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A review by lindseyzank
Butterfly Burning by Yvonne Vera
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.