12/1/2023 0 Comments Octavia butler radio imagination![]() But there is no reliance upon imagined technologies, alien races or superhuman heroics to move the plot along. 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. This is science fiction only in the most technical sense. Even the well-meaning must do ugly things to survive. And the world that it depicts is cruel and ugly. This is a close-to-home dystopia, one which I found hard to dismiss as improbable. The prose is clear and uncomplicated, but the content can be hard to take. Parable of the Sower isn't the easiest book to read. Grappling with those during a crumbling California is more compelling to me than abstracting to alien "races", etc. The group divisions are the familiar ones of class, gender, ethnicity, skin color, religion, and geography. 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. I was curious how she would expand the thoughts of an earnest young prophet sharing insights with a band of survivors. ![]() I was curious about how Butler would paint the landscape of near future disintegrating California, so I kept reading for that. I found this novel engaging on several levels. I had previously read a couple Octavia Butler short stories, but this was my first foray into longer form work from the author. ![]()
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