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

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I just finished reading Parable of the Sower, my first Octavia E. Butler, and it was both exceptional and depressing at the same time. It’s prescience is chilling, more-so for the fact that the story begins set in 2024 in a world of climate crisis, extreme class divides between the uber wealthy and those in poverty, corrupt government and law enforcement.

Rather than providing entertainment, the novel reads like a memoir of a teenaged girl currently living in poverty in the USA.

Phenomenal work from one of the greatest literary minds of all time, and I am equal parts eager and nervous to read Parable of the Talents to see what other accurate predications Butler made about our current society when she wrote the series in the early 90s.