Flauschbuch reviewed Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Book of the moment
5 stars
I read this in April and have been thinking about it often since then. It helped me predict the outcome of the US elections and understand a lot of what goes on politically around the world.
The novel has its flaws but it does two things really well: show how people tend to react in the face of fundamental change such as climate change (mostly by denial and hoping for a return of the good old times) and drive home the point that there is no neutral ground in a burning world. I also found the reflections about change very compelling and think that if people followed them, i.e. accepted and shaped change, we would probably all be better off. The two main flaws of the book for me were the relentless grimness which I couldn't take quite seriously all the time - less would have been more in this …
I read this in April and have been thinking about it often since then. It helped me predict the outcome of the US elections and understand a lot of what goes on politically around the world.
The novel has its flaws but it does two things really well: show how people tend to react in the face of fundamental change such as climate change (mostly by denial and hoping for a return of the good old times) and drive home the point that there is no neutral ground in a burning world. I also found the reflections about change very compelling and think that if people followed them, i.e. accepted and shaped change, we would probably all be better off. The two main flaws of the book for me were the relentless grimness which I couldn't take quite seriously all the time - less would have been more in this case - and the depiction of drug users and the consequences of drug use. Those reminded me of those over the top "say no to drugs" cartoons of my childhood. Fitting because the book was written roughly at the same time. I'm wary of recommending this book because it's so grim and comes with all the content warnings but you should probably read it.
