A beautiful boxed set brings together the great sci-fi writer's
two award-winning Parable books.
The perfect gift for
fans of Octavia Butler, this boxed set pairs the bestselling
Nebula-prize nominee, Parable of the Sower and Parable of
the Talents, which together tell the near-future odyssey of
Lauren Olamina, a "hyper-empathic" young woman who is twice
as feeling in a world that has become doubly dehumanized. In Sower,
set in California in 2024, small walled communities protect from
hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of "Paints,"
people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn,
rape, and murder. It is into this landscape that Lauren begins her
journey, traveling on foot along the dangerous coastal highways,
moving north into the unknown. The book has an introduction by
feminist, journalist, activist, and author Gloria Steinem.
Parable of the
Talents celebrates the classic Butlerian themes of alienation and
transcendence, violence and spirituality, slavery and freedom,
separation and community, to astonishing effect, in the shockingly
familiar, broken world of 2032. It is told in the voice of Lauren
Olamina's daughter––from whom she has been separated for most of
the girl's life––with selections from Lauren's journal. Against a
background of a war-torn continent, and with a far-right religious
crusader in the office of the U.S. presidency, this is a book about a
society whose very fabric has been torn asunder, and where the basic
physical and emotional needs of people seem almost impossible to
meet. Talents is introduced by singer, musician, composer, producer,
and curator Toshi Reagon, who created an opera based on the Parable
books.