axmed's review
fast-paced
4.0
It’s just that little colored children listening to that proper white woman would never hear their own cadence in her words. They’d come to believe that they would have to abandon their own language and stories to become a part of her educated world.
----
They often take the kindest white people to colonize the colored community. But as kind as Mrs. Keaton was, she reflected an alien view to our people.
----
“I’m not talking to white people about this,” she said.I’d heard that all the time. Half the black people I knew would walk an extra mile to avoid straightforward contact with white people. It didn’t surprise me that white people might not trust each other. I couldn’t trust them, so why should they trust each other?
----
“You know, Mr. Rawlins,” Mofass told me on the phone, “that man was so pale that he coulda been two white men.”
happeningalmond's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aheath14's review against another edition
5.0
Best of the series so far. The reveals of the Easy Rawlins books are always unexpected and this one was great with an amazing build up. Easy becomes more complex as we start to see some faults in his character in regards to the main relationship breakdown. The return of characters from previous books helps to build a familiar cast and create a world you can get totally absorbed into.
Can't wait to read the next.
Can't wait to read the next.
potatomcgee's review against another edition
1.0
I really enjoyed the first two Easy Rawlins books, but could not stomach the spousal rape in this one. I liked Easy in the first two, which is why I continued in the series, but it is hard to like someone who rapes his wife (all in the first 30 pages, no spoilers here) and then laughs at his wife's crying face and says "a man can't rape his wife". I'm done.
noonjinx's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is the third of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins novels I’ve read. I thought it was better than Red Death but not as good as Devil in a Blue Dress. Mosley’s prose is great, the characters are fiery, the sense of the time and place are terrific and the plot rattles along nicely.
I did have some problems with this one though. I like a noir tale but this one gets really dark and misogynistic. Three murdered black girls have no back story at all and are just there as a plot device but I guess that’s reinforcing the point that the police are only interested when a white girl is killed.
Throughout the novel, Rawlins treats his own wife with complete contempt. In one particularly horrible scene he rapes her. I guess Mosley is trying to show us how brutal Rawlins’ life has been and how it’s damaged him, but by the end of the story my hero is his psychopathic friend Mouse (who would kill you if you looked at him funny).
Really well written, but nasty. I’ll try at least one more to see if Rawlins gets some sort of redemption.
I did have some problems with this one though. I like a noir tale but this one gets really dark and misogynistic. Three murdered black girls have no back story at all and are just there as a plot device but I guess that’s reinforcing the point that the police are only interested when a white girl is killed.
Throughout the novel, Rawlins treats his own wife with complete contempt. In one particularly horrible scene he rapes her. I guess Mosley is trying to show us how brutal Rawlins’ life has been and how it’s damaged him, but by the end of the story my hero is his psychopathic friend Mouse (who would kill you if you looked at him funny).
Really well written, but nasty. I’ll try at least one more to see if Rawlins gets some sort of redemption.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Murder and Racism
mrsr_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hoppma's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
alex_ellermann's review against another edition
3.0
I tore through this book in just a couple of days, but I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed reading it. The hero, Easy Rawlings, is still flawed and angry and capable. His best friend, Mouse, is still amoral and fiercely loyal. His milieu is still raw and his characters rich.
Nevertheless, the whole thing felt a bit “by the numbers” for me. You’ve got your basic refusal, then acceptance of, the call. You’ve got your basic red herrings, your sex and violence. You’ve got your twists and betrayals, your A story and B story. You’ve got, basically, what feels like a professionally plotted and written mystery thriller. Nevertheless, ‘White Butterfly’ never really sings, at least to me. I didn’t enjoy spending time with Easy. I didn’t enjoy living in his world. And I figured the villain about a third of the way in.
I loved the first Easy Rawlings novels, and I may well love the fourth. This one, however, didn’t sit right.
Nevertheless, the whole thing felt a bit “by the numbers” for me. You’ve got your basic refusal, then acceptance of, the call. You’ve got your basic red herrings, your sex and violence. You’ve got your twists and betrayals, your A story and B story. You’ve got, basically, what feels like a professionally plotted and written mystery thriller. Nevertheless, ‘White Butterfly’ never really sings, at least to me. I didn’t enjoy spending time with Easy. I didn’t enjoy living in his world. And I figured the villain about a third of the way in.
I loved the first Easy Rawlings novels, and I may well love the fourth. This one, however, didn’t sit right.
monty_reads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5