This book struck a nerve. Written in the early 2000’s it contains the fears many have about our divided country and the potential for civil war. Lauren lives in a walled community of about a dozen house in the suburbs of LA. Drugs, violence and a bear minimum of government and the normal protections we expect are barely there. It’s a world where you must fear outsiders and hope to have food and are not robed. Weird that people work for money and paper currency still in use but inflation and few safe places to spend money is a problem Because it is California water costs more than food and is in short supply. This is also a road trip for Lauren and the small group she gathers to become members of Earthseed, her religious community that she creates to bring meaning and purpose to this chaos. Well written, creative and forward thinking. ( )

So I decided to give this author a second chance after not liking Bloodchild.

While I can appreciate the better character development and the semi original story idea, I’m still not a fan and this will be the last book of hers I will read/listen to.

While I can appreciate there are those out there who enjoy her work, I’m just not one of them.

Used this for 52 Books in 52 Weeks for prompt #37 Written in the Present Tense. ( )

Thanks to one of my college professors, I'm a huge fan of Octavia Butler's works. I'm also glad that this isn't the first work of hers that I've read. Not that I think it would be a bad first choice, I'm just glad that I am able to make connections between this book and her other books so readily. Also, this was the first book that my new book club decided to read, and I was and am beyond excited to discuss it with them. They need to get prepared because I am. Anyway.

Parable of the Sower is a book about an apocalyptic future America, one that can conceivably take place in just a few years. In fact, the book starts in just 4 years from now, in 2024. Which is wild. So much of what happens in this book is relevant to what's currently going on, from a corrupt president who people think will help the economy by rolling back safety measures, to older generations being so nostalgic about the "good old days" and wanting to get back to them that they don't focus on ways to make their current living situations better, to the selfishness of some of the people. One quote that especially stuck out to me in this time of the pandemic was "There are always people who won't do anything" (Butler, 66). The future painted in this novel is bleak and depressing, but the main character Lauren is a beacon of hope. She's not a usual beacon, with bright eyes and flowery speeches about nothing helpful. She's a realist and is able to draw people into her ideals because of such. She even states early on "Nothing is going to save us. If we don't save ourselves, we're dead" (Butler 59). She recognizes the world she lives in and what must be done to improve it.

I appreciate the sexual freedom Lauren has. She is very much in control of her bodily autonomy throughout the book and engages in sexual encounters not because she feels she has to, but because she wants to. This is something that Butler often includes in her books, which I frankly love. It's not often to see women in literature being allowed to act on their sexual urges in a way that's consensual and healthy.

I am intrigued by all the different antagonists in the book. There are many different antagonists in the book, from environmental factors to societal factors, but there is no single representation of the antagonists. Each antagonist is a group. Even when there is a single called out individual (the president), he has no direct contact with the main characters. It is also interesting that in the end, Lauren is not one person facing all these antagonists, but is part of a group facing them.

Some themes reoccur in Butler's works, and Parable of the Sower is no exception. It, along with other works, deals with topics of slavery, both historical and current, sexual freedom, power dynamics, and building communities. What I think is especially notable about the building communities topic is how it is portrayed in each of her different groups. In [book:Mind of My Mind|116254] the main character builds a community and it eventually becomes the most powerful group in America. The group even utilizes a form of slavery and is presented in a bit of a negative way. In Parable of the Sower, building a community is one of the only ways to survive. I would argue that this a neutral/positive way to view community building. In [book:Fledgling|60925], the main character again must build a community around herself in order to survive. Each book takes a young, black woman who builds the community around herself. In both Parable of the Sower and Fledgling the main character must build a community around herself after a fire has destroyed her previous community and killed her loved ones.

I can't wait to read [book:Parable of the Talents|60932], even though I know at the end of it I will be angry that Butler was taken from us too soon. I often wonder what wonderful books we would have now if she hadn't died when she did. ( )

Extremely well-written, with fresh ideas. I bought it on an impulse visit to a used book store, best two bucks I've spent in a long time. I didn't realize it was such a grim story, echoing a couple I've read lately (Grapes of Wrath and Water Knife) but this dystopia was buoyed by glimpses of hope and trust, and that made all the difference. ( )

#811 in our old book database. Not rated.