I was assigned Dawn in an English class in university in the late 1990s. It blew me away and I was instantly a Butler fan.

I haven’t read this one in more than 20 years, and it stands up as well as any of Butler’s other works. It’s calm, thoughtful, and full of ideas. I don’t think I’ve described a book as gentle before, but that’s what this feels like. It’s contemplative, carefully paced, and thorough in the way it explores its themes.

Butler has a lot to say, about human nature, love, gender and sexuality, politics, and a lot more. As in some of her other books she can be a bit heavy handed or overly earnest, channelling her big ideas through her characters in a way that can seem a little patronizing or sermon-ish.

Doesn’t matter though, these books are modern classics, and this series will be assigned in university courses for a long time yet.