A powerful tale of a dark and dystopian future - Parable of the Sower

A very interesting read. I could not put the first book down,and can't wait to start the next! I am so disappointed in myself that I've only recently discovered Octavia Butler's works. I can't wait to catch up!!

I am not totally done yet, probably about half way, but I am really liking this book. The setting and characters are all super original and interesting. The suspense is kept well throughout the book so far. Definitely recommend it if you are in for a depressing look at a bleak future.

This dystopian novel set in the very near future is part adventure part spiritual and wholly prophetic. Butler's gift of expressing her views of humanity past, present, and future is as chilling as it is comforting.

"Your teachers are all around you. All that you perceive. All that you experience. All that is given to you or taken from you. All that you love or hate, need or fear will teach you."

"All that you touch, you change. All that you change, changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is Change."

A realistic (hauntingly so) vision of a dystopian future for the United States set in 2020's. 4 stars for imagination and the interweving of the "Earthseed" belief system into the overall composition of the story. However, towards the end I found myself losing some interest in the story feeling that it dragged a little (although appropriatley I am sure given that I did appreciate the realism with this one). I found the whole "hyperempathy" notion hokey and irritating, which ultimately made this a 3 versus 4 star read. I do recommend this book, despite the 3 star rating. I plan on reading "Kindred" by this author as well but will not be reading the sequel to Parable of the Sower - got the gist, enjoyed it, just don't need more of it.

Wonderful story, great life lessons, and very lifelike characters that makes it easy to love or hate them. Octavia did a wonderful job crafting this story. I just wish I discovered her work sooner. Very good book.

I really enjoyed the main character's struggle with figuring out her own belief system. That combined with the dystopian California future and the challenges of survival made for a fascinating story. I'm starting on book two right now!

***SPOILER ALERT***

In Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower, there were a lot of heavy subjects tackled. But some of the main themes I kept picking up on were the struggle for power, the need for community in spite of the chaos, mass complacency, gender (bending and roles), and of course climate change. The diversity in the novel is another aspect that I absolutely loved. Finally, something realistic and not white-washed to infinity and beyond.

The biggest form of climate change present in the story is the increase in temperature in California, certainly a catalyst for the multiple fires that occurred throughout it, man-made or otherwise. In a speech titled, “Devil Girl From Mars”: Why I Write Science Fiction”, Butler stresses that global warming should get more attention than it does, so she purposefully added in the increasing weather and the drought in California to show how much of a problem global warming is. You can also see climate change present in the prices for food. In “A Conversation with Octavia Butler” located at the end of the book, she notes that, “as the climate changes, some of the foods we’re used to won’t grow as well in the places we’re used to growing them” (337). Agriculture and farming is mentioned several times throughout the book as Lauren attempts to learn more about “living off of the land”. They also shop in different stores throughout California, looking for the best prices in food and other necessities.

The loss of innocence throughout the novel was also really heartbreaking to read. Thinking about thirteen year olds learning how to handle a gun terrifies me. It seems like these kids really don’t get a chance to enjoy their childhood, especially Lauren, who seems to want to rush past her adolescence. Tied in with the loss of innocence is the coming of age of several characters throughout the book. Lauren, of course, Keith, and also Harry all go through major transformations. My favorite parts throughout the book are when Lauren begins to ruminate over Earthseed and try to figure it out, because it tied directly into her becoming more confident in herself as a leader. Keith’s transformation, to me, was the scariest, because it felt like a boulder rolling down hill that would only end up crashing, which he did. Harry’s attitude shifted from distrusting Lauren and despising change to respecting her and co-signing her new religion.

Another major theme was power: the struggle for it, the exertion of it, and the lack of it. The exertion of power was most obviously seen through the multiple mentions of rape, the setting of fires by the “pyromaniacs”, stealing, and acquiring weapons. It all fits into an exchange of power within their world, where everyone is clamoring for some form of it, whether they’re exerting themselves over someone else through attempting to abuse or rape them, or setting fires on rich neighborhoods, or scavenging through someone’s burned remains. It reminds me of survival of the fittest, or the phrase ‘kill or be killed’ or even ‘fight or flight’. Lauren feeling that she has to dress as a man is also involved in the power exchange. The constant fear of her or the women around her being raped shows the harmful power dynamics between men and women, and the perceived vulnerability of women. Butler successfully shows the daily power struggles that occur throughout the novel as her characters try to survive and try to come out on top in their world.

The need for community is another important element shown throughout the novel. Butler sets it up in the beginning with Lauren’s development of ‘Earthseed’, a new way of living and a new religion that Lauren felt her community could operate more efficiently under. It becomes even more pressing for Lauren to go out and try her new method of living when her current walled-in neighborhood dissolves. The dissipation happens in a couple of different ways. The first way was her father beating Keith. After he beats him, she notes the unforgiving looks on Keith and Cory’s faces towards her father: “It was the end of something precious in the family” (115). Definitely one of the most heartbreaking lines I’ve ever read. Then, Keith runs away with a key to community, her father disappears, and the community is set on fire by the “pyromaniacs”. All of which, little by little, knock everyone out of their complacency of just living day to day and thinking that they’re safe within their walls. Or, as Lauren narrates, “We came home and wrapped our community wall around us and huddled in our illusions of security” (133). Lauren recognizes early on that things can’t stay the way they are, something big is going to happen, and that the community needs to prepare for it. And she was right. Later in the novel, after her childhood (but did she even have one?) neighborhood burns down, Lauren begins to form her own community. It becomes a rather large one that feels unsettling to me, and they do lose a member of it, but they become a sort of haphazard family, with many of the single members pairing up as couples.

