Why it’s time for Octavia E. Butler and the ‘Parables’ at The Huntington

Why it’s time for Octavia E. Butler and the ‘Parables’ at The Huntington

In “Parable of the Sower,” Octavia E. Butler writes about a brutal, mid-2020s Southern California ravaged by wildfire, earthquakes and an addictive pharmaceutical that fuels a destructive drug epidemic. The author, who was born in Pasadena and grew up in Altadena (spending time in neighborhoods later burned by the Eaton fire), published the novel in 1993. In its sequel, 1998’s “Parable of the Talents,” a rabble-rousing presidential candidate pro…