Parable of the Sower
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- Create Date：2022-06-26 00:21:39
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Octavia E. Butler
- ISBN：1538732181
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Summary
When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s， California becomes full of dangers， from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day。
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father， family， and neighbors， sheltered from the surrounding anarchy。 In a society where any vulnerability is a risk， she suffers from hyperempathy， a debilitating sensitivity to others' pain。
Precocious and clear-eyed， Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores。 But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith。。。and a startling vision of human destiny。
This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E。 Butler “pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale” （John Green， New York Times）—now with a new foreword by N。 K。 Jemisin。
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father， family， and neighbors， sheltered from the surrounding anarchy。 In a society where any vulnerability is a risk， she suffers from hyperempathy， a debilitating sensitivity to others' pain。
Precocious and clear-eyed， Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores。 But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith。。。and a startling vision of human destiny。
This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E。 Butler “pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale” （John Green， New York Times）—now with a new foreword by N。 K。 Jemisin。
Reviews
Abi
，
I quite liked this book！ Reading it and witnessing Lauren's journey unfold before our eyes was so surreal， especially considering these elements of survival that reminded me very much of a post-pandemic present I know。 There was so much depth to all the characters introduced， like each character had their own story and reasons for escaping out into the dangerous world。 This book has everything from romance to religion to tragedy， and I definitely want to read the sequel。 Lauren is going to live I quite liked this book！ Reading it and witnessing Lauren's journey unfold before our eyes was so surreal， especially considering these elements of survival that reminded me very much of a post-pandemic present I know。 There was so much depth to all the characters introduced， like each character had their own story and reasons for escaping out into the dangerous world。 This book has everything from romance to religion to tragedy， and I definitely want to read the sequel。 Lauren is going to live in my mind rent free for a while， so of course I would love to know what happens next！ 。。。more
Kellyn Dove
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Powerful。This is absolutely necessary reading。 Octavia Butler eerily predicted what the future could look like and has already started in the US。 The writing is fantastic。 How this was written in journal entries was such a good choice and the main characters voice is so strong。 Lauren is so smart and resilient， and the side characters were really fleshed out too。This had so many dark， tough moments to read about， and really gives a glimpse at a possible dystopian future。 The world felt so real a Powerful。This is absolutely necessary reading。 Octavia Butler eerily predicted what the future could look like and has already started in the US。 The writing is fantastic。 How this was written in journal entries was such a good choice and the main characters voice is so strong。 Lauren is so smart and resilient， and the side characters were really fleshed out too。This had so many dark， tough moments to read about， and really gives a glimpse at a possible dystopian future。 The world felt so real and possible。 People looting， no one being able to afford food， labor laws so lax that indentured servants and even slavery came back， terror groups forming and terrorizing small communities。 People say that America is heading towards a handmaids tale but I think anyone who reads this will say this is far far far more likely and realistic。Immediately picking up the 2nd book 。。。more
Jin
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H o o k e d。 It's incredibly unsettling that this dystopian and violent world is set in in 2024， a mere 2 years away from where we are now。 Really enjoyed the interwoven threads of spirituality， camaraderie， and feminism in a thrilling twist to a classic coming-of-age story。 H o o k e d。 It's incredibly unsettling that this dystopian and violent world is set in in 2024， a mere 2 years away from where we are now。 Really enjoyed the interwoven threads of spirituality， camaraderie， and feminism in a thrilling twist to a classic coming-of-age story。 。。。more
Didi Hoyt
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Great， wonderful hopeful ending to a great book。 I had a few instances in the beginning where Lauren’s voice just sounded weird to me but that wore off quickly and her voice became definitely the strongest thing abt this book。 I’m glad nothing too too terrible happened at the end， but I’ll have to read the sequel to see how Earthseed fares。 Octavia Butler， I think， might be glad she’s not alive today to see just how accurate people think this book could be to the future。
Kristin Lee | ktlee。writes
