Sci-Fi Book Club - Parable of the Sower by Octaiva E. Butler

What we are reading:
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler (1993).

While climate change threatens to our very existence - or at least civilised life as we know it -, we’re simultaneously at the cusp of a new space age, with plans of reaching Mars within the next decade. Have we given up on the only liveable habitat we currently know of? While scientific warnings about the destructive consequence of climate change become ever more concrete, there is still a gap in our collective consciousness on what global warming will truly mean for our daily lives. Science Fiction can offer ways to speculate about these consequences and inspire solutions on how to tackle future challenges. At this book club meetup, we continue our venture into the realm of sci-fi and discuss “Parable of the Sower” by Octaiva E. Butler. A book that paints a bleak picture of a world descending into madness and anarchy, yet has the protagonist discover hope in the unifying power of a common cause - space.

You hosts of this session are:
Olivier Baumann - Co-Founder of Tomorrow, a climate tech startup whose mission is to make the climate impact of everything accessible to everyone.

Sophie W. Hoffritz - Chinese-speaking geek extraordinaire, who always has something to say about sci-fi, fantasy, books, comics, movies, philosophy, culture and everything in-between.

About the book:
"Octavia Butler’s tenth novel, “Parable of the Sower,” which was published in 1993, opens in Los Angeles in 2024. Global warming has brought drought and rising seawater. The middle class and working poor live in gated neighborhoods, where they fend off the homeless with guns and walls. Fifteen year old Lauren Oya Olamina witnessing the very fabric of society around her crumbling, begins to develop a new belief system, which she comes to call Earthseed. The ultimate destiny of humanity, she believes, is to take root among the stars."

About the venue:
We are going to be hosted at Founders House, at Njalsgade 19D.