Parable of the Talents [Paperback]

My problem with Parable of the Talents wholeheartedly began and remained with the people of Acorn, and with Acorn itself. There were way too many characters and families that Butler threw in the story purely for exemplification-they offered absolutely nothing else. Instead of trying to unsuccessfully weave all of these characters into the story, it would have been better to read into a few more well developed characters, leaving the majority of the group nameless. I've noticed that Butler does this in her other work as well and can't understand why. The characters are neither allegorical nor satirical, just a jumble of names and brief physical descriptions that add absolutely nothing to the story.

The very long-winded narrative of the Acorn's daily activities served no other purpose than to show Acorn's philosophy and way of life, which could have been done in a few chapters. The endless chapters narrating the Acorn lifestyle certainly didn't broaden or flesh out any of the other characters, including Olamina. In addition, the never-ending focus on the doctrines of Earthseed for the first 200 hundred or so pages became very preachy and didatic. The excessive lyrics from 'Earthseed' were completely uneccessary. Butler even admits in her afterword that she had to keep "rewriting the first 150 pages or so of Talents and heading up one blind alley or another...I couldn't seem to tell Olamina's story no matter how hard I tried."

Olamina's need to always improve and change was an interesting one and was well manifested in her creation of Earthseed, but it her motives in general were never explained. It was obvious that she wanted to create a progressive group of people who were realistic about 'religion' and had a logical explanation for the ins and outs of life, which is and was appealing, but I kept searching for another reason for Olamina's obsession with her own controlling strength and independence, and never found one. After reading Octavia Butler's afterword, it became obvious to me that Olamina, Acorn, and Earthseed represented Octavia Butler's own values and motivations, which offered me a bit more insight into the character of Olamina. It would be interesting to research exactly how much of Butler's own personality is reflected in her female protagonists and other leading characters.

Despite my griping, I am still impressed with Octavia Butler's mastery of illustrating the follies of human nature and what it breeds. I somewhat enjoyed Bloodchild and the Lilith's Brood series, but I feel Butler has definitely faltered this one. Although this series doesn't have to be read in sequence, I would recommend that those new to Octavia Butler start with Bloodchild, which is a collection of short stories, Lilith's Brood, and then Parable of the Sower and Talents.

To me Parable of the Sower had a greater feeling of urgency. Wondering how Olamina would survive propelled me through the pages. Parable of the Talents feels slower and more repetitive. I lost count of how many characters were raped or molested. The majority of characters feel so flat and insignificant, it's hard to be concerned when tragedy finally catches up with them. But I don't think that hurts the novel. At heart it's an examination of what could happen after an economic collapse, how different classes struggle to maintain what they have, and how opportunists try to take even more for themselves. More importantly it looks at how religion can become a trap for the desperate or a tool for setting them free.

While individual characters feel flat, the society Butler shows us feels very real. Clearly she's a well educated author, alert to the trends in modern politics and where they might be leading us. If you have any interest in anthropology, sociology, or politics you'll enjoy Parable of the Talents.