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PARABLE OF THE SOWER by Octavia E。 Butler is a dystopian novel about Lauren Olamina， a teenager with hyper-empathy syndrome， as she attempts to survive in a world plagued with climate change， lawlessness， and resource scarcity。 First published in 1993 and set in the mid-2020s， it’s a bit eerie how prescient Butler was about the forces and tensions that would shape our world。Lauren grows up within the walls of a gated community that provides relative safety against the gangs and scavengers that p PARABLE OF THE SOWER by Octavia E。 Butler is a dystopian novel about Lauren Olamina， a teenager with hyper-empathy syndrome， as she attempts to survive in a world plagued with climate change， lawlessness， and resource scarcity。 First published in 1993 and set in the mid-2020s， it’s a bit eerie how prescient Butler was about the forces and tensions that would shape our world。Lauren grows up within the walls of a gated community that provides relative safety against the gangs and scavengers that prowl the streets。 As she becomes increasingly convinced that their community’s walls will be breached， she develops her own religion called “Earthseed” based on the belief that “God is change” and she prepares to journey north in search of better prospects。Lauren collects a ragtag group of fellow travelers who work together to find safety in numbers。 Will that be enough for them to survive in these desperate times？Much of this book reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD （which was written later）。 It is a bleak， dark novel， softened by the way the group members help each other。 I appreciated how racial and economic tensions are part of the fabric of the narrative， and thought that part was very realistically done。For me， the novel was weakened by Lauren’s obsession with creating the “Earthseed” religion。 The belief system seemed superficial and flimsy， without any real depth， and made it harder for me to take her seriously。 The same story could have been told without it （same for Lauren’s hyper-empathy syndrome， which didn’t really enhance the narrative for me）。Throughout the novel， I kept thinking there would be more to the plot or to the thematic explorations， but it ended up being a straightforward read。 This may be a misplaced expectations situation， since this book has received so much hype。 It’s a classic for a reason， and fans of dystopian literature would definitely enjoy。 For me， I think I prefer Butler’s KINDRED as a more inventive use of sci-fi to prod the reader’s assumptions about race， history， and slavery。 。。。more
Özgür Tacer
，
Oh dear。。。 I had a hard time to digest that one。 It is even harder to review it but let's roll:Parable of the Sower is the first book of Earthseed duology（？） from Octavia Butler。 Earthseed is a two-books series about a black young woman， Lauren Oya Olamina， who has a extrasensual ability to experience the physical pain of others in her close vicinity （a drug-induced phenomenon called hyperempathy）。 Parable of the Sower is set up in America near future， thrown into anarchy after a series of deadl Oh dear。。。 I had a hard time to digest that one。 It is even harder to review it but let's roll:Parable of the Sower is the first book of Earthseed duology（？） from Octavia Butler。 Earthseed is a two-books series about a black young woman， Lauren Oya Olamina， who has a extrasensual ability to experience the physical pain of others in her close vicinity （a drug-induced phenomenon called hyperempathy）。 Parable of the Sower is set up in America near future， thrown into anarchy after a series of deadly epidemics， ecological disasters， economic crisis and collapse of federal government。 The end result is a sort of Mad-Max society， where only the strongest survives as the cities are terrorized by gangs， pyromaniac drug-addicts， slavers， corrupt police and any other post-apocalyptic vermin imaginable。 The novel tells us the story of Olamina the hyperempath， as she discovers her mission in the world while she struggles to keep herself and her family alive in this chaos。Yes， Parable of the Sower is a post-apocalyptic novel sprouted from new-wave science fiction roots。 So， by definition it was meant to be disturbing; but the level of it was beyond my expectations and imagination: Parable of the Sower was the most horrid， brutal， shocking and depressing dystopia I have ever read。 Not going into details but suffice to say that it is literary equivalent of a snuff film。 Despite of its atrocious features， Parable of the Sower is a book you cannot help but being captivated。 This is due to the literary talents of O。Butler， making everything so vivid， so tense， so real that it carries you away until the end。 The structure， plot， setting and pacing are perfectly established。 Characters are complex， deep and believable。 Social conflicts， race issues， gender issues， theology and philosopy are delivered masterfully， yet without verbosity。 Everything in this book is A-class， except two major flaws:First， the level of exploitation: The narrative of book healivy leans on murder， rape， torture， cannibalism and similar atrocities。 Especially rape is so excessively exhibited that it is not only abusive for the reader， but heavliy misogynistic from gender perspective （even though Octavia Butler would be the last sci-fi author to intend it）。 Second problem is， the novel does not give justice to science fiction。 Even though the novel is set up in near future， the overall level of technology is implausibly stone-age。 Apparently the author was not interested in the material side of future societies， but direct reflection of 1850's America to 2020's without any futuristic extrapolation is unrealistic and reductionist。 There is no hint of modernity in the setting， as if the society had regressed for 150 years in three decades between 1990's and 2020's。 It simply does not make sense and violates the sense of realism， which would be perfect throughout the novel otherwise。 Still， Parable of the Sower is a must-read for any literature enthusiast and science fiction reader interested in social/political sides of it。 。。。more
