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

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0



A friend of mine gave me this book (and the sequel). I wasn't sure if I was going to like it since it isn't my normal style of book but I really loved it. I finished the book in just one day, so that says it all..

The main character in the book is Lauren, a black young girl. She lives in a small community in the US in a time not that far from now. The world we all know, is strange to her since climat change, war, individualism, money and greed became bigger and bigger in the world, turning the cap between rich and poor even bigger. Lauren doesn't live in a wealthy community but they don't want for much extra. One night, pyromaniacs (a new plague of addicts) set fire to the entire community. She is one of the only ones who escape. 
She's a ministers daughter, so she not a stranger to religion or sermonts but her way of looking at the world, made her 'come up' ( read 'show people') a new religion : earthseed. All we can be sure of, is that everything changes do God is Change.

The story makes us think about what we think is important in life, what is worth fighting for, how do we treat others, what do we believe in ? Not just in the book but also in nowaday life : how can we make sure we don't end up in a world like that, where a neighbour can be a murderer if you don't pay attention ?

The story isn't a sad one, it has a happy ending (somewhat) but not the typical 'hollywood ending' ; the story strikes me as believable when you think about the time you were 18 years old and were convinced you could change the world. Since, Change is God.

For me, the title (parable of the sower) tells about the ways people can respond/react in different ways to similar circumstances : some will become hard and violant, others become depressed and scared, some become leaders and others become followers, some will forget about human values and other will persue them, no matter what. What do you when your entire world, when everything and everyone you loved and all that you ever knew,.. what if all of it, dissapeared. Not just at once, for then it would be obvious, but little by little ; one little step (law) after the other. When would you say stop ? When would hold your ground ? When will you stop believing that the one who shouts the loudest "make America great again", isn't necessarily the one who will lead you in the right direction. When will you trust on who you are and when will you believe enough to stand your ground for humanity as a whole ?