bloodchild and other stories octavia butler

From the age of ten, Butler knew that she wanted to be a writer.

Her mother, a maid with a limited education, instilled in Butler a love of books and learning. Butler was a shy and solitary child who took refuge in reading. Her father died when she was a baby, and she was raised by her mother and grandmother. Octavia Butler was born in Pasadena, California, on June 22, 1947, the only child of Laurice and Octavia Butler. In the disconcerting world of “Bloodchild,” Butler raises provocative questions about sex roles, self sacrifice, and the interdependence between different species. Butler is acclaimed for her fully realized characters and her sensitivity toward the psychological dilemmas created by her imaginative science fiction scenarios. He witnesses the violent “delivery” of alien grubs from the abdomen of another man and is forced to question the relationship he has long taken for granted with the species whose planet he shares. Set on a foreign planet inhabited by giant, powerful, and intelligent insect-like beings, “Bloodchild” is the story of a young human male coming of age and coming to terms with his role as the carrier of an alien species’ eggs. That same year, Butler was awarded the celebrated MacArthur Fellowship-commonly known as the “genius” award-for the body of her work.īutler has described “Bloodchild” as a story about male pregnancy. By this point, Butler had gained a much broader critical and popular reputation, and the collection was praised highly in distinguished mainstream forums such as the New York Times and Booklist. Butler, who is known primarily as a novelist, did not publish the story in book form until 1995, when she collected five of her short stories and two essays in Bloodchild and Other Stories. The story was well received and won two of science fiction’s most prestigious awards, the Hugo and the Nebula.

Dimensions: 7.25in - 5.06in - 0.63in - 0.Octavia Butler, science fiction’s most notable and influential African-American woman writer, first published “Bloodchild” in Isaac Asimov ‘s Science Fiction Magazine in 1984.

She proves constant in her vigil, an unblinking pessimist hoping to be proven wrong, and one of contemporary literature's strongest voices Book Details Like all of Octavia Butler's best writing, these works of the imagination are parables of the contemporary world.

Also new to this collection is 'The Book of Martha' which asks: What would you do if God granted you the ability-and responsibility-to save humanity from itself? Appearing in print for the first time, 'Amnesty' is a story of a woman named Noah who works to negotiate the tense and co-dependent relationship between humans and a species of invaders.

A perfect introduction for new readers and a must-have for avid fans, this New York Times Notable Book includes 'Bloodchild,' winner of both the Hugo and the Nebula awards and 'Speech Sounds,' winner of the Hugo Award.

Bloodchild and other stories octavia butler