BOOK CLUB 101
While we can’t gather in the theater, we’re taking select book clubs online. Join us via Zoom for Virtual Book Club. RSVP with your e-mail address so we can send you the Zoom link on the day of the event. How does it work? After a brief introduction, we will shift participants into self-led breakout rooms, in groups of about 10, so everyone can participate in a discussion before coming back to the main room to wrap up. Need a copy of the book? Order a copy from our bookshop.org list, and NYU Skirball will receive a portion of the proceeds.
Co-sponsored by the NYU Office of Global Inclusion and Diversity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Octavia E. Butler, often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” was the author of several award-winning novels including Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant and numerous literary awards, she has been acclaimed for her lean prose, strong protagonists, and social observations in stories that range from the distant past to the far future. She passed away on February 24, 2006.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A prescient and acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author.
When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others’ emotions.
Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
CONTENT WARNING:
This book contains descriptions of violence and sexual assault. Please email skirball.info@nyu.edu if you would like more information.
