Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower is a powerful book, with real characters, a truly compelling narrative flow, and a unique religious philosophy that offers a fresh perspective on the world.

Sower is in the form of entries from the diary of Lauren Olamina, a young black woman and minister's daughter growing up in the Los Angeles suburbs at a time when society, under the stress of global warming and other problems that remain unspecified, is dying, day by day. It's still close enough to the world we know to recognize--Butler dates the diary entries in the mid-2020s--but far more dangerous. Lauren lives in a formerly well-to-do gated community in which the residents have been forced to arm themselves to keep their small neighborhood from being overrun by the hordes of homeless and starving just outside.

Eventually, their modest security collapses, and the community is destroyed. Lauren, who has tried to prepare for this catastrophe, escapes death and decides to try to travel north in search of water, work, and a measure of security. She takes with her only a modest survival kit, some money (still accepted, at highly inflated rates), and the religion that, as she puts it, she has discovered and written down rather than invented.

At the center of her philosophy is the concept of God as Change: "All that you touch/You Change. All that you Change/Changes you. The only lasting truth/is Change. God/is Change." Although the "Earthseed" religion, as Lauren calls it, is only modestly fleshed out here, it's impressive, offering new perspectives on reality that must be considered. One corollary, for example, is that denial becomes impossible. Change must come--the only question is, what kind of change? You can participate in the change and help to shape it--"shape God"--or it will shape you as it will.

Lauren's story after the community falls is a gripping one. Poor and solitary women, in a world where law enforcement is essentially gone, can look forward only to being raped and shot. She meets two former neighbors, dresses as a man, and heads north with them, teaching her philosophy as she goes, to them and other loners who gradually accrete to her group. It's a terrifying world, where "trust no one" is not a tongue-in-cheek aphorism but a basic, inescapable truth of everyday life. At any moment, her small band of followers may be attacked by roving armed bands and slaughtered. Sower is the first book in a long time I've basically read at one sitting--it was impossible not to know what happened next.

Besides the extraordinary tension and the deeply thoughtful religion, I enjoyed Butler's way with characters. On the road in the midst of social collapse, everyone you meet is dangerous. How far can you trust them? Is there anything about their manner or personality that does not ring true? Lauren must go through this process with everyone she meets, and everyone is a little different. Some have ideas different from hers, or personality quirks from the extremely stressful world they live in. She and her companions must find a way to break through the "walls" of each newcomer so that they can trust each other enough to survive. Butler's narrative is special because no one "gets it" at first--they all bring baggage, of denial, or fear, or stubbornness, to the party, and have to be won over.

Sower is moving, thoughtful, and convincing. I look forward to its sequels, one of which, Parable of the Talents, is already published.

Writing: 8
Characterization: 10
Big Issues/Ideas: 10

Recommended reading: The post-collapse scenario is featured in two of the best SF novels, both highly recommended--Starhawk's The Fifth Sacred Thing and Kim Stanley Robinson's Pacific Edge. Fifth Sacred Thing is most like Sower in offering a revolutionary philosophy and unflinchingly portraying its impact.



Recommended: Yes