Book Review - Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

Title: Parable of the Talents (Earthseed # 2)
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Science Fiction/ Fiction
Published: 1998
 
Description: It continues the story of Olamina in socially and economically depressed California in the 2030s. Convinced that her community should colonize the stars, Lauren and her followers make preparations. But the collapse of society and rise of fanatics result in Lauren’s followers being enslaved, and her daughter stolen from her. Now, Lauren must fight back to save the new world order.
 
Review: “Parable of the Talents” is the sequel to Octavia E. Butler’s “Parable of the Sower”. That was one of the most compelling dystopian novels in modern literary history. The first book emphasized the journey and survival in a collapsed America, this second book focuses on the daunting task of reconstruction, the preservation of humanity, and the destructive power of ideological blindness.
 
The story picks up in the early 2030s. Lauren Olamina has founded a thriving and peaceful community in Northern California called Acorn. Here, she puts into practice the principles of her self-developed philosophy and religion, Earthseed: the belief that God is change, and that humanity must seek its ultimate destiny among the stars. However, the fragile peace is brutally disrupted by political shift in the country. The new, populist president, Andrew Steele Jarrett, is gaining popularity with the promise to restore order and purge America of sin. His followers, organized into violent Christian fundamentalist militias, begin hunting down anyone who doesn’t fit their mold. Acorn becomes a target, with catastrophic consequences for Lauren and her loved ones.
 
Butler’s depiction of a polarized America, including the literal campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” of the dictatorial President Jarrett, demonstrates her unparalleled sociological insight. This book was written in 1998. She predicted the rise of populist nationalism and religious extremism twenty years before it dominated the world news.
 
Unlike the first book, which consisted purely of Lauren’s diaries, this book introduces multiple perspectives. The most significant addition is that of her daughter, Larkin (Asha Vere). Her bitter, retrospective comments cast a critical light on Lauren’s actions. This creates a moral conflict: was Lauren a visionary savior of humanity, or an obsessed mother who abandoned her own child for a higher cause?
 
Butler spares neither her characters, nor the reader, at any moment. The chapters describing the occupation and systematic abuse in Acorn are extremely raw, graphic, and depressing. This heavy tone means the book at times pushes the limits of what is bearable. It’s not an easy read. But it’s absolutely essential.
 
Rating: 4,5/ 5

Book Review - Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Title: Parable of the Sower (Earthseed # 1)
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Science Fiction/ Dystopia/ Classic
Published: 1993
 
Description: In 2024, with the world descending into madness and anarchy, one woman begins a fateful journey toward a better future.
 
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 extraordinary sensitive to the pain of others.
 
When a fire destroys their compound, Lauren’s family is killed and she is forced our 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.
 
Review: “Parable of the Sower” tells the story as the various crises that are now also taking place in 2025 have developed further. The climate crisis has led to environment where it almost never rains. Water is scarce. The economic crisis has increased the gap between rich and poor. Polarization has caused entire groups of people to be pitted against other people and you can no longer trust anyone again. The story starts in 2024, but was written in 1993. That blows my mind.
 
In this America that Octavia E. Butler wrote about, cannibalism is back. Drugs that numb cause the worst type of crimes. Lauren Olamina is our protagonist. She lives with her father, a preacher, in a walled community in the hope of being protected from her anarchy outside. Lauren is very sensitive, has hyperempathy, and picks up emotions and pain from other people. Lauren has developed her own ideology, the Earthseed. She believes in a God who is change. This belief develops over the course of the story and ensures that she can persevere.
 
“Parable of the Sower” is a very special book. Especially because of the world Butler is describing and the fact that it was written over 30 years ago. Lauren is a wonderful character, easy to empathize with. Lauren’s beliefs in change, which she shapes and develops through her thoughts, makes you realize that change is possible. That gives hope and courage. And each chapter starts with a piece of her journal: Earthseed, the book of the living.
 
The writing style is descriptive and compelling. More people should read this book to realize what kind of world we would create if we do nothing. Because it is reality, even though this book is categorized as science fiction. Sadly Octavia E. Butler passed away in 2006, but I will read everything on her backlist.
 
Rating: 5/ 5