Parable of the Sower is the first in a two-book series of science fiction novels written by Octavia E. Butler

Octavia E. Butler

Octavia Estelle Butler was an American science fiction writer, one of the best-known among the few African-American women in the field. She won both Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant.- Background :Butler...

 and published in 1993.

Plot summary

Set in a future where government has all but collapsed, Parable of the Sower centers on a young woman named Lauren Olamina who possesses what Butler dubbed 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

Gated community

In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. Civil society has reverted to relative anarchy 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

Earthseed

Earthseed is a fictional religion based on the idea that "God is Change." It is the creation of Octavia E. Butler, as revealed by her character Lauren Oya Olamina in the books: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents...

, 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

Parable of the Talents (novel)

Parable of the Talents is the second in a series of science fiction novels written by Octavia E. Butler and published in 1998.-Plot introduction:...

, and mentioned her work on it in a number of interviews, but at some point encountered a writer's block

Writer's block

Writer's block is a condition, primarily associated with writing as a profession, in which an author loses the ability to produce new work. The condition varies widely in intensity. It can be trivial, a temporary difficulty in dealing with the task at hand. At the other extreme, some "blocked"...

. She eventually shifted her creative attention, resulting in Fledgling

Fledgling (novel)

Fledgling is a science fiction novel by Octavia Butler and published in 2005.-Plot summary:The novel tells the story of Shori, who appears to be a 10 or 11 year old African-American girl, but is actually a 53 year old member of a race called "Ina". It is eventually revealed that the Ina are the...

, her final novel.

See also

• Parable of the Talents
  Parable of the Talents (novel)
  Parable of the Talents is the second in a series of science fiction novels written by Octavia E. Butler and published in 1998.-Plot introduction:...
  
  

• 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
  Nebula Award for Best Novel
  Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
  
   - Parable of the Sower

In Pop Culture

• Parable of the Sower was referred to in hip-hop artist Talib Kweli
  Talib Kweli
  Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...
  
  's song "Ms. Hill" off his mixtape Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD
  Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD
  Right About Now: The Official Sucka Free Mix CD or simply Right About Now was released by Talib Kweli in November 2005 and is generally considered a mixtape. However, some people regard this release as an official album because of its availability through commercial sites and its release of two...
  
  . In the song, which is about Lauryn Hill
  Lauryn Hill
  Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
  
  , Kweli references how Lauryn Hill used to come into Nkiru (A bookstore Kweli owns in Brooklyn
  Brooklyn
  Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
  
  , 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",

External links

• Book Group Discussion Questions (Creative Commons license)