Dawn

by

Paperback, 320 pages

English language

Published April 27, 2021 by Grand Central Publishing.

ISBN:
978-1-5387-5371-2
Copied ISBN!
ASIN:
1538753715
Goodreads:
54817568

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4 stars (3 reviews)

One woman is called upon to rebuild the future of humankind after a nuclear war, in this revelatory post-apocalyptic tale from the award-winning author of Parable of the Sower.

When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali—a seemingly benevolent alien race—intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth—but salvation comes at a price.

Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.

4 editions

reviewed Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

Fascinating and disoncerting

4 stars

I can't remember the last time I read a book that flowed so effortlessly. There is no "dead air" in this novel. Lots of dialogue, with terse and welcome descriptions keep things moving without feeling rushed. The alien species is truly alien and disturbing on multiple levels, without coming off as malevolent.

The novel takes on a pretty different tone shortly after the halfway point, which I could definitely see upsetting people. It upset me, even though I loved the book. I think that's the point, but look up the CWs for yourself if you don't want to chance it.

I'm used to novels that much more clearly editorialize the author's morality into the book somehow. This one leaves that kind of hinting completely out, leaving you kind of gaslit over how to feel.

There is a pretty strong reading that can be done of this book from a critical …

reviewed L'Aube by Octavia E. Butler

Une déclinaison particulière de la rencontre entre l'humanité et des extraterrestres

5 stars

Une humanité qui s'est autodétruite lors d'une guerre. De rares personnes survivantes récupérées par des extraterrestres. Parmi elles, celle qui va constituer le fil rouge de ce roman : Lilith. Le roman adopte son point de vue pour découvrir peu à peu une société extraterrestre Oankali riche et complexe. L'Aube propose une déclinaison originale du "premier contact" au sens où cela n'a rien d'une rencontre sur un pied d'égalité : l'humanité se retrouve entièrement placée sous la dépendance des Oankali, lesquels se trouvent en position d'analyser et d'étiqueter l'humanité à partir de leur propre perception, et d'imposer (ou du moins de tenter d'imposer) leur grille et leur fonctionnement à ce qu'il reste de l'humanité. Lilith va se voir confier un rôle particulier dans leurs projets. Délivrant un récit intime, servi par une plume très fine, c'est une histoire qui s'avère aussi riche que déstabilisante, abordant et invitant à questionner l'altérité, …

reviewed Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

dawn

4 stars

The Oankali have strange and disturbing ideas about consent, which makes this an uncomfortable book to read. (This is, like, intentional, though.)

There's a disregard for singular 'they' as a genderless pronoun, instead 'it' is used to refer to the Ooloi; this doesn't feel as bad as it might because it's apparently the pronoun that the Ooloi chose to use for themselves in English

The biggest problem I have with it technically is that not all that much happens for much of the book? At least the first half is spent with Lilith just learning things about the Oankali. Which is interesting, but pretty slow