Parable of the Sower
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4.5 • 513 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times Notable Book: In 2025, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.
“A stunner.” —Flea, musician and actor, TheWall Street Journal
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, disease, war, and chronic water shortages. 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 fraught with danger. 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.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Octavia E. Butler including rare images from the author’s estate.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We were amazed at how brilliantly Octavia E. Butler’s dystopia reflects both the worst of society’s current fears and the feel of today’s best science fiction—especially since it was published in 1993! Set in the 2020s, Parable of the Sower maps out a worst-case scenario in which the United States has been ravaged by climate change and inequality. The wealthy live in isolated privilege, while everyone else fights for survival in a violent, near-lawless wasteland. At 18, Lauren knows this system isn’t just wrong—it’s unsustainable. So she sets out on a dangerous mission to create a new society based on kindness and respect. Lauren’s perceptive nature, intense empathy, and innate goodness make her an incredible character to follow through this apocalyptic story. Butler’s eerie predictions carved their mark on our imagination, while her protagonist’s perilous journey stirred up strong emotions. We immediately reached for the sequel, Parable of the Talents.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hugo and Nebula Award-winner Butler's first novel since 1989's Imago offers an uncommonly sensitive rendering of a very common SF scenario: by 2025, global warming, pollution, racial and ethnic tensions and other ills have precipitated a worldwide decline. In the Los Angeles area, small beleaguered communities of the still-employed hide behind makeshift walls from hordes of desperate homeless scavengers and violent pyromaniac addicts known as ``paints'' who, with water and work growing scarcer, have become increasingly aggressive. Lauren Olamina, a young black woman, flees when the paints overrun her community, heading north with thousands of other refugees seeking a better life. Lauren suffers from `hyperempathy,'' a genetic condition that causes her to experience the pain of others as viscerally as her own--a heavy liability in this future world of cruelty and hunger. But she dreams of a better world, and with her philosophy/religion, Earthseed, she hopes to found an enclave which will weather the tough times and which may one day help carry humans to the stars. Butler tells her story with unusual warmth, sensitivity, honesty and grace; though science fiction readers will recognize this future Earth, Lauren Olamina and her vision make this novel stand out like a tree amid saplings.
Customer Reviews
A must read for intellectuals and anyone who wants to understand humanity
I'm really at a lost for words, this book the writing, the character development and story felt so real. I was afraid to read at times because the world she write about is shaping into what I see today. Always changing...
Lovely
The was written so well, like most of her books that I’ve come across… i can’t wait to read the next book!
What do I say...
About a wonderful book that clearly states the world today and of yesterday ! Amazing, to the point, making one think about cancel topics without the pain or fear of social media or intent of others. Read this book to look under and within yourself.