Scan barcode
carlottaione's review
this is a beautiful novel, but realistically i'm not going to pick it back up again after a year of not reading it
tishkova's review
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
lindseyzank's review
5.0
Yvonne Vera is one of the most amazing writers I have ever read. I am writing my Masters thesis about her works.
I cannot explain Vera's writing style except to declare that she has a gift with words unlike anyone else. Her stories are dark and probing. They unveil the effects of violence on women in a postcolonial setting. She blows me away.
In Butterfly Burning, Pheephelaphi, the main character, struggles with the memory of her mother's death when she meets Fumbatha and he saves her. She has higher dreams, however, that do not include him- to become a nurse. She is accepted into the nursing program, but she finds herself pregnant. The scene in which she performs an abortion on herself with a jagged piece of glass from her broken window is breathtaking. The scene in which she lights herself on fire commiting suicide in the end is unexplainable. Wow.
This novel will take you to a lyrical place through Vera's writing style and will test your strength as a reader.
I cannot explain Vera's writing style except to declare that she has a gift with words unlike anyone else. Her stories are dark and probing. They unveil the effects of violence on women in a postcolonial setting. She blows me away.
In Butterfly Burning, Pheephelaphi, the main character, struggles with the memory of her mother's death when she meets Fumbatha and he saves her. She has higher dreams, however, that do not include him- to become a nurse. She is accepted into the nursing program, but she finds herself pregnant. The scene in which she performs an abortion on herself with a jagged piece of glass from her broken window is breathtaking. The scene in which she lights herself on fire commiting suicide in the end is unexplainable. Wow.
This novel will take you to a lyrical place through Vera's writing style and will test your strength as a reader.
nerdybookies's review
informative
sad
slow-paced
2.5
Boring, but possibly major for its excavation of black femininity in (then) Rhodesia.
virginiacjacobs's review
4.0
The language usage was beautiful. The voice was unique. Most of the book is written in third person, and then there's one chapter in first person. I borrowed this book from a friend who had read it for a lit class, and I'd be interested what the analysis was on the one chapter in first person. This book is not what I would consider in my normal reading "comfort zone," but I enjoyed it.
bootlegdarklord's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
hanjang's review
3.0
This novel is like one long poem, complete with lyricism, metaphors, and all those other lovely components of poetry. At times, the resulting effect was brilliant and powerful. But at other times, the intricate language felt too complicated and unnecessary, causing me to lose any connection with the characters. Also, the first half of the book was almost unbearably slow, compared to the second half, during which all of the major action seemed to happen all at once. Yvonne Vera's style wasn't my cup of tea, but the story was compelling, and I appreciated learning about life in early to mid-20th century Rhodesia.
cupitonians's review
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Took me a long, long while to get into this as the book is quite poetic. Towards the end, I couldn't put it down. It's going to stay with me for a long time.
shonatiger's review
4.0
Some of the writing makes it a 3.5 for me; a story where you have to parse out the meaning of what's going on can be a bit tiresome. But Phephelaphi will stay with me.