Parable of the Sower

In a future America that has been overcome by climate change and greed, we follow a band of people just trying to survive. Our main character, Lauren, starts the book as a teen. As a way to cope with the world around her, she starts a journal, where she writes down information about her days, as well as her ideas for a new religion. This world is desolate. Every man is for themselves. There is legalized slavery, corruption, and violence happening all around. Can Lauren and her family survive in this world? Can her religion help the people around her?

This book was harrowing. It felt all too real. This was written in 1993, and the book starts in 2025. The dystopian setting created a brutal, disgusting world almost not worth living in. I think the strongest point of this book for me was Lauren's character growth. She is a teen in this book, but as a narrator seems so much older and mature due to her life experiences. However, she shows some naivete at certain points in the book that really hammer home to the reader that while she is mature for her age, she is still just a girl. Butler does a deep dive into what the human psyche would be like in a world like this. She also shows how thin the veil is between our current world and this world. We could be a few missteps away from living in a world like this, and it made this book very hard to read at times.

Please read the CW carefully. This book is graphic and brutal. I would recommend this to people, but please check those.

CW: animal killing, cannibalism, drug use, gang violence, incest, murder, mutilation, pedophilia, racism, rape, sexism, torture, violence