&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:ParableOfTheSower(1stEd).jpg) Cover of first edition (hardback) | |
| Author | Octavia E. Butler |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Parable duology |
| Genre | Post-apocalyptic fiction |
| Publisher | Four Walls Eight Windows |
Publication date | 1993 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 299 (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | 0-941423-99-9 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 28255529 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3552.U827 P37 1993 |
| Followed by | Parable of the Talents |
Parable of the Sower is a 1993 speculative fiction novel by American writer Octavia E. Butler. It is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth heavily affected by climate change and social inequality. The novel follows Lauren Olamina, a young woman who can feel the pain of others and becomes displaced from her home. Several characters from various walks of life join her on her journey north and learn of a religion she has envisioned and titled Earthseed. The main tenets of Earthseed are that "God is Change" and believers can "shape God" through conscious effort to influence the changes around them. Earthseed also teaches that it is humanity's destiny to inhabit other planets and spread the "seeds" of the Earth.[1]
Parable of the Sower was the winner of multiple awards, including the 1994 New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and has been adapted into an opera and a graphic novel. Parable of the Sower has influenced music and essays on social justice as well as climate change. In 2021, it was picked by readers of the New York Times as the top science fiction nomination for the best book of the last 125 years.[2]
Parable of the Sower is the first in an unfinished series of novels, followed by Parable of the Talents in 1998.[3]
- ^ "The Destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars". Earthseed. May 31, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
- ^ Times, The New York (December 29, 2021). "What's the Best Book of the Past 125 Years? We Asked Readers to Decide". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- ^ Fox, Margalit (March 1, 2006). "Octavia E. Butler, Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 58". The New York Times.