Mya
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definitely deserves the hype
Kelly
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This book was very good but also hits hard。 Octavia Butler's prescience and awareness of societal trends was/is painfully accurate。 She wrote this in the late 90s， the dates in the books are ~2025。 With the current state of the world and this country， the disasters and brutal conditions in this story don't seem that impossible。 It does carry with it a gem of hope， though: the Earthseed faith's encouragement of shaping the world， of accepting and directing Change。 This book was very good but also hits hard。 Octavia Butler's prescience and awareness of societal trends was/is painfully accurate。 She wrote this in the late 90s， the dates in the books are ~2025。 With the current state of the world and this country， the disasters and brutal conditions in this story don't seem that impossible。 It does carry with it a gem of hope， though: the Earthseed faith's encouragement of shaping the world， of accepting and directing Change。 。。。more
Gabe
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A pretty good dystopian book。 I enjoyed it。
Kelly
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Lauren Olamina is a minister's daughter， but she discovers a new religion--Earthseed。 God is change。 America is ravaged in 2025。 Chaos reigns。 Lauren fears disaster will hit close to home， so she prepares--learns how to survive。 When her community is destroyed， she leaves and heads north。 Walks through California。 Danger is all over--people， dogs， fire。 Her hyper-empathy syndrome makes her a target， but she gathers a group to her--begins an Earthseed community。 She even finds love with Bankole， Lauren Olamina is a minister's daughter， but she discovers a new religion--Earthseed。 God is change。 America is ravaged in 2025。 Chaos reigns。 Lauren fears disaster will hit close to home， so she prepares--learns how to survive。 When her community is destroyed， she leaves and heads north。 Walks through California。 Danger is all over--people， dogs， fire。 Her hyper-empathy syndrome makes her a target， but she gathers a group to her--begins an Earthseed community。 She even finds love with Bankole， an older man。 They all settle on land he owns in northern CA and name it Acorn。 But can they hold it？ 。。。more
Lynn Rasor
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Science fiction starting a few years from now。 A bleak picture， but a possibility if we don’t get our act together。
Melissa Shmish
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A bleak depiction of a not-so-distant dystopian future， following a burgeoning messiah fighting for survival and seeking to nurture her newly developed faith in her newly discovered image of God。 Most disturbing in the plausibility of this view of the future。 P。s。 This may warrant every content warning I've ever heard of。 A bleak depiction of a not-so-distant dystopian future， following a burgeoning messiah fighting for survival and seeking to nurture her newly developed faith in her newly discovered image of God。 Most disturbing in the plausibility of this view of the future。 P。s。 This may warrant every content warning I've ever heard of。 。。。more
Gerardo Luis
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La parábola del sembrador de Octavia E Butler es una distopía que se escribió en los años 90 y que está ambientada en la década de 2020。 La autora parece que escribió el futuro。 Un mundo donde el agua escasea， el clima es inestable y las personas están tan deshumanizadas。 Las calles son un absoluto caos。 Ante este difícil panorama no encontramos con Lauren， una chica con bastante fuerza y de una inteligencia admirable que comenzará a cuestionar la idea misma de Dios。 La novela tiene grandes refl La parábola del sembrador de Octavia E Butler es una distopía que se escribió en los años 90 y que está ambientada en la década de 2020。 La autora parece que escribió el futuro。 Un mundo donde el agua escasea， el clima es inestable y las personas están tan deshumanizadas。 Las calles son un absoluto caos。 Ante este difícil panorama no encontramos con Lauren， una chica con bastante fuerza y de una inteligencia admirable que comenzará a cuestionar la idea misma de Dios。 La novela tiene grandes reflexiones sobre los seres humanos， el cambio， dios y el sentido de la vida。 Es una historia que cambia todo el tiempo y te sorprende。 Sin duda， quiero leer más sobre esta gran autora。 。。。more
BooksRgood
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so great。 I combined listening and reading it over the course of several days and was completely wowed。 Some pretty difficult and graphic stuff "God is change" indeed。。。 so great。 I combined listening and reading it over the course of several days and was completely wowed。 Some pretty difficult and graphic stuff "God is change" indeed。。。 。。。more
Becky Osmon
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I wish this had been required reading。 The dystopian fiction with the greatest chance of coming true。
Ian Faul
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Every page of this book was a penance
James Longbotham
