The Parable of the Sower - February 2025 Book Club Reading

[Falselogic]

Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler, is a speculative fiction novel published in 1993. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth ravaged by climate change and social inequality (so like today...) Th story centers on Lauren Olamina, a young woman who can feel the pain of others and becomes displaced from her home. Several characters from various walks of life join her on her journey north and learn of a religion she has envisioned. The main tenets of her new faith are that "God is Change" and believers can "shape God" through conscious effort to influence the changes around them. Lauren also teaches that it is humanity's destiny to inhabit other planets and spread the "seeds" of the Earth. The book is the first in an incomplete trilogy, it is followed by The Parable of the Talents.

Octavia E. Butler (1947-2006) was an American science fiction writer. She won numerous awards for her work including Hugo, Locus, and Nebula. She was born in Pasadena, CA. She began writing science fiction as a teenager. While participating in a local writer's work group, she was encouraged to attend the Clarion Workshop which focused on science fiction. She sold her first stories soon after, and by the late 1970s had become sufficiently successful as an author to be able to write full-time. Her work drew the favorable attention of critics and the public, and awards soon followed. She also taught writer's workshops, and spoke about her experiences as an African American, using such themes in science fiction. She died of a stroke at the age of 58.

 

[Olli]

I was hoping I might get this book from the library, but despite putting a hold on it a month ago, I'm still fourth in the queue, so I don't have high hopes I'll get it in enough time. However, my audiobook service carries it, so I can listen to it instead.

 

[Paul le Fou]

I chose this one for no particular reason, mostly just that it's a modern classic I've been meaning to read. But hooboy, it's hitting pret-ty close to home right now. It's not post-apocalyptic, I'd say, just apocalyptic, i.e., in the middle of a currently-happening apocalypse. Society hasn't collapsed, it's collapsing in real-time (at least in the first few chapters, don't say anything yet if it changes later on). And it's set in 2024. It seems like it's more relevant than ever in some ways, which also feels kinda bad because of (waves hands at everything).

So if anyone else takes this one as hard as I am so far...I'm sorry!

 

[Olli]

Without going into any spoilers, I recommend keeping up with it if you can.

 

[lincolnic]

I've been reading for a few days now, and let me tell you, it was kind of a trip to read a passage dated February 1st, 2025 on February 1st, 2025.

 

[Paul le Fou]

Yeah, I definitely read that passage on that day too and found it Quite The Experience, let me tell you. And don't worry, I have no intention of dropping it! It's just going to be an emotional struggle as I go through it, at least the beginning.

 

[Olli]

I finished the book, and enjoyed it! It tackles the apocalyptic survival topic with the gravity and harshness the topic deserves, but not without belief in humankind's power for good as well as evil. It's not an especially uplifting vision of the near future, but it's not as bleak as, say, Cormac Carthy's The Road. It's also quite clearly the first entry in a series - the idea of spreading humanity, as Earthseed, into space is present as an underlying theme, but the protagonists don't get close to anything that would be taking them off-planet.

Some random things I liked:

• The pondering about the nature of God. It's a topic I thought about often when I was younger and it felt very nostalgic to return to it, and with an angle I had not considered.
• Cops are, at best, useless. They're just another gang. This feels like a very forward-thinking attitude from a book from 1993
• The most fantastical science-fiction idea being Lauren's sharing ability, which is not that far-fetched
• Racist attitudes haven't suddenly disappeared in the future when things are getting hard; quite the opposite. Feels very believable in this day and age.

 

[lincolnic]

I've got about 100 pages to go, but I wanted to say that I'm appreciating how much this book takes its time. I knew that Lauren would eventually strike out from her community, but it happens a lot later than I thought it would, which means the book makes sure you really understand what it means when that happens and what the stakes are. I feel like a less confident author would've rushed to get to that point.

 

[Violentvixen]

I chose this one for no particular reason, mostly just that it's a modern classic I've been meaning to read. But hooboy, it's hitting pret-ty close to home right now. It's not post-apocalyptic, I'd say, just apocalyptic, i.e., in the middle of a currently-happening apocalypse. Society hasn't collapsed, it's collapsing in real-time (at least in the first few chapters, don't say anything yet if it changes later on). And it's set in 2024. It seems like it's more relevant than ever in some ways, which also feels kinda bad because of (waves hands at everything).

So if anyone else takes this one as hard as I am so far...I'm sorry!

I have finally started this as hard as it is I'm glad you nominated it and that we're reading it so close to the timing of the book (at least the start). It's powerful.

 

[Falselogic]

I read this book some time last year, it was a hard read then. I thought I could just do a quick re-read and everything would be fine. But, I was wrong. I don't know if I can read dystopias or utopias right now. Especially ones that are placed so close in time to our own... Even with the seeds of hope that are in the narrative, I find it a thin gruel.

I've also come to the point that, for me, exploring/colonizing space as a goal or endpoint for humanity seems more destructive than constructive as an ideal or aim.

I think I have to bow out of this one. To protect the few wisps of mental health I still have. I hope you all can take more from it.

 

[Paul le Fou]

I'm about 2/3 of the way through right now, and having a bit of a hard time, just because it seems so close to our own near future and paints such a hopeless picture. But also I don't find the characters particularly compelling, and the plot is a bit thin and repetitive (They've spent so long just...traveling, and dealing with the same kinds of obstacles throughout). The "meat" of the book appears to be Earthseed stuff, but that doesn't really grab me either? I'll finish, I've come far enough, but I don't think this will end up on top of any lists for me.

 

[lincolnic]

I actually finished this a week or two ago but I forgot to report back. I'll come back when it's not the end of my day with my thoughts!

 

[Violentvixen]

Finished it. Not at all what I expected and very dark. I'm glad I read it and of course the timeliness and correlation to current events is hard. I'm ultimately not sure where I fall on liking the book because of how hard it was to read, but it's powerful.

I didn't think I had it in me to read the sequel so read a quick synopsis. Sounds like the main group of Christian Fundamentalist villains uses the slogan Make America Great Again. She wrote this in 1998. Confirmed I don't have it in me to read it, but also it's horrifyingly impressive how much she could guess would happen.

 

[Paul le Fou]

Sounds like the main group of Christian Fundamentalist villains uses the slogan Make America Great Again. She wrote this in 1998. Confirmed I don't have it in me to read it, but also it's horrifyingly impressive how much she could guess would happen.

OOF.

 

[Paul le Fou]

Finished! I was much farther than I thought because the ebook ends at about 84% and the rest is a lengthy preview of Talents.

My impressions from above stand; it's dark and heavy and the lines between fiction and reality felt a little blurred near the beginning with the date overlaps and, y'know, everything, but it was also fairly simple. It's definitely more of a "socially important" book than a particularly compelling or gripping story, to me. Still, I'm glad I finally checked it off my list, and in such a timely way.