I needed to take a break from reality on the
night of November 6, 2024, so right after dinner I immersed myself in Octavia
Butler’s book. But life has a way of playing tricks on me. When I reached page
25, I was shocked to read that the main character, Lauren, had written a
journal entry dated on Wednesday November 6, 2024. Yes, you’ve read that
correctly. It was the same day of the week, date and year. I had trouble
believing the coincidence of such a synchronicity.
According to the journal entry, Mr. Donner had
won the presidential election and he would dismantle environmental regulations and
worker protection laws…
I can’t believe I am writing this but…
dystopias are not meant to be used as playbooks. They can be offered to relay
the fruits of the author’s foresight to people who are confused and can’t
evaluate the consequences of foolish actions and decisions.
A dystopia takes us to a place where we do not
want to go. Parable of the Sower dares to do that.
What happens when people choose vulgarity and
hatred over empathy and common sense?
What happens when a climate crisis is blatantly ignored and not addressed?
What happens
when the truth does not matter anymore?
To know
the answers to these questions, you can read Parable of the Sower.
Octavia Butler delves into the context well. It is like going back to the
Middle Ages, but with a climate crisis on top of it. It is unsettling and
disturbing. Read it and pass it on to those who still believe in the power of
books. It is a story of survival amid dark life circumstances. It is riveting,
fascinating and very unpleasant. I am still reading it…
I can’t
believe she published this book in 1993. Octavia Butler was a genius. I can’t
figure out why this book is not as widely read as Farenheit 451. Perhaps it is
because the author is a woman of color and not a white man.
The setting is so vivid and terrifying: you
can see with clarity how far misogyny, hatred and racism can go; in this
reality, people do not even have the privilege of whining about high gasoline
prices anymore, because they don’t have enough clean water to drink and keep
themselves clean.
Octavia
Butler won several awards, and you can read about her life and accomplishments
here:
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/octavia-estelle-butler
I will end the post with the starting quote of her book:
“Prodigy is,
at its essence, adaptability and persistent, positive obsession. Without
persistence, what remains is an enthusiasm of the moment. Without adaptability,
what remains may be channeled into destructive fanaticism. Without positive
obsession, there is nothing at all.”
I finally completed the read. It is a remarkable story that belongs to the speculative fiction genre. This novel provides the fertile soil to have fruitful discussions on several topics and issues that assail our modern societies. If you belong to a book club, I hope you will consider sharing it. I will continue thinking about it and reflecting on it.
It is interesting to point out that when the
novel was first released in 1993, critics refused to accept it as speculative
fiction. They believed it was a book of science fiction.
The novel is now accepted as speculative fiction;
it has become a best-seller.
