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A review by rgoodhart
Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris
This is a tough read. Coming to it not long after The Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah, I feel like I have learnt lots about the horrors of war, of siege, of the deprivations of winter especially. And it’s hard to read about it.
I am shocked to realise how little attention I paid to the war in Bosnia at the time. How self-absorbed I was as a student!
This is beautifully written despite the horror. Even the idea of the burnt pages of books floating down from the burning library being ‘black butterflies’ adds beauty to the destruction.
I loved the image of the tree Zora and Una painted in the walls of the flat. I felt like I understood the bond shared by Zora and Mirsad. I was revolted by the tale of the brothers building the bridge and devastated by
Una’s death.
Reading this, 30 years after the event is hard and yet these things still go on. Ukraine suffers through war and hard winters. Gazans are dying from starvation. How can we let these things happen again and again??
I am shocked to realise how little attention I paid to the war in Bosnia at the time. How self-absorbed I was as a student!
This is beautifully written despite the horror. Even the idea of the burnt pages of books floating down from the burning library being ‘black butterflies’ adds beauty to the destruction.
I loved the image of the tree Zora and Una painted in the walls of the flat. I felt like I understood the bond shared by Zora and Mirsad. I was revolted by the tale of the brothers building the bridge and devastated by
Una’s death.
Reading this, 30 years after the event is hard and yet these things still go on. Ukraine suffers through war and hard winters. Gazans are dying from starvation. How can we let these things happen again and again??