Speaking of couples… I’m really, really, REALLY creeped out by Lauren’s relationship with Bankole — a guy almost forty years her senior. I know she’s way more mature than a typical eighteen year old and hey, Bankole’s definitely not getting any younger, and it’s really slim pickens as far as mates go. And I know that their circumstances are totally different, and that people in their time get married and have kids at a much earlier age. But it’s still creepy. Not going to lie.

There are so many other themes to talk about within this story like grief, race, sex and sexuality, literacy, “new world” slavery, the value of life, and Lauren’s hyper-empathy, which, in Butler’s speech, she insists is an affliction, not a superpower (I really wanted it to be a superpower!). All of these are central to the story, but I think the themes I mentioned above are ones that stood out to me the most. Still, the novel as a whole tackled a lot of issues that would inevitably come up in a world such as this and leaves the reader wondering what we would do if we were in Lauren’s shoes. Kill or be killed? Fight or flight?

It got here faster than I anticipated. I really am happy to have my own copy. My friend let me borrow his and once I finished reading it, I wanted to get a copy for myself and share it with others. I'm very pleased with my purchase. Thank you, the store. :)

I read this story thinking we have reached the fork in the road where our country will go this way or we will see the writing on the wall and shape our future now for the better.

I hope we figure it out for the better.

Though provoking. Pretty sure that she was plagiarized a bit by the current american administration during it's campaign, which I suspect would bring her pain. A well crafted story that has inspired me to read much more of her works.

C. S.

"The [apparent didactic] function of the dystopian: sound the alarm of where we're likely heading, make it as horrible as humanly possible and steer us in a course correction from plunging over a social/political/scientific cliff (metaphorically speaking). Or, at least the sheer satisfaction of saying: "I told you so!"

Octavia Butler extrapolates from current events circa 1992-3 a brutal world ravanged by a slow-motion apocalypse (meaning: revelation). A post-globally warmed world well beyond the "tipping point," where the haves have walled compounds and standing armies to protect them from the mindless, bewildered hoards that merely survive via a fire phillic drug called "pyro" (which they pursue literally like moths attracted to flame), cannibalism and hints of slavery.

Lauren Olamina is an anti-heroine, writing verses in her "Earthseed: Book of the Living," formulating a new faith totally apart from her Baptist Minister father. She has "faith" in the Destiny of Earthseed to "spread among the stars." Hints that the USA still exists, we've made it to Mars, but destroyed what we now call the "middle class." When a catastrophic raid destroys her compound, Lauren and a rabble of survivors start walking...north, picking up survivors as they go. This includes her husband - Taylor Bankole - old enough to be the father that she lost tragically. Lauren proves to be resourceful and charismatic, the kind of traits you'd expect of a spiritual leader. Earthseed has parallels with Buddhism, purposefully designed by the author for reasons of continuation of the new faith in "Talents." It ends with the budding beginnings of a community, trying to survive in a third-world country called America.

Read this book my freshman year of college. I gave it to a friend and unfortunately never got it back. But I purchased a new one, shows you how much I loved it! I also find it sort of like a survival book. Let's you see the compassion in people as well as the evil. And it shows humanity through a whole new pair of lenses.

Octavia Butler begins her parable novels with a dream sequence that succinctly encapsulates the main character's character arc. Parable of the Sower is a tremendous tour de force of unequaled brilliance in the genre of Science Fiction.

This is a tough read, but creates a fascinating future that is both believable and emotional. It really has some interesting things to say about today's political clima--JESUS THIS BOOK IS 25 YEARS OLD

The book was very interesting. One continuously wondered what would happen next. Also, Octavia's expressions throughout the book were quite moving. Finally, the book reminded me of what could happen today to our society.

As dystopian fantasy fiction goes, this is wonderfully intelligent and humane. This is the first book written by Octavia Butler that I have read, and I am very impressed. I cannot wait to read the sequel.

Octavia Butler wrote a fantastic story. Lauren Olamina is a fascinating character in a fascinating world. I highly recommend reading this book for anyone interested in a more realistic dystopian novel.

This is the third time I have purchased this book in the last twelve years.
The first purchase was during my undergrad studies during a course in Science Fiction literature. The course was a review of the ground-breaking works crafted by authors like Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, and Thea von Harbou. This book really stood out to me because of Olivia's ability to veer off the beaten path where SciFi can feel cold and distant and create something with a very intimate, personal feel.
The second purchase was to replace the first book, which was lost.
The third purchase was to present my girlfriend with her own copy of the book, this past Christmas.

It is noteworthy to mention that Olivia stands out not only as a terrific author, but a terrific female and African-American author, in a field that seemed to hold the stigma of not really appealing to females or African-Americans.

Spine-chilling near-future dystopy - written in 1993 - about a US plauged by climate change, where eventually a charismatic candidate runs for president promising to "Make America great again", lashing out against minorities and non-Christian religions and believers.

I have read two thirds of what Butler has written and this is by far my favorite, and that is no low bar. Why this isnt mentioned first among her many works is a mystery to me. Now for originality i would say there are other, many other works like this. The change series for example. So its world is familiar and lived in at least by not being new to me. Plus its helpful im a Californian who knows where she is going and how. But Butler gives us something more than people at the end of their rope trying to hang on, survive, and then thrive. She offers up a tempting philosophy, religion, a way of looking at God and ourselves and our world that not only seems relevant for today but necessary. I know no church of earthseed will spring up in her honor. But it should. And we can come away from this novel having improved our character if we want to. Few works of fiction are capable of allowing one to do that. Bravo Ms. Butler. Bravo!

Not an altogether original story idea, but well written and engaging throughout.

Ultimately, this a story of hope and finding the good in people that want a better world. But be prepared for a world where abuse, rape and torture are commonplace. The early portion felt especially bleak, and may turn off some readers.