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Great world-building for this post （or mid） apocalyptic America， where resources are practically non-existent， helpless people starve on the streets or are eaten by dogs， and a new drug makes people want to set fires and kill - and yet the government exists， police and fire departments operate （however corruptly）， and money still holds some value。 The story follows a teenage girl and moves quickly from her relatively well-off life to living on the road， trying to find a place to live that’s safe Great world-building for this post （or mid） apocalyptic America， where resources are practically non-existent， helpless people starve on the streets or are eaten by dogs， and a new drug makes people want to set fires and kill - and yet the government exists， police and fire departments operate （however corruptly）， and money still holds some value。 The story follows a teenage girl and moves quickly from her relatively well-off life to living on the road， trying to find a place to live that’s safe and free from the chaos and danger。 But the chaos is what drives the plot， cutting off storylines and plans， making characters disappear without warning or explanation。 For me it really gave the experience an organic feel， not some closely crafted Chekhov play but one that mirrors the randomness and senselessness of true life tragedies。 Some elements I felt detracted from the overall experience （the empath aspect seemed unnecessary and the earthseed semi-religion felt unmotivated）， but overall a really compelling， vivid read。 。。。more
Mike Seay
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A sober， incredibly detailed， and prescient vision of the future if we don’t liberate our socioeconomic order from greed， exploitation， and desecration of our natural resources。 It’s realist in the sense that it’s neither naively optimistic nor a “doomer” attitude。 Things are going to change， and they’ll get worse before they get better - but we still have something hopeful to work towards。 Every degree of success or failure counts。The characters are so rich， and the plot is compelling。 The stak A sober， incredibly detailed， and prescient vision of the future if we don’t liberate our socioeconomic order from greed， exploitation， and desecration of our natural resources。 It’s realist in the sense that it’s neither naively optimistic nor a “doomer” attitude。 Things are going to change， and they’ll get worse before they get better - but we still have something hopeful to work towards。 Every degree of success or failure counts。The characters are so rich， and the plot is compelling。 The stakes are constantly changing。 None of the horrors felt gratuitous despite being gut-wrenching。 Every word served a purpose。 I loved this book！ 。。。more
Boszka
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This was amazing。
hannah
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like。。 terrifyingly real？ i felt very boxed in by a future that i can easily see happening
Pat Wilson
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A dystopian future imagined in the year 2000， taking place in 2025。 Dystopia is not realized through some cataclysmic event but simply the devolution of society backwards from government for protection of people and their rights to a corporatist state where only companies can protect people in exchange for slave like labor。 The protagonist reimagines a future and begins to build a community on the simple agreement for mutual aid and protection。 Then she wraps it in a mysticism based on a non sen A dystopian future imagined in the year 2000， taking place in 2025。 Dystopia is not realized through some cataclysmic event but simply the devolution of society backwards from government for protection of people and their rights to a corporatist state where only companies can protect people in exchange for slave like labor。 The protagonist reimagines a future and begins to build a community on the simple agreement for mutual aid and protection。 Then she wraps it in a mysticism based on a non sentient god embodying the concept that change is inevitable。 I think that this book portrays a a dystopia based on a feeling of disenfranchisement in the present circa 2000。 It makes sense but makes me sad。 。。。more
a
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3。5 idk why i had such trouble getting into this book， but at least I finished it！
Salomé
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Génial ！！！Ça me bluffe toujours autant de lire la plume et le génie d’Octavia E。 Butler ！ Elle a conscience de tant de sujets et les tisse les uns aux autres dans des intrigues super prenantes et haletantes ！Pour celleux qui， comme moi， adorent les récits de survie/fin du monde （genre The Last Of Us， mais sans zombies ici）， comment survivre et comment recréer， alors ce fabuleux livre est parfait。Il y a également une pensée religieuse dans ce roman qui， au premier abord m’a fait douter de la suit Génial ！！！Ça me bluffe toujours autant de lire la plume et le génie d’Octavia E。 Butler ！ Elle a conscience de tant de sujets et les tisse les uns aux autres dans des intrigues super prenantes et haletantes ！Pour celleux qui， comme moi， adorent les récits de survie/fin du monde （genre The Last Of Us， mais sans zombies ici）， comment survivre et comment recréer， alors ce fabuleux livre est parfait。Il y a également une pensée religieuse dans ce roman qui， au premier abord m’a fait douter de la suite — ce n’est pas mon sujet préféré en littérature —， et qui， pourtant， s’est révélée très intéressante。 J’ai vraiment bien aimé le tissage entre cette réflexion et la dimension de la survie。TW : viol， meurtre， violence +++ 。。。more
Meera Budhiraja
，
