melk433's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
aswallace's review
4.0
Can't decide how to rate this because I'm having trouble separating my opinion about the book from my emotional reaction to the content and also I hate rating things.
Disturbingly prescient, bleak. Dystopian, but also not far off from where we currently are. My personal dislike of being preached to interfered with my full enjoyment of the otherwise appealing idea of founding (excuse me, discovering) a religion based on the ideals of adaptation and change. I usually shy away from books written in journal format, but it seemed fitting for this particular story.
Disturbingly prescient, bleak. Dystopian, but also not far off from where we currently are. My personal dislike of being preached to interfered with my full enjoyment of the otherwise appealing idea of founding (excuse me, discovering) a religion based on the ideals of adaptation and change. I usually shy away from books written in journal format, but it seemed fitting for this particular story.
claudiasousa06's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best books I've read in my life. I can't describe how it made me feel, how it captured every fear that I have about the future and managed to make it into a nightmare come to life.
But, there is always hope. There was plenty of hope in this group. The way that Octavia E Butler wrote this story is just phenomenal.
I am not a religious person, but I found the whole concept of Earthseed so interesting. The hope that can be found in religion. It doesn't need to be logical it just is what it is and some people find comfort in it. A truth that they can discover and believe in. I don't think that I have ever read a book that discussed and approached religion and belief the way that this one did and I loved it.
This dystopian world is my every environmental anxiety come to life. What will we do, when everything goes finally to shit? How can we carry on and bring more children into a world that we are essentially ruining? This book was written in the '90s. I still haven't wrapped my head around it. Butler was able to make it so relatable and still valid for us.
We read dystopias, they're supposed to warn us about the dangers of our carelessness, of our denial over the state of things. Yet, we do nothing to change.
But, there is always hope. There was plenty of hope in this group. The way that Octavia E Butler wrote this story is just phenomenal.
I am not a religious person, but I found the whole concept of Earthseed so interesting. The hope that can be found in religion. It doesn't need to be logical it just is what it is and some people find comfort in it. A truth that they can discover and believe in. I don't think that I have ever read a book that discussed and approached religion and belief the way that this one did and I loved it.
This dystopian world is my every environmental anxiety come to life. What will we do, when everything goes finally to shit? How can we carry on and bring more children into a world that we are essentially ruining? This book was written in the '90s. I still haven't wrapped my head around it. Butler was able to make it so relatable and still valid for us.
We read dystopias, they're supposed to warn us about the dangers of our carelessness, of our denial over the state of things. Yet, we do nothing to change.
notlikethefairytales's review
5.0
I wish I could give this more stars. I've never felt so hopeless but entertained at the same time.
aelytacchan's review
5.0
I don't quite know what to say about Parable of tbe Sower, except that it's frightening, possible, and may have already started, albeit on a slower timeline than Butler had imagined.
I read the edition of this book containing a foreward by N.K. Jemisin, and in it, she mentions she's always thought Lauren to be much too mature and already all-knowing for her age. I think she's right, but I also think this may be the only reason it makes sense for her to still be alive in the world that she's confronted with.
This book starts in 2024, with our main character at the age of 15, living a mostly peaceful life in her walled neighborhood somewhere in Southern California not far from L.A., but far enough that most of the craziness oozing out of the city hasn't quite reached them yet.
The reality she and her community live in, though, is a fast-forward of what's already started to plague the area, along with many other places: severe water, food and gas shortage, people being pushed out on the street by poverty, vandalism and other crimes living on the streets in tents or boxes, drug abuse, unhelpfull and overcrowded emergency services, mass-shootings, etc.
As things get progressively worse, Lauren happens upon the truth that they won't get better, and her enclave of peace and safety will eventually fall. At the same time, some other truths come to her, forming the semblance of a new type of religion, centered around changing and adapting to survive, that she calls Earthseed. As a result, she starts preparing for when she will inevitably have to leave her community and try to make a life for herself and start building Earthseed. Unfortunately, her predictions come true sooner rather than later, and in 2027, she finds herself on the road with little more than the bug-out bag she had prepared.
The second half of the book depicts her journey North, trying to survive and find allies and friends. Amidst the harrowing reality of her world, Lauren manages to build a found family she deeply cares for, but I'll let you discover the rest yourself!
As many have mentioned in their reviews, this book is not for the faint of heart. I would even say you shouldn't read this book if you're looking for a good time or to have fun. If your preferred genre is Romance, put it down and walk away. Yes, even Emily Henry novels. I don't even recommend it if you like books that make you cry. This book won't make you cry. It's too matter-of-fact about its horrors to ellicit an emotional response.
I do highly recommend picking this up if you want to read a thought-provoking book that was once avant-garde and inconceivable, but will now mostly leave you looking at the situation in the States with a sort of horrified understanding you won't be able to escape.
Now, excuse me as I go immediately start Parable of the Talents.
I read the edition of this book containing a foreward by N.K. Jemisin, and in it, she mentions she's always thought Lauren to be much too mature and already all-knowing for her age. I think she's right, but I also think this may be the only reason it makes sense for her to still be alive in the world that she's confronted with.
This book starts in 2024, with our main character at the age of 15, living a mostly peaceful life in her walled neighborhood somewhere in Southern California not far from L.A., but far enough that most of the craziness oozing out of the city hasn't quite reached them yet.
The reality she and her community live in, though, is a fast-forward of what's already started to plague the area, along with many other places: severe water, food and gas shortage, people being pushed out on the street by poverty, vandalism and other crimes living on the streets in tents or boxes, drug abuse, unhelpfull and overcrowded emergency services, mass-shootings, etc.
As things get progressively worse, Lauren happens upon the truth that they won't get better, and her enclave of peace and safety will eventually fall. At the same time, some other truths come to her, forming the semblance of a new type of religion, centered around changing and adapting to survive, that she calls Earthseed. As a result, she starts preparing for when she will inevitably have to leave her community and try to make a life for herself and start building Earthseed. Unfortunately, her predictions come true sooner rather than later, and in 2027, she finds herself on the road with little more than the bug-out bag she had prepared.
The second half of the book depicts her journey North, trying to survive and find allies and friends. Amidst the harrowing reality of her world, Lauren manages to build a found family she deeply cares for, but I'll let you discover the rest yourself!
As many have mentioned in their reviews, this book is not for the faint of heart. I would even say you shouldn't read this book if you're looking for a good time or to have fun. If your preferred genre is Romance, put it down and walk away. Yes, even Emily Henry novels. I don't even recommend it if you like books that make you cry. This book won't make you cry. It's too matter-of-fact about its horrors to ellicit an emotional response.
I do highly recommend picking this up if you want to read a thought-provoking book that was once avant-garde and inconceivable, but will now mostly leave you looking at the situation in the States with a sort of horrified understanding you won't be able to escape.
Now, excuse me as I go immediately start Parable of the Talents.
sndavis94's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
hunterkat's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
bjilkiah's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
5.0
monkeyhippy's review
5.0
I needed a support group for reading this book. Brilliant, prescient, and probably far more accurate about the future than any of us wants to believe (just see how much has already come true). I am both eager and scared to read Parable of the Talents.