Parable of The Sower by Octavia E. Butler
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Web ID: 1177533610 reviews
Very Long Journey
Read this book back in June and It had some interesting parts that grabbed my attention at the start but over all, It felt very long, and felt like I was listening to a very informative podcast at times.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good Read! Lauren is amazing resilent girl
This book is so good. Lauren is resilent and shows us how one brave girl manages to surgive a pre-apocalyptic time.
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Scary....
"Parable of the Sower," written by Octavia Butler, is a compelling and unsettling exploration of a dystopian future shaped by climate change, social chaos, and economic disparity. Set in the year 2024, the narrative follows Lauren Olamina, a young woman with hyperempathy—a condition that allows her to feel the pain and emotions of others. This unique trait serves as both a gift and a burden in a world where survival is increasingly difficult. "Parable of the Sower" is not just a survival story; it is a call to action, urging readers to consider the consequences of inaction in the face of societal collapse. Butler's masterful storytelling, combined with her thought-provoking themes, makes this novel an essential read for anyone interested in speculative fiction that challenges us to reflect on our present and future. It prompts us to ask what it means to be human in a constantly changing world and find hope even in the most desperate circumstances.
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*Everyone* Should Read This
A dystopian novel unlike any other. It is impossible to pigeonhole this book as its scope goes beyond that of a sci-fi novel as it begs the big questions of life that are magnified under the boot of a world falling apart. It’s both gripping and introspective.
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Alarmingly prescient!
This was written in the early 90's but Butler was so spot-on with a lot of the ways she extrapolated society's then-problems into her version of the 2020's that its quite disconcerting. The writing style is accessible but intelligent, the characters and situations all feel real and believable, and I'll eventually get to reading the follow-up title. I could see myself believe in Earthseed.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great book highly recommended
This is a dystopian sci-fi set in the 2020s. Published in 1993, the novel has an eerily prophetic feel about it. It starts off feeling almost young adult given the age of the protag. But it doesn't stay there. The quality of depth and quality of the writing bring it closer to a literary novel. In the story, society is collapsing, gangs are roving the land, government is corrupt and powerless. Lauren Olamina loses her entire family to gangs. Even before the destruction of her family and community that launches her on her quest, an idea is geminating in her for a religious concept she calls Earthseed. It provides a frame of reference for her to understand God in the chaos of her world. She and two other survivors from her neighborhood decide to head north from the Los Angeles area. There are stories things I better in northern CA and Washington and Oregon and Canada. But the journey is extremely dangerous and there is no guarantee of success. Along the way, she meets other people who join her. There is always the process learning to trust them which requires observing and testing them. Eventually the group grows to nine plus several children. The process of bonding into a ‘family’ is done with an eye on how difficult it is to achieve such bonding when most of the people she meets are likely to rob, rape, murder, and burn. But the bonds form and the way Butler does it is realistic in the story world she has created. What I like best about this novel is characters are what keep me in a story. This is probably the most important element of a story for me. I don’t have to like them, but I have to believe they are real and capable of doing what they do. Capable means emotionally and psychologically as well as physically, relationally, and mentally. Butler does this with her protag, Lauren. And with her other major and significant secondary characters. Her minor characters are also unique and believable I also like the way Butler shows the humanity of people in a world amazingly like the world of Mad Max. Lauren’s little group comes together, working through fear, lack of trust, and the view that everyone you meet is a potential killer. The group becomes a family the fights and bicker with each other. They also unite to fight off every attack. They mourn when members of the group die. They marvel when other members come together to support, encourage, and love each other. I highly recommend this as a great read. Even if you don't like dystopian, read it. You'll be surprised.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Disturbingly realistic
This book was written in the early to mid 90s and is classified as science fiction. Now 30 years later it is closer to reality than I am comfortable with. The protagonist, Lauren, a teenage girl, is strong and impressive. I couldn't put the book down. I ran out to B&N and bought the sequel as soon as I got close to the end. It's a good read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Chilling Prediction of our Time
After a sort of slow, but necessary, beginning, where a distant America is illustrated in the throes of economic crisis, environmental decline, and something resembling anarchy, readers are thrown head first into the worst imaginable dystopia, one we may be heading towards ourselves. Set in Southern California in the late 2020's, Octavia Butler manages to predict from her time of writing, the late 1990's, where we as a country would be headed. Included in her predictions are wildfires, rising sea levels, increasing drug addiction, as well as technology addiction, and the beginnings of religious fundamentalist groups that preach love and do only harm.
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