Parable of the Sower

Published in 1993—decades before YA dystopias became so popular and ubiquitous—Parable of the Sower tells the story of 18-year-old Lauren Olamina, who is surviving in the year 2024. Octavia Butler’s imagining of the mid-2020s feels remarkably contemporary. Via Lauren’s diary entries, we learn that she lives with her family inside a gated community in southern California, while outside society is disintegrating into anarchy as a result of economic, environmental, and social crisis. Despite Lauren’s relative security, she anticipates things will change for the worse, and she’s better prepared than most when disaster strikes. Except for one thing: Lauren has a condition called hyperempathy, a supernatural ability to feel the pain (and pleasure) of others, which complicates the plot in interesting ways. Butler’s narrator is thoughtful and pragmatic, her cast of characters diverse and vibrant, and her prose clear and cutting. While the near-future Butler details is horrifyingly bleak and upsettingly fathomable, this story is infused with so much empathy and optimism that I find myself feeling hopeful about what comes next, both in the Parable of the Talents and in real life.