I finished Octavia Butler’s Dawn this week. I’ve been reading a lot of science fiction lately and I chose Dawn specifically to interrupt the overwhelmingly male run of reading material. I was not disappointed.
I’m steadily working my way through Butler’s work. My first introduction to her short story, “Bloodchild,” which was recommended to me by a professor. When I finished it, I walked straight down to her office to ask, “Why didn’t you warn me??!” I cannot recommend it enough.
I’ve read a handful of her novels but since they rarely turn up at secondhand bookstores, it’s slow progress. Dawn is my favorite so far, even beating out Parable of the Sower.
Besides being well-written—Butler’s delightfully punchy prose, straightforward and articulate, makes you think, did she really just say what I think she just said?? She definitely did—Dawn is a fantastic genre story. Continue reading “Octavia Butler’s “Dawn”: Woman as World-builder”
Lindsey Grundyson 