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hjb_128's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, War, Child death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Genocide, and Death
Moderate: Rape
jo_d's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: War, Blood, Vomit, Racism, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Infidelity
pagesintranslation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: War, Racism, Gore, and Violence
rosalind's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Child death, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Grief, Islamophobia, Violence, Xenophobia, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual violence, Animal death, Rape, Genocide, and Blood
amyvl93's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Black Butterflies is the story of the slow creep of war into the every day lives of people living their day-to-day lives; something that feels very prescient with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Zora recognises that things are escalating when a family occupy her Mum's vacant flat, and admits that it may be good for her husband and her Mum to go and stay with her daughter in England; and she'll stay just to finish things off. However, the war escalates and Zora finds herself trapped in Sarajevo, under fire and searching for connection wherever it exists.
Morris manages to make Zora a compelling main character when I think in other hands her naïveté may be frustrating or unbelievable; you understand her passion for her home, and the way years of turmoil have left their tragic fingerprints on her family. The way Morris peels back layers of horror as war and the siege of Sarajevo begins to impact on Zora's life in smaller ways at first before resulting in some tragic events as the novel moves on. The small scenes of hope - a neighbour finding a job translating with the UN, neighbours gathering to borrow books or tell stories, the real human chain that attempted to save as many books as possible from the burning library.
I did find that the romance introduced in the novel was rather heavy-handily signposted and we also have fairly minimal resolution or reflection off the back of it - but on the whole I thought Black Butterflies was a compelling read about a moment in history which feels painfully like it is being repeated.
Moderate: War, Child death, Racism, and Xenophobia
ellieisreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Racism, Gun violence, and Racial slurs
Minor: Genocide
literaryscouser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: War, Child death, Violence, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Racism, Deportation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape