Parable of the Sower

Brilliant and, I'm afraid it will prove to be, prescient. Some interesting comparisons and contrasts with KSR's New York 2140.

Realistic and totally depressing predictions of the chaos that awaits America if we do not change our values, beliefs, and behaviorrelated to people, animals, water, and the environment.

I had previously read a couple Octavia Butler short stories, but this was my first foray into longer form work from the author. I found this novel engaging on several levels. I was curious about how Butler would paint the landscape of near future disintegrating California, so I kept reading for that. I was curious how she would expand the thoughts of an earnest young prophet sharing insights with a band of survivors. And I truly identified with the notebooks remains of the protagonist, the generational and familial issues she navigates while coming of age in a time of upheaval.One other thing that endear this book to me is that it doesn't create the artifice of ethnic groups or classes which are aliens of another planet's origin or technologically altered. The group divisions are the familiar ones of class, gender, ethnicity, skin color, religion, and geography. Grappling with those during a crumbling California is more compelling to me than abstracting to alien "races", etc.

Parable of the Sower isn't the easiest book to read. The prose is clear and uncomplicated, but the content can be hard to take. This is a close-to-home dystopia, one which I found hard to dismiss as improbable. And the world that it depicts is cruel and ugly. Even the well-meaning must do ugly things to survive.

This is science fiction only in the most technical sense. Sure, it's set in a hypothetical future, and the main character, Lauren, has an uncanny/(super)natural ability to feel the pain of others. But there is no reliance upon imagined technologies, alien races or superhuman heroics to move the plot along. The framework of this fictional universe is our own, moved forward in time to a barren future.

Lauren is intent upon founding her own religion. Her ideas are represented by excerpts from her poetry at the beginning of each chapter. As the story progresses, Lauren explains her ideas to many (initially skeptical) people. I was a little bit unhappy with this (central) aspect of the book: the ideas, and Lauren's writing, felt to me a lot less deep and meaningful than Lauren intended.

But what was Octavia Butler's intention? Did she intend these ideas, and Lauren's writings, to be full of meaning, resonance and depth? Was it supposed to be a bit naive and simple, but with potential (which is how I felt)? The answer isn't to be found in this book.

When I finished the book, satisfied at its refusal to come to a pat conclusion or judgment about Lauren's ideology, I found out that there is a sequel. I look forward to it and to finding out whether Lauren's ideas mature once put to the test. Apparently, Butler had begun to work on a third book in this series, but sadly she never completed it.

Oh, one warning: don't read the back cover. At least for the edition I have, the description on the back gives away a crucial, major turning point in the plot that occurs midway through the book. I hate knowing too much in advance, and I would have been really irritated had I seen that beforehand.

This book is on my desert island list. Although it is not cheerful it is full of hope and truth and beauty. Despite the 1993 publication date, it looks disturbingly prescient today, 15 years later. Let's hope things things do indeed change, and not in the way Butler describes.

Revisiting an old favorite via audio. This is a tale of a near-future dystopia which seemed much less likely when it came out than it does now. It's also an exploration of religion, and how an ordinary young girl can become the head of a new religion called Earthseed. Parts of this seem a bit fuzzy to me now, which is why I'm knocking it down one star from my original review. It's still an edge-of-your-seat ride, with an engrossing plot and interesting characters. Butler was a good writer who died way too young. I wish there were more of her books to look forward to. Here's my favorite verse from Olamina's Earthseed- it's one that resonates with me, so much so that I have it by heart:

"All that you touch
You Change.

All that you Change
Changes you.

The only lasting truth
is Change.

God
is Change."