The Nebula Award–winning author of Kindred presents a “gripping” dystopian novel about a woman fleeing Los Angeles as America spirals into chaos (The New York Times Book Review).
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, war, and chronic shortages of water, gasoline, and more. While …
The Nebula Award–winning author of Kindred presents a “gripping” dystopian novel about a woman fleeing Los Angeles as America spirals into chaos (The New York Times Book Review).
Lauren Olamina and her family live in one of the only safe neighborhoods remaining on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Behind the walls of their defended enclave, Lauren’s father, a preacher, and a handful of other citizens try to salvage what remains of a culture that has been destroyed by drugs, war, and chronic shortages of water, gasoline, and more. While her father tries to lead people on the righteous path, Lauren struggles with hyperempathy, a condition that makes her extraordinarily sensitive to the pain of others.
When fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced out into a world that is facing apocalypse. With a handful of other refugees, Lauren must make her way north to safety, along the way conceiving a revolutionary idea that may mean salvation for all mankind.
From a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship who has won multiple Nebula and Hugo Awards, this iconic novel is “a gripping tale of survival and a poignant account of growing up sane in a disintegrating world” (The New York Times Book Review).
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author’s estate.
I can see how the author was able to take what was happening in America (esp. toward the black community) in the early 1990s and extrapolating it out into the near future. But damn, she really nailed it.
The story was thrilling and poses a powerful question - in a world where empathy deteriorates day by day, what is your response? How do we protect our sense of humanity when everyone is out for themselves?
It was somewhat surreal to read a science fiction book set in the "future", and see a journal entry dated with today's date. The world of Parable of the Sower is in many ways worse than our current world, but there are also a lot of uncomfortable similarities. Ultimately, the book ends with a hopeful tone, but it makes it clear that a lot of hard work is required to get to the hopeful place.
