The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover. A quote from author John Green reads “Brilliant, endlessly rich… pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale.” in black writing at the top of the cover. The title”Parable of the Sower” is directly lower left of this in larger white writing. Below this, lower centre left on the cover, text reading “with a new foreword from award-winning author N. K. Jemisin” in black writing. “N. K. Jemisin” is written in bold black caps. At the bottom of the cover, the author’s name “Octavia E. Butler” in large black caps. Directly below this, text reading “Winner of a MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant” in small black caps. The background is a dark cream colour. On the right hand side, the faceless figure of a black woman in a long red dress, with a red scarf wrapped around her hair at the top of her head. /end]

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Content Warning:

• Global Climate Catastrophe
• Child Death
• Rape
• Sexual Assault
• Gun Violence
• Drug Abuse
• Injury and Injury Detail
• Climate Change
• Religious References
• Violence
• Cannibalism
• Death
• Fire
• Water Scarcity
• Food Scarcity
• Animal Death
• Murder
• Slavery
• Adult/Minor Relationship
• Extreme Poverty
• Corrupt Politics

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Summary:

When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day.

Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others’ pain.

Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith…and a startling vision of human destiny.

This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E. Butler “pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale” (John Green, New York Times)—now with a new foreword by N. K. Jemisin.

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Notes:

This is the first book in the Earthseed series. The series unfortunately remains unfinished due to Butler’s death.

This book begins in the year 2024.

There is an audiobook.

There is an ebook. There is a kindle edition.

Here is a link to Butler’s website.

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Archivist Comments:

The MC in this book, Lauren, is a young black woman living in a worl afflicted by catastophic climate change. Due to her birth mother’s drug abuse in utero, Lauren is born with hyperempathy. This means that she can feel the pain and pleasure of everyone around her and it causes her a great deal of pain as a result. 

I’ve read this book. It’s not the easiest, content wise. I’ve done my best to list all the content warnings I can’t guarantee I got everything.

I thought the writing in this book was just so captivating. Once I got into it it was difficult to put down.

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