He preaches a return to godliness, in the form of persecuting, prosecuting, and “saving” any American who refuses to lead a good Christian life. Jarret is the founder of the powerful, right-wing Church of Christian America.

(At one point he actually says as part of his campaigning that he will “make America great again. The United States, tired of the apocalyptic chaos the country has experienced during the past decade, has voted into power the fanatical and fascistic president Donald Trump Ted Cruz Andrew Steele Jarret. Parable of the Talents is also the story of Lauren’s daughter, Larkin, renamed Ashe Vere after she was snatched from Acorn and her parents, the first in a series of crimes committed in a prolonged ordeal of violence, degradation, and suffering enacted by religious militants, members of The Church of Christian America. No matter the odds, Lauren wants Earthseed to culminate in what she has named the Destiny-in which humanity leaves Earth and ascend to the stars.

She’s proud of the work that’s been done and eager to spread Earthseed to even more people. Parable of the Talents is the story of Lauren Olamina four years after the founding of Acorn, the first Earthseed community. I can only hope this review does the book justice. I feel incredibly fortunate that I chose to read Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents to “officially” delve into Octavia Butler’s oeuvre. Instead I will humbly attempt to hone in on what makes Parable of the Talents such a stunning, smart, beautiful novel. And I’ve just about left behind academia for good, so I’m not obligated to produce anything resembling a research paper anymore. But I’m writing a review for a book review blog. If I were doing this properly, it would be a research paper, complete with citations, and filled with arguments and analyses far more illuminating than what I have here. I don’t even know how to write this review.

Parable of the talents octavia butler