Where to Start with Octavia Butler
Photograph of Octavia E. Butler seated by her bookcase, 1986, © Patti Perret. Image via The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Garden
Born on June 22, 1947, Octavia Butler was a groundbreaking writer in American letters. The first science fiction writer to ever receive the MacArthur Fellowship, Butler transcended the conventions of her chosen genre, exploring issues of empathy, social normativity, self-destruction, conservation, and tribalism. One of the few women of color publishing in a genre dominated by white men, Butler won the coveted Hugo Award and Nebula Prize twice each for her novella "Bloodchild," her short story "Speech Sounds," and her novel Parable of the Talents, respectively. However, Butler's legacy moves beyond prizes alone. She has been cited as a godmother of Afrofuturism, and Hilton Als has identified Butler as the "dominant artistic force" throughout Beyonce's visual album Lemonade. Most recently, it has been announced that Ava Duverney will adapt Dawn, one of Butler's Xenogenesis books, for television. If you're interested in diving into the work of Octavia Butler, we've got a guide to getting started with this remarkable writer.
Kindred
Perhaps Butler's best known work, Kindred reimagines the time travel narrative. The novel's protagonist Dana moves between 20th century Los Angeles and the antebellum South, where she witnesses the savagery of American slavery. In the process, Dana recuperates some of the erased history that has led to her contemporary moment.
Bloodchild and Other Stories
"Bloodchild" was a breakout work for Butler, earning her the Hugo and the Nebula in the novelette category. It takes as its premise a world in which insect-like organisms called Tilc establish a parasitic relationship with humans. The collection gathers "Bloodchild" with other works of short fiction by Butler and works as an excellent introduction to the writer's work for those interested in shorter forms.
Dawn
from the Xenogenesis Trilogy
Dawn is the first book in the trilogy known as the Xenogenesis series or, alternatively, Lillith's Brood. Following a nuclear war that has made Earth uninhabitable, the human Lillith finds herself on a ship with an alien group the Oankali. The possibilities of interbreeding and genetic manipulation drive the plot forward and remark upon miscegenation.
Parable of the Sower
from the Parable/Earthseed series
Parable of the Sower is the first of the two-book Earthseed/Parable series. Set in a future society that has been ravaged by climate change and economic stratification, its heroine is a young woman living in a gated community who suffers from "hyperempathy" which makes her feel the pain of anyone around her. When her home is destroyed, she leads a group to found a new community, Earthseed.
Fledgling
Butler's last work, Fledgling, reenvisions the vampire narrative. Her blood-drinkers, the Ina, develop a symbiotic relationship with humans. They are not frightening monstrosities. Like much of Butler's work, the novel takes up biological hybridity as a way to explore phenotypical or racial constructions. "'Devil Girl from Mars': Why I Write Science Fiction"
In 1998, Butler delivered an address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She describes the thinking behind several of her works of fiction and her motivations for writing. It is essential reading for understanding the social consciousness behind the beloved writer's oeuvre.
