Lilith’s Brood
Writer: Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 746
Original Review: Published April, 26, 2008
The first and only time I read Octavia Butler’s Lilith’s Brood was for my graduate school program. To provide a little context, my graduate degree is in Writing Popular Fiction, and to graduate, you had write a novel of popular fiction. My genre of choice was science fiction, and that means that for each term, my required reading had to relate to my thesis novel in some way. My mentor and I chose Butler because I’d already read and loved her work for the way she explores race and sexuality in her fiction, and since I happened to have Lilith’s Brood, I figured that would be as good a pick as any. In my original review, I end up referring a bit to my thesis project/novel, and that’s why: any reviews I did for my required reading was also forwarded to my mentor, and part of what I was supposed to do was talk about what the book I’d read taught me.
Don’t worry: it’s still a critical review (it actually breaks down Lilith’s Brood into its three separate parts). I just wanted to give you some context!
Unfortunately, I was not able to re-read Lilith’s Brood for the Women of SF book club. I wish I could have, especially after re-reading my own review and re-familiarizing myself with the story and how it played out. I’m still a great admirer of Butler’s work, and she’s an author I can come back to again and again and get something new out of her words, and that is a great thing.
For discussion, here’s some things to consider. Mind you, these questions don’t have to be answered in the comments — they’re just here to get the juices flowing if you’re having trouble articulating your thoughts. But you’re welcome to answer them as well, whatever floats your fancy.
1) One of the most fascinating aspects of this book, to me, was to see how a third sex might function in society. A friend of mine once commented that after reading Lilith’s Brood, she had a hard time reconciling the fact that humanity DIDN’T have a third sex (she thought it should). Does Butler make a compelling argument for a third sex, or do you take this more as a thought experiment: something interesting to read about in fiction, but you’re not convinced it would ever work in real life?
2) How could or should homosexual relationships been addressed in this book? From what I’ve heard, Butler herself was homosexual, so it’s an interesting question to raise. Should we look at this as a book about SEX (in which case, why no homosexuality?) or BREEDING (which means the lack of homosexuality makes perfect sense, or does it?)
3) Nowadays, it’s not a guaranteed thing that a married couple WANTS children. The humans in LILITH’S BROOD want desperately to reproduce. Their motivation to is stay human and have children. Do you think that this is a reflection of the society they found themselves in, the prospect of facing the elimination of the human race as we know it? Do you think there will always be humans who WON’T want children, even if it means damning the human race to extinction (I say yes). Should Butler have explored this, or would that have detracted from the main conflict of the novel?
4) Is this the first Octavia E. Butler book you’ve read? If so, how does it compare to her other work? Would you read anything else in the future?
5) How did the writing style work for you?
These questions are just to get the juices flowing. Please feel free to say anything and everything that comes to mind, but even if you hated the book, talk about what didn’t work for you and why. 
Also, if you wrote a review, please share it with all of us!
Don’t forget July’s selection: Cordelia’s Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
