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onecraftybird's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, War, and Deportation
rachel101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Hate crime, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Grief, Medical trauma, and War
jennikreads's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Excrement, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
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: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, War, and Injury/Injury detail
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: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and War
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: Gore, Racism, Violence, and War
rosalind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Genocide, Rape, Sexual violence, and Blood
amyvl93's review
- 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: Child death, Racism, Xenophobia, and War
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: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
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: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Rape