Parable of the Sower imagines what the near future might be like if we as a society make (or continues to make) a mistake. In this case, the mistake is walling off communities in the face of poverty.

I found the setting intriguing. People with homes and jobs live behind walls and fight off those who have nothing. It's terrifying. No one has a future, not even the "haves," because there simply isn't enough to go around. Extended families live crammed together, with 15-20 people living in a three bedroom home. Birth control is either illegal or expensive (I tend to think expensive, although it's not totally clear); no one uses it and families with four or more children are the norm.

Lauren Olamina is a sharer, an empath, living in such a walled community. The book spans three years of her life, from her 15th birthday through her 18th. During that time, the world changes dramatically and for the worse. Her community is destroyed and she is forced to run for her life. She loses everything. Through it all, she builds her philosophy.

On the surface, the book is about Lauren's survival. More deeply, it is about change -- how we deal with it, prepare for it and live through it. Lauren faces the questions: how bad do things have to be before you change them? before you change yourself?

I really like Lauren. She emerges bit by bit as a radical social and religious philosopher. Her systems of thought are precise and beautiful. She's tough and smart, and she's one of the few characters in the book who can think clearly about the future.

Here's my favorite part of Lauren's philosophy (from p. 89):

Civilization is to groups what
intelligence is
to individuals. It is a means of
combining the
intelligence of many to achieve
ongoing
group adaptation.

Civilization, like intelligence, may
serve well,
serve adequately, or fail to serve its
adaptive
function. When civilization fails to
serve, it must
disintegrate unless it is acted upon
by unifying
internal or external forces.

My only complaint about the book was the ending. This is definately the first act. The ending left me craving more.