Parable of the Sower

5 Reviews

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  I've been told by just about everyone that I have to read this novel and it's such a masterpiece and so on, but in the end I couldn't quite get into it. There is a good premise and several good ideas, and it's interesting to see a dystopia where the world is still tumbling down and non a straight-ou ... (continue)

  I've been told by just about everyone that I have to read this novel and it's such a masterpiece and so on, but in the end I couldn't quite get into it. There is a good premise and several good ideas, and it's interesting to see a dystopia where the world is still tumbling down and non a straight-out post-apocalyptic world, but most of the characters felt flat or rushed, and the story itself has an odd pacing, with the set-up for the "hero"'s journey taking up literally half of the book.
  The made-up religion of the protagonist is also so generic and uninteresting that it didn't seem to need all the space and importance it is given. This is not to dis made-up religions in sci-fi, or an "I already have a belief so I can't get into hers" rebuttal: as an example, I loved the religious elements in Dune or the Myst/D'ni saga because they were complex. Earthseed is just poor.
  I think Butler also couldn't find a balance between writing this story as a journal and the need for direct dialogue and a straighter narrative; it's hard to believe that the Lauren who introduces new characters as if we should already know who they are (I often thought my book was missing some pages) would spend so much time recording every single line of dialogue rather than summarizing it.
  I must add I'm also not a great reader of the survival/dystopian genre. This book was bleak enough for me as it is and, after reading a synopsis of the sequel, I don't think I'm going to tackle that.

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  Ian Atrus said on Apr 30, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

• 

  Amazing Book

  Octavia Butler covers an amazing range of personalities all thrown into a cataclysmic time in the world. Reading this book felt she was the sower giving the world a parable about all the destructive things we're dealing with right now.

  She deals with everything straight up, from the way people de- ... (continue)

  Octavia Butler covers an amazing range of personalities all thrown into a cataclysmic time in the world. Reading this book felt she was the sower giving the world a parable about all the destructive things we're dealing with right now.

  She deals with everything straight up, from the way people de-evolve under pressure to how we discover the best within us in the same way. The different levels of prose mixed with metaphysical poetry make this one of the most amazing novels I've ever read.

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  Pagesurfer500 said on Jul 6, 2010 about the School & Library Binding edition | Add your feedback

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  To be honest, I do not like the Earthseed stuff along with the implicit canonization of Lauren in this novel (I almost think of it as a hagiography.) Perhaps I am more skeptical and more prone to satire toward things like that...

  But other than that, this novel gives a very powerful and somewhat ... (continue)

  To be honest, I do not like the Earthseed stuff along with the implicit canonization of Lauren in this novel (I almost think of it as a hagiography.) Perhaps I am more skeptical and more prone to satire toward things like that...

  But other than that, this novel gives a very powerful and somewhat accurate account of the chaos and how people respond to it. Especially after the Haiti catastrophe, reading this book makes me marvel at Butler's prophetic vision. In the novel, there is also an earthquake and it contributes more chaos and riots to the already fragmented society--total anarchy, stealing and robbing everywhere, the pyro-addicts who set fire at random just for fun...

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  yuuyh said on Jan 28, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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  Parable of the Sower

  A beautifully written, compelling, dystopian tale. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

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  Readingrat said on Apr 17, 2008 | Add your feedback

• 

  Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower - The Underground Railroad Begins Again In Post-American Times

  Octavia E. Butler's Parable The Sower is written in a loose diary format.

  The novel itself is the story of Lauren Olamina, a young girl whose mother abused drugs while pregnant giving Lauren an 'empathic' ability (or curse may be more appropriate).

  Lauren lives in a 'gated' community whi ... (continue)

  Octavia E. Butler's Parable The Sower is written in a loose diary format.

  The novel itself is the story of Lauren Olamina, a young girl whose mother abused drugs while pregnant giving Lauren an 'empathic' ability (or curse may be more appropriate).

  Lauren lives in a 'gated' community which is protected by a large wall to keep out the baddies. What baddies essentially means is that imagine a future where virtually all hope is gone. There are no jobs, none whatsoever. Life is garbage for most people. The mass population has turned to theft, rape, drugs, and sees violence every day. Only in these last small communities does some semblance of what life was like remain.

  All good things come to and end so eventually Lauren's community collapses. Running for her life, she heads north towards Washington or Canada in the hopes of finding work and spreading her 'Earthseed' religious beliefs.

  The only places left that pay money for work (everyone is slowly being converted into slavery) is in the northern States and Canada. Lauren isn't the only one who wants a paying job of course, along the highways she runs into thousands of people slowly walking their way up north. Many try to kill travelers to rob, rape, or just have fun. However, slowly during the course of her travels, her good deeds impress various other travelers that join up and travel with her.

  The story isn't really anything too new for me. I've read this same type of story in various incarnations like Stephen King's The Long Walk for one. The only major difference is the black point of view Butler has and the future heading back into a slave-workforce storyline.

  Butler's novels always give great insight on what it must have been like in the past and present as a black person, now she's written a great little post-apocalyptic tale describing a 'what if' slavery slowly came back to the United States?

  One neat thing was the Earthseed religion that the lead character creates. I'm basically an Atheist so have never really understood religious beliefs too much. However, during a recent trip to Memphis' National Civil Rights Museum I read an excellent excerpt describing how blacks turned to religion to give them hope during their days in slavery. Perhaps that is why so many blacks I know have the strongest religious beliefs of anyone I know.

  So what is Octavia actually saying in her Parable The Sower novel? Slavery is back and all hope is virtually gone. Does Earthseed (religion) give the characters that hope? Is Earthseed the hope that these poor futuristic slaves need? Do people need a religion like Earthseed during terrible times such as this future and the black slavery of the past?

  As I learn more and more about black culture I get more and more fascinated by Butler's writing and how she seems to be able to tie in perfectly slight historical references (at least what I feel to be historic references) and the like. The novel I'm afraid most likely will not appease science fiction fans though. Unlike her Pattern Master or Xenogenesis series' this story doesn't contain anything really futuristic. The Earth as it is in Lauren's world could very well be tomorrow. Because of this, the people are the same and so is the technology. I would recommend this to people that don't normally read Butler's work because they dislike Sci-Fi. It's a good character driven tragedy.

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  CaptHowdy said on Sep 9, 2007 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
  (14)
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• English Books
• Mass Market Paperback 304 Pages
• Edition: Reprint
• ISBN-10: 0446601977
• ISBN-13: 9780446601979
• Publisher: Aspect
• Pub date: Feb 01, 1995
• Dimensions: 1097 mm x 645 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Paperback, Hardcover, Audio Cassette, School & Library Binding and Others
• In other languages: other languages Livres Français, Libri Italiani

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