Much as I abhor violence and books that depict it， parable of the sower written in 2000 is an acutely realistic and frightening possibility of the depravity of society， which is round the corner。 Given the glaring disparities， the materialism and selfishness that have taken deep roots in our society， it feels like she's showing us the mirror。 Amidst the sea of hopelessness， it is also the profound truths that the protagonist Lauren discovers as she navigates her journey towards survival， that pr Much as I abhor violence and books that depict it， parable of the sower written in 2000 is an acutely realistic and frightening possibility of the depravity of society， which is round the corner。 Given the glaring disparities， the materialism and selfishness that have taken deep roots in our society， it feels like she's showing us the mirror。 Amidst the sea of hopelessness， it is also the profound truths that the protagonist Lauren discovers as she navigates her journey towards survival， that provide a road map， a toolkit to make sense of the chaos that she sees around her。 Likening herself and others like her to earthseeds who would escape the terrible fate that her fellow beings meet， this community survives and leaves you with a sense of profound peace and continuity。 。。。more
Bea
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This book was first published in 1993; so when the first journal entry was dated 2024， it must have seemed to have been far into the future。 Reading it in 2022， though， made me wonder if it would be true in a few years。The background of the story is bleak。 The known world has been divided off into neighborhoods that are walled， and people live in fear of others breaking in and wreaking havoc。 The police and public services cannot be counted upon for those who have little or no money to pay for t This book was first published in 1993; so when the first journal entry was dated 2024， it must have seemed to have been far into the future。 Reading it in 2022， though， made me wonder if it would be true in a few years。The background of the story is bleak。 The known world has been divided off into neighborhoods that are walled， and people live in fear of others breaking in and wreaking havoc。 The police and public services cannot be counted upon for those who have little or no money to pay for them。 Children are home-schooled。 Most are illiterate。 Jobs are scarce。Into this we have a young girl， daughter of a preacher， who understands that it will become worse。。。and it does。 The story follows this young girl。There is hope slyly hidden in the story。。。and it ends with a possible beginning again started。 It is also a hidden comment on religion and belief in G-d and challenges the reader to think about what belief is in light of such a world。Onto book #2。 。。。more
FiRoDyJo
，
This book is okay， it's not one of the best I've read， but it's not far behind， it has an interesting story， the way the characters express themselves is very good， when I saw this book for the first time I felt an instant attraction to reading this great story。 This book is okay， it's not one of the best I've read， but it's not far behind， it has an interesting story， the way the characters express themselves is very good， when I saw this book for the first time I felt an instant attraction to reading this great story。 。。。more
Dona
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Classic dystopian novel。 Did Cormac McCarthy rip off the plot of this novel--removing the minority and female characters and retelling it with masturbatory prose stylings？ Thereby winning himself a Pulitzer？ Sure looks like that way。Butler's eerily and depressingly prescient novel encompasses the best and worst of humanity。 It offers despair but also hope in connection。 And， and， and there is gardening！！！ Classic dystopian novel。 Did Cormac McCarthy rip off the plot of this novel--removing the minority and female characters and retelling it with masturbatory prose stylings？ Thereby winning himself a Pulitzer？ Sure looks like that way。Butler's eerily and depressingly prescient novel encompasses the best and worst of humanity。 It offers despair but also hope in connection。 And， and， and there is gardening！！！ 。。。more
Simir Hampton
，
I thought that it was weird that I rarely got attached to characters in this novel。 It had an atmosphere of stoicism to it。 Just when I would start to catch a liking or an interest to a character， their plot would fade of importance or they would die。 That is the only disappointing thing about this grand novel。 But Octavia Butler was a genius so maybe that was sort of the point。 The main character ， Lauren， was living in a world that shamed her for feeling deeply for other peoples pain and pleas I thought that it was weird that I rarely got attached to characters in this novel。 It had an atmosphere of stoicism to it。 Just when I would start to catch a liking or an interest to a character， their plot would fade of importance or they would die。 That is the only disappointing thing about this grand novel。 But Octavia Butler was a genius so maybe that was sort of the point。 The main character ， Lauren， was living in a world that shamed her for feeling deeply for other peoples pain and pleasure。 In order to survive， many people had to cut off their attachment to avoid pain as much as possible。 The ending was very emotional though， as it finds Octavia embracing her new found community even through many near death experiences。 。。。more
Kathy Nealen
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I’m not sure why I had never heard about this book。 I look forward to reading the sequel。
Mapeno
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I love reading this type of book。 Its history makes me move to the places of the book。 It's a very good book。 I love reading this type of book。 Its history makes me move to the places of the book。 It's a very good book。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Parable of the Sower
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Parable of the Sower&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Parable of the Sower&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0