Book and Bloom
Title: Parable of the Sower (one of two series: Parable of the Talent)
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Sci-fi Fiction
Pages: 329 (not counting the reading guide)
Ratings: 5 out of 5 Blooms
The Book
The Parable of the Sower was published in 1993; however, the book starts on July 1st, 2024, from the diary of Lauren Olamina, a 14-year-old girl who was wise before her time. In the year 2024, the end of civilization is near, the world is on fire, and an addictive drug called Pyro provides a sensational feeling of watching things burn when taken.
Lauren, along with her brothers, her father, her step-mom, and a community of people, lives behind a guarded wall to keep away thieves, drug addicts, and looters. Lauren’s father, Reverend Olamina, a Baptist minister and community leader, tries to protect his family and neighbors. Although Reverend Olamina believes in God’s protection, he teaches his daughter and neighbors how to shoot and defend their community.
Lauren learns from her father and respects him as a Reverend, but a part of her doesn’t believe in “his” religion. In her diary, Lauren has a calling that she can’t ignore: to write and create “Earthseed.”
“For whatever reason, this is what I believe. It took me a lot of time to understand it … In the past year, it has gone through twenty-five or thirty lumpy, incoherent rewrites. This is the right one, the true one. This is the one I keep coming back to:
God is Power-
Infinte
Irresisitible
Inexorable
Indiffernet
And yet, God is Pliable-
Trickster,
Teacher,
Choas,
Clay,
God exists to be shaped.
God is change.”
– Parable of the Sower.-
While Lauren is devoted to writing and developing Earthseed, the wall that once served its purpose for the small village is no longer effective. Everything and everyone they hoped to keep on the other side of the wall finds a way to climb over it, igniting fires, stealing, and even harming those Lauren considers family. To protect herself and her loved ones, Lauren must rely on the survival skills her father taught her, embarking on a new journey beyond the wall. Her call to create Earthseed resounds strongly as she encounters and safeguards the people she meets.
I recommend The Parable of the Sower to those inspired by words and who love science fiction. If you enjoy The Handmaid Tale and The Last of Us, you will enjoy this book. The book contains scenes of rape, murder, and heaviness, which are situations and traumas that surround Lauren Olamina’s life.
The Bloom
The book resonated with the 12-year-old me, who wrote about anything and everything at that age. Unlike the main character, Lauren, I was shy back then, so writing was my way of communicating. I would write about love, hate, stories, poems, and verses to songs. I don’t know how many times my mom told me ” this notebook is for schoolwork,” only for me to write in the notebook, hoping she wouldn’t find my writings not about schoolwork, but of course, she did, and that did not stop me from writing.
The Writer
By the age of 14, I remember I started writing about God. A part of me felt like it was the right thing to write about. My mom had made the family join a church with the famous lines spoken in any household, “We’re going to church.” My writings about God usually appreciated his love, the great sacrifice, and the power of faith. I continued writing through high school; I was brave enough to submit my poetry to a “Poetry Def Jam” website; one of my poems got published in an anthology along with other writers.
I reflected on the small part of my life as a “full-time writer” because, as I read Parable of the Sower, I envied Lauren out of love and admiration. After all, Lauren understood the purpose of her writing at age 15, allowed words and sentences to keep her up at night, and knew her Parables would make a difference when people no longer believed in different or good. I wondered what would have happened had I been more still to listen, than so quick to write when I was younger.
A part of me wanted to become a writer at a young age, but I never knew how to be still, use the backspace, come back, and write. I don’t regret the times when I “didn’t know”. By the end of The Parable of the Sower, I embraced them.
Lauren understood her assignment, the path that called her. She understood the purpose of her creating “Earthseed.” She knew that for Earthseed to grow, she would have to be its voice and allow her words to be of service.
The Service
The phrase “Words Being of Service” beautifully encapsulates the profound understanding I gained after immersing myself in *Parable of the Sower*. This poignant book delves into pressing themes such as climate change and the struggle for survival, reflecting many of our current challenges. Yet, my most heartfelt takeaway centers around the transformative power of words in the service of others.
I aspire for my words to uplift and nurture, whether through blogs, books, blooming ideas, or The CrownTalk Podcast. Moving forward, I am challenging myself to embrace stillness, allowing thoughts and feelings to linger in my mind at night until I can share them meaningfully. Each word I express has the potential to plant seeds—whether they be seeds of love, joy, self-awareness, or service. I hope these seeds can grow and flourish together, fostering connection and understanding in our Crowned community.
Reference:
Butler, O. E. (2019). Parable of the sower. Headline Book Publishing.
For more information about the author Octavia E. Butler, select the YouTube link below.
She Reigns: A Cultural Icon: The Impact of Eartha Kitt – CROWNONES.COM
Listen to Crowned ReRe and Mr. Al Pete on the Flowers For the Culture Podcast
