Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Black Butterflies

A world I would not know or recognise myself, but an insight to what other people do experience when war installs itself in their homes, villages, towns, countries and lives. Emotionally shattering as you see Zora's world ravaged and turned upside down by powers outside her control but having a very real and increasing impact on her life and those around her, and showing how when environments change unexpectedly what it can do to a person/people. Harrowing to read in most parts, but you're carried along as Zora and her small tight knit community look after one another and try and maintain their sense of community and self expression in times of hostility, uncertainty and senseless violence, as best they can.

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creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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rosalind's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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amyvl93's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

Zora has a routine she finds peaceful in Sarajevo; she teaches her students art, paints, and cares for her elderly mother and husband; whilst keeping in touch with her daughter who lives in rural England with her family. She's noticed that barricades are erected over night by nationalist groups, but these are pushed to the side in the morning by the Bosnians, Croats and Serbs who live side-by-side.

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.

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imo_reads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This is a deeply moving book that chronicles the life and times of Sarajevans as their city slips slowly out of their grasp and into the depths of war. The narrative masterfully conveys the creeping sense of dread that things will not get better, interlaced with moments of unity and hope. It aims not to sensationalise or to shock, but to give a true sense of what life was like for ordinary people in Sarajevo in that first brutal year of the war - and it illustrates this with breathtaking clarity. Should be compulsory reading for everyone in light of the war in Ukraine.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Black Butterflies is set in Sarajevo in 1992. When ethnic tensions spill over into violence, Zora sends her husband and elderly mother to safety in the UK. She believes the violence will soon subside but if not she will join them. However, by the time she makes the decision to leave she is unable to do so and is trapped in a city under siege. I loved many things about this book. It did a great job showing how quickly the veneer of civilisation disappeared, how fast a sense of normality could change. Food scarcity, stepping over dead bodies in the street, and trapping pigeons on a windowsill in order to eat them went from being unimaginable to standard practice in such a short space of time. At times it was a hard and brutal read, especially after learning that much of it was based on different aspects of the author’s family history. The realities of living in a war torn city were starkly yet not gratuitously portrayed. And the author also balanced the darkness by also focussing on friendships and community, the way neighbours helped and supported each other. The prose was mostly simple and unadorned which I think suited the subject matter. There were two beautiful examples of imagery that caught my attention - one was the bridges painted by Zora and the way they symbolised connection; the other was the black butterflies referenced in the title. I also liked the way the author folded in some mythology as well as accounts of pre-war Sarajevo, a great way of reminding readers that the city was once beautiful, vibrant and harmonious. Finally I appreciated the author highlighting the important role the arts, in this case painting and literature, can play in helping nourish people’s spirits through tough times.

I’m sure I’m not the only reader whose mind travelled to the Ukraine while reading this book. For one country in Europe this book is historical fiction; in another what is portrayed is the current reality.

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