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Parable of the Sower
 
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Parable of the Sower (Mass Market Paperback)

by Octavia E. Butler (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Time Warner International; Reprint edition (Feb 1998)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0446601977
  • ISBN-13: 978-0446601979
  • Product Dimensions: 17 x 10.4 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 592,655 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #16 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > B > Butler, Octavia E.

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Product Description

Synopsis

In California in the year 2025, a small community is overrun by desperate scavengers, as an eighteen-year-old African American woman sets off on foot on a perilous journey northward.

From the Back Cover

The first book of the Earthseed series (the second being the Nebula Award winner Parable of the Talents).

Set in the early 21st century in a California where civilisation has all but broken down and poverty and uspeakable violence is the norm, this is a horrifying vision of what might be. Teenage Lauren Olamina is one of the few citizens fortunate enough to have a home ... However Lauren, knowing ... there must be a better way to live invents Earthseed, an entirely new religion that holds workable, positive solutions to society's ills. When the worst happens and her neighbourhood is invaded and destroyed, Lauren embarks on a perilous journey to find a place far away from the horrors of LA ...

'The missing link between Marge Piercy and Ursula Le Guin ... surreal, sensual science fiction.' Everywoman --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Butler evokes a frightening future with great skill, 16 Jan 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Parable of the Sower (Hardcover)
Parable of the Sower is artfully written. Every detail of life in a depleted, violent future Califoria is plausible, and anyone who's been an adolescent can instantly relate to Lauren, the narrator and protaganist. The unflinching realism of the rest of the book makes the Earthseed philosophy into an unconvincing afterthought. Could a band of multi-culti ragtag survivors make it out of the imploding city and up to the relative haven of Northern California? Yes, Butler makes me believe. Does that human triumph have anything to do with the mystic pseudo-faith espoused by Lauren in her diary and in the chapter headings? I'm unconvinced. Read this book for the author's unflinching apocolyptic vision and the very human hope which springs from it, and leave the poorly articulated spiritual element behind.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars IT'S OKAY!, 8 Oct 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Parable of the Sower (Hardcover)
It was a slow moving story. The overall premise is very good, but to me something of the story was lacking. I would have like to know how society got to that point where everyone lived in gated communities and community services such as the police department have to be paid for out of pocket etc. However, I found the character's concept of Earthseed fascinating.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully moving and engaging, 29 Aug 1996
By A Customer
This review is from: Parable of the Sower (Hardcover)
This book shows clearly why Octavia Butler is one of the best writers in the business. The novel succeeds on multiple levels; the characters are well-drawn and engaging, particularly the protagonist. The examination of a society destroyed not by some impending apocalypse, but by the breakdown of an obsolete structure, is only one aspect of this modern parable. Butler's writing is beautifully clear, spare and concise; she uses the epistolary form to its best advantage. I highly recommend it!
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5.0 out of 5 stars freighting and could premonitory...
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