From the Bookshelf of Our Shared Shelf…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
In this dystopian future USA, society has devolved into lawlessness & chaos (an interesting contrast to the world of Handmaid’s Tale). Lauren, a hyperempath who physically feels others’ pain, narrates her life via journal entries as she seeks to survive and bring others into her religion of Earthseed. The hyperempathy and religious ideas were unique and interesting, but I wanted a bit more development there. I understood why the Earthseed ideas made sense to Lauren, but I struggled with a lot of
...more
Just wow. So prescient. I read this with the same horror I read Handmaid's Tale in middle school, though then that book seemed like a cautionary tale. Reading this book now, it seems like an inevitability, much like reading Handmaid would seem in these times, and perhaps more believable (other than the minimal fantastical elements).
...more
It's not easy for me to describe why I loved this book so much. At first glance, it's a simple Exodus story, Moses out of Egypt, the story of a young woman as she becomes a prophet, leading her people to safety. That's a powerful type of story, but that's not why this is a powerful book. At second glance, we have Butler's writing -- the epistolary format, feeling real for once, showing us Lauren Olamina from the inside, still without letting us really know her -- because even Lauren Olamina's di
...more
I was sold on this book so early. Butler creates a dystopia that doesn't seem that distant from our own future, filled with violence and fear. I read in another review that it was a wave, a wave of violence, and that is exactly how it feels. The awareness starts slow until it consumes everything in its path. It also parallels the main character, Lauren's, growing religious awareness. She slowly identifies a new religious with Change as God and firmly believes that everyone around her isn't takin
...more
I'll stick with my thoughts when I was about halfway through this book: Sometimes this feels like it was written by a political campaign that is trying to convince us of how awful things are/will be and only God, guns, and walls can save us...
And I'll add a resounding "ICK!" regarding the relationship with a nearly 40-year age difference. So unnecessary. ...more
And I'll add a resounding "ICK!" regarding the relationship with a nearly 40-year age difference. So unnecessary. ...more
I'm finding Octavia E Butler to be exactly what I need these days
...more
Apr 27, 2014
Katy
marked it as to-read
Feb 11, 2019
Kait
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
wanttore-read,
scifi,
bought,
new-perspectives,
the-long-walk,
stories-about-stories,
organizing
Feb 16, 2016
Sophie
added it
Feb 20, 2017
Colleen
marked it as to-read
Aug 02, 2017
Kate
marked it as to-read
Apr 02, 2018
Allison James-Garcia
marked it as to-read
Jun 16, 2020
Kristen
marked it as to-read
Jul 14, 2020
Margaret Pinard
marked it as to-read
Aug 03, 2020
Amy
marked it as to-read
Jan 28, 2021
eloise
marked it as to-read
Dec 10, 2021
Halle Butvin
marked it as to-read
