A review by sadiereadsagain
The Butterfly Lampshade by Aimee Bender
4.0
When I first read the premise of this book, I didn't fully understand what this book was about. What I did know was that it sounded intriguing and had a heavy mental health slant, and that was enough to pull me in.
This is the story of Francie, who is 8 years old when her mother has a psychotic break so severe that she ends up hospitalised long term. As she sleeps at the babysitter's house, while arrangements are made for her to live with her aunt and uncle across the country, she admires the lamp beside her. It is decorated with a pattern of butterflies. When she wakes in the morning, a real butterfly - which looks just like the ones on the lampshade - floats dead in her water glass. During her childhood, a couple of other instances of the illustrated becoming real, tangible but dead objects occur. As a young woman, Francie finds herself dwelling on these instances, as well as her mother's ongoing mental health hospitalisation and how it has impacted her. She withdraws from life, and we join her as she tries to make sense of her own state of mind.
This book is strange journey into Francie's perception of reality, and the generational impact of mental health issues. There is a lot of sadness in this book, both in the mother-daughter relationship and in the shadow that her earlier experiences cast over Francie's life. But neither Francie nor the book does this in a way that points the finger of blame at her mother, who had as little choice in how things developed as yer young daughter did. Instead, there is a strong sense of love and the importance of community in protecting and supporting those impacted by mental illness.
I thought it was such a powerful read, though much as I struggled to understand the premise before I read it I'm also struggling to articulate why I found this book so beautiful, hopeful and raw. I think this may need a reread at some point for me to pull my thoughts together. And I hardly ever reread, so I think that says how much of a mark this book made!
I was sent a copy of this book as a NetGalley from Random House UK, Cornerstone in return for a review. All opinions are my own.
This is the story of Francie, who is 8 years old when her mother has a psychotic break so severe that she ends up hospitalised long term. As she sleeps at the babysitter's house, while arrangements are made for her to live with her aunt and uncle across the country, she admires the lamp beside her. It is decorated with a pattern of butterflies. When she wakes in the morning, a real butterfly - which looks just like the ones on the lampshade - floats dead in her water glass. During her childhood, a couple of other instances of the illustrated becoming real, tangible but dead objects occur. As a young woman, Francie finds herself dwelling on these instances, as well as her mother's ongoing mental health hospitalisation and how it has impacted her. She withdraws from life, and we join her as she tries to make sense of her own state of mind.
This book is strange journey into Francie's perception of reality, and the generational impact of mental health issues. There is a lot of sadness in this book, both in the mother-daughter relationship and in the shadow that her earlier experiences cast over Francie's life. But neither Francie nor the book does this in a way that points the finger of blame at her mother, who had as little choice in how things developed as yer young daughter did. Instead, there is a strong sense of love and the importance of community in protecting and supporting those impacted by mental illness.
I thought it was such a powerful read, though much as I struggled to understand the premise before I read it I'm also struggling to articulate why I found this book so beautiful, hopeful and raw. I think this may need a reread at some point for me to pull my thoughts together. And I hardly ever reread, so I think that says how much of a mark this book made!
I was sent a copy of this book as a NetGalley from Random House UK, Cornerstone in return for a review. All opinions are my own.