Last year, I launched a book club to celebrate books written by female authors and it’s been such a blast discussing a new book every month with fellow book lovers. This year, I set out to explore more books by women and decided to immerse myself in the world of a different female author each month, discovering her voice and perspective through several of her books.
I started January with American writer Octavia E. Butler as I had seen her books around for quite some time and was eager to discover her universe.
Born in Pasadena, California, in 1947, Octavia E. Butler was a very shy child who found an outlet at the local library reading fantasy and writing about it. She then began writing science fiction as a teenager and by the late 1970s she was able to pursue writing full-time.
A household name of the science fiction genre, she won Hugo and Nebula awards, both of which recognise works of fantasy and science fiction and also became the first science fiction writer to ever receive the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant in 1995. She once said “ I write about people who do extraordinary things. It just turned out it was called science fiction”.
Butler was a very prolific writer and selecting only a few books to read for the month turned out to be a bit of a challenge. I already knew that I wanted to read her most celebrated and critically acclaimed work, Kindred, and then chose the two books of her Earthseed series: Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents.
Kindred tells the story of Dana, an African-American woman living with her husband in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Everything was going well until one day she accidentally travelled back in time into the antebellum South, on the Eastern shore of Maryland, to save Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner. Unfortunately for her, Rufus doesn’t have the greatest survival skills and Dana is forced to travel back again and again to save his life, each time becoming more dangerous than the last.
I have absolutely loved this book and have already recommended it to a few of my friends. I found the concept of involuntary time-travelling very interesting and also loved following the characters throughout their lives and seeing how their perceptions of the world changed as their lives went by. The story explores the impacts of racism and sexism as Dana’s life is forever changed. If you’d like to explore Octavia E.Butler’s work, I would definitely recommend starting with this one.
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I then started the Earthseed series which tells the story of Lauren Oya Olaminia, a minister’s daughter growing up in a gated community in California, in the aftermath of an ecological and economic collapse. The novel begins in 2023, with the city of Los Angeles engulfed in raging fires. As you read, it's impossible not to draw parallels to recent events in LA, marveling at how accurately she foresaw this disaster—down to nearly the exact month.
In the novel, however, these fires are the least of Lauren’s worries. Her community lives in constant fear until they are brutally attacked, forcing her to flee for her life. Joined by a small group of fellow refugees, Lauren embarks on a journey in search of safety. The Earthseed series follows her journey as she navigates a world ravaged by violence, discrimination, and greed, forging connections and striving to build a better future against all odds.
To me, this series echoes The Handmaid’s Tale in the way it serves as a warning—one that feels all too plausible. It’s the kind of story that could become reality if we fail to pay attention to the world around us and don’t stand up for our rights and freedoms. I have really enjoyed reading these books and it’s given me a lot to think about.
I believe the best books are those that evoke powerful emotions, and this series did just that for me —filling me with rage and sadness, but above all, hope.
Octavia E. Butler had a remarkable gift for exposing the injustices of our world in a way that is both accessible and compelling. While I may need a short break from post-apocalyptic stories, I’ll definitely be diving into more of her work in the future.
I hope this article inspired you to discover her universe as well.
Love,
