The Butterfly RevolutionWilliam Butler
I have no idea how this book came into my possession, but there it sat on my shelf, glowering at me darkly until I dared approach it.
"Yes?" I inquired meekly.
"READ ME," it bellowed. "READ ME NOW."
"But you look kinda stupid," I said by way of apology. (I'm not good at apologizing, obviously. It's a pride thing.)
"SHUT UP AND READ ME," it demanded.
"But I don’t even know where you came from, and you look a little beat if you ask me," I replied weakly.
It’s true. My copy is obviously a used one, and it’s the worse for wear. And lately I've become a bit of a book snob -- only new books for me. Used? Ugh. Regardless of my feelings for broken spines and bent covers, I still do not know how this book ended up on my shelf.
Be that as it may, this is the summer* that I will read those lonely unread books in my library. I shall not purchase any new books** until the unread ones have been given a place in my heart and so I have read The Butterfly Revolution by William Butler.
Hailed as “in the tradition of Lord of the Flies,” this novel tells the story of a group of boys who take over a summer camp. Obviously, things go awry. Inner savagery comes out, and all that. It’s all a bit predictable, even if you haven’t read the immensely superior Lord of the Flies.
The novel is told through one boy’s diary, and he must have had a lot of time to write in it despite being quite involved with camp life. The Butterfly Revolution also features some obvious symbolism with the butterflies, but it's a bit heavy-handed. Or maybe I'm biased -- all in all I just wasn’t in to this book. Maybe it was just too damn pushy in getting me to read it. What's that saying? You catch more butterflies with honey....
Viva la revolucion!
In a nutshell: Boys move from a civilized life at camp to a totalitarian state run by fear.
Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars
*Yeah, I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last summer.
**This is a lie. I couldn’t help it. I had a gift certificate.
Bibliolatry Scale: 2 out of 6 stars
*Yeah, I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last summer.
**This is a lie. I couldn’t help it. I had a gift certificate.
2 comments:
I have to admit, I do feel a slight twinge of guilt when I pass by all those battered mass markets in a used bookstore in favor of their more glamorous cousins, the trades.
I know, I feel guilty also, but Edwin made a good point in his article (see "Fiction should be a firestorm"): "if you don't buy books first hand the publishing world cannot see you," so we are really doing a good thing after all :)
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