I read a lot of books in college, I was an English major after all. So now, years later, I picked up Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler to read. It's nominated for one of the popular paperback theme I'm working on. I thought "This is great! I read and wrote a paper on this book in college! I can breeze through this re-read." Then, I started reading it. I didn't remember a single word, character, or theme. But man, is it a good book! Set in the future, Butler has imagined a world that could really happen--if all the bad things in the world around us are ignored for too long. The main character is Lauren, a sharer--one who can feel others pain and pleasure. When her life is completely turned upside down when her walled community is rampaged, burned, and scavenged one night. Left without any family, she decides to travel the dangerous California roads to head North, where water may be less expensive. While walking, she begins to share her religion, Earthseed, with those traveling around her. This book has a little bit of everything: science fiction, survival, adventure, romance, and a strong character who makes you want to keep turning the pages to find out if she and her traveling mates will make it up North.
1 comment:
The sequel Parable of the Talents is really good too. It's not easy to swallow, as it presents a difficult and ugly version of the future, but it is amazingly well written and creepily realistic.
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