| Parable of the Sower | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cover of first edition (hardcover) |
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| Author | Octavia E. Butler |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Parable trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Dystopian, Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Four Walls Eight Windows |
| Publication date | 1993 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 299 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-941423-99-9 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC Number | 28255529 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.54 20 |
| LC Classification | PS3552.U827 P37 1993 |
| Followed by | Parable of the Talents |
Parable of the Sower is the first in a two-book series of science fiction novels written by Octavia E. Butler and published in 1993.
Contents |
Plot summary
Set in a dystopian future, Parable of the Sower centers on a young woman who possesses what Butler dubbed as hyperempathy – the ability to feel the perceived pain and other sensations of others – who develops a benign philosophical and religious system during her childhood in the remnants of a gated community in Los Angeles. Civil society is near collapse due to resource scarcity and poverty. When the community's security is compromised, her home is destroyed and her family murdered. She travels north with some survivors to try to start a community where her religion, called Earthseed, can grow.
Proposed third Parable novel
Butler had planned to write a third Parable novel, tentatively titled Parable of the Trickster, which would have focused on the community's struggle to survive on a new planet. She began this novel after finishing Parable of the Talents, and mentioned her work on it in a number of interviews, but at some point encountered a writer's block. She eventually shifted her creative attention, resulting in Fledgling, her final novel.
See also
- Phillips, Jerry. "Intuition of the Future: Utopia and catastrophe in Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, The" - Novel: A Forum on Fiction, Spring 2002.
Awards and nominations
Nominated:
- 1994: Nebula Award for Best Novel - Parable of the Sower
In Pop Culture
- Parable of the Sower was referred to in hip-hop artist Talib Kweli's song "Ms. Hill" off his mixtape Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD. In the song, which is about Lauryn Hill, Kweli references how Lauryn Hill used to come into Nkiru (A bookstore Kweli owns in Brooklyn, NY) and liked to buy Octavia Butler books, namely Parable of the Sower. "We used to chill at Nkiru / her moms was a customer / she used to love to buy the books by Octavia Butler / Parable of the Sower, the main character's name was Lauren"[1] , [2]
References
External links
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Citations
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