Book Review: Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler

Within seconds of reading Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler, I’d gasped and slammed it shut. I was hooked.

I’d heard Butler’s series was a shockingly realistic manual for how to approach the troubles of contemporary society. They really exceeded my expectations. The zeitgeist and violence predicted by Butler is very similar to our experiences today and the kinds of American terrorism we’re dealing with now. I was so anxious to learn of unique perspectives on these same issues that I could not put the book down.

Could there possibly be a perspective somewhere out there with more hope than dread?

The books follow Lauren Oya Olamina, a young girl in 21st century California, during the political and socioeconomic unraveling of the country previously known as the United States of America. She and her cohorts experience brutality and compassion, all the while staying mindful that Change rules all. In their circumstances, only Change can be relied upon.

“God is Change,” Olamina writes. She couldn’t be more correct.

The way Butler tells the story of ordinary people caught up in the grand politicking of the powers that be is simply honest. The story unfolds so sincerely that no horror of man encountered in the story comes as a surprise.

How can they maintain their faith and communion in a world squarely focused on greed and individualism? I don’t want to give too much away.

Parable of the Sower follows Olamina on her journey of defining home for herself when very little in the world is reliable.

Parable of the Talents follows Olamina and her chosen family as they face resistance to their manifestations of home, family, and future.

Okay, that’s enough of that. I want to tell you how it moved me.

I have been moved to persistence. I see Olamina’s hardships and relate to the reasoning for her decisions. Despite horrendous decisions and circumstances, Olamina persists. Because of her hope and faith, she persists. Because there is no other choice, she persists. She has a vision and she understands how the laws of the universe will allow her to bring her vision into reality. It requires persistence; persistence through any change.

I have not yet stopped thinking about the characters and their lives, their stories, their hopes, dreams, and philosophies and remembering how much they relate to my own.

Parable of the Talents and its predecessor Parable of the Sower are essential reading.

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