3/5 stars
What's it about? In a violent America, Lauren Olamina knows her community exists on borrowed time, its protective walls no match for murderers, fire-crazed drug addicts, hungry dogs, and thieves. As Lauren prepares for a life outside, including managing her secret ability to feel others’ pain, she develops her own spiritual philosophy and ambitions to spread it to others. A book about the journey, survival, and found families.
How’d I find it? The legacy of Octavia Butler means this read has been on my radar for years. I picked up a copy at Powell’s.
Who will enjoy this book? Those who liked the Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin should appreciate.
What stood out? Parable of the Sower takes the form of Lauren’s diary, which contains the reader within Lauren’s steadfast, no-nonsense worldview and obscures some of the book’s more interesting characters, like Bankole and Grayson Mora. Butler does not hold back in hammering home the bleak nature of the book’s reality; death, rape, and loss lap like waves. The ramifications of Lauren’s pain-sharing abilities don’t come through, but perhaps this plot point is more important in the next installment.
Which line made me feel something? While many of Lauren’s philosophical writings can come off as Instapoetry, the opening verse offers much to chew on: “Prodigy is, at its essence, adaptability and persistent, positive obsession. Without persistence, what remains is an enthusiasm of the moment. Without adaptability, what remains may be channeled into destructive fanaticism. Without positive obsession, there is nothing at all.”