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A review by amandasbookreview
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“The world is full of painful stories. Sometimes it seems as though there aren’t any other kind and yet I found myself thinking how beautiful that glint of water was through the trees.”
PARABLE OF THE SOWER
My first Octavia E. Butler book was Kindred and I knew then it would not be my last and I was not disappointed. Parable of the Sower is the first book in the Earthseed series by Octavia E. Butler. This book was written in the 80s and published in the early 90s. The book is a science fiction novel but definitely falls in the dystopian category as well. The scary part? The year in the book is 2025. The world has been ravaged by climate change. Lauren Olamina lives in a community outside of Los Angelos. The community is gated to shelter them from the anarchy that is outside the walls. This community, led by her father, is very particular about their use of resources and takes safety very seriously. Lauren is personally affected by what she calls “sharing.” It is actually a hyper-empathy reaction where she feels the pain that others are experiencing. She creates her own religion called Earthseed which focuses on the fact that “God is Change.” Soon tragedy reaches their community and Lauren finds herself traveling North with only a few companions. The danger on the outside is worse than they previously imagined and they don’t know who to trust.
This book touches on so much that we are currently experiencing in our society–climate change and corporate greed. People sacrifice everything to find some low-paying jobs, only to be trapped in the return of slavery and indentured servitude. This is a heavy book and it is not all that far-fetched. If the world would to continue the way we are headed…the details in the book would be accurate. It is a crime that this book isn’t required reading along with George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, and Ray Bradbury. –But I also said the same thing about Kindred. I think this book would encourage students to think and make correlations to our current society. The characters are flawed but trying to survive. I found their reactions and actions made sense in their situations—which is a rare opinion for me. When I read this genre, I always find that characters’ decisions rarely make sense and just create more chaos. This book captured my attention from beginning to end and I fully intend to continue with the series.
This book touches on so much that we are currently experiencing in our society–climate change and corporate greed. People sacrifice everything to find some low-paying jobs, only to be trapped in the return of slavery and indentured servitude. This is a heavy book and it is not all that far-fetched. If the world would to continue the way we are headed…the details in the book would be accurate. It is a crime that this book isn’t required reading along with George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, and Ray Bradbury. –But I also said the same thing about Kindred. I think this book would encourage students to think and make correlations to our current society. The characters are flawed but trying to survive. I found their reactions and actions made sense in their situations—which is a rare opinion for me. When I read this genre, I always find that characters’ decisions rarely make sense and just create more chaos. This book captured my attention from beginning to end and I fully intend to continue with the series.