trust and your authority. You do more harm than good in that scenario.
Aside from that, what I like from this book is that it is hard to put down. It compelled me to continue reading to know more about their world and the state of its people. Why? Because it eerily describes what is happening right now in the real world - cities being infested with crimes and drugs and the consequences of climate change. The setting of the book starts in the year 2024. This year. And this book was written in 1993.
If you like The Walking Dead (tv series), you'd probably like this book. However, instead of zombies, you get drug addicts and homeless people. If you're a Christian, you'd hate this book because of the main character but you'd learn what's it like to be a realistic Christian by the main character's father which is a Baptist minister.
What I don't like about it is that it is centered around a young girl so convinced of her own beliefs that she even teaches people of it, even though she has little knowledge of the world and its previous condition. She tends to be dogmatic when it comes to her belief system and that irritates me. She does not realize she is no different from anyone starting a cult. "God is change" - fuck that.
I've realized something about humans in a survivalist society. Humans in this condition is predictable and have one goal - to survive. Compare that to humans living in a time of peace which provides room for more self-expression and more meaningful exploration of the meaning of life. The trade-off is depression when people struggle to find a purpose in the virtually limitless number of paths available. However, the other side is fulfillment.
For times of war or chaos, it's more about survival. There is little space to explore deeper psychological problems and insights because it will all be in vain if you're dead.
I did learn one very important thing - to prepare for the coming disaster by educating yourself. And then to help others by teaching them knowledge needed to survive, instead of scaring them. Because if you scare people of a coming disaster, and nothing happens, you lose their trust and your authority. You do more harm than good in that scenario.
Aside from that, what I like from this book is that it is hard to put down. It compelled me to continue reading to know more about their world and the state of its people. Why? Because it eerily describes what is happening right now in the real world - cities being infested with crimes and drugs and the consequences of climate change. The setting of the book starts in the year 2024. This year. And this book was written in 1993.
If you like The Walking Dead (tv series), you'd probably like this book. However, instead of zombies, you get drug addicts and homeless people. If you're a Christian, you'd hate this book because of the main character but you'd learn what's it like to be a realistic Christian by the main character's father which is a Baptist minister.