Praise Song for the Butterflies by Bernice L. McFadden
Published by Jacaranda, 2018
My Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Rating this book has proven tricky, as there are elements of it that I loved, and elements that I found underwhelming and frustrating. The story follows Abeo, a young West African girl whose family falls on hard times in the 1980s. Her desperate father eventually sacrifices her to a religious shrine, where she endures physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; an ancient practice that was believed to atone for the sins of a family’s ancestors, thus breaking the chain of bad luck for future generations.
I thought the first half of the book was very strong. I quickly became invested in Abeo and her mother, and enjoyed McFadden’s unassuming prose, which is punctuated by moments of beauty. There’s a looming sense of threat as events begin to spiral beyond the characters’ control, and some very effective foreshadowing in a scene which sees the family visit a former prison for Africans who were to be sold into slavery. This introduced one of the book’s greatest thematic threads, in which McFadden draws parallels between events of the past, Abeo’s present, and our current day. It’s no mistake that the book was published now, after all. There are undeniable similarities to events that are playing out across the world today (we’ve all seen the plight of young refugees displaced by war, and the sickening images of migrant children seized by border authorities and placed in cages). The book serves as a powerful wake up call; an eye-opening look at the pattern of human error that echoes throughout time; the way in which we allow children to become collateral damage in the struggles, fears, and instabilities that arise with adult conflict. By educating ourselves about the past, we can better understand our present, and thus strive for better in the future.
Though the concept throws up a lot of potential for sensationalism, mercifully, I felt this was largely avoided. McFadden doesn’t shy away from the horrors that Abeo faces during her time in the shrine, but her somewhat distant, fast-moving narrative approach means we never become too bogged down by the harrowing details. What’s more, the book is always underpinned by a feeling of hope, with moments of kindness, and themes of sisterhood and recovery guiding us through the darkness.
The second half of the book focusses on the notion of facing up to the shame of our past, further enhancing the book’s thematic resonance. It moves very quickly, however. There are significant time jumps; important characters come and go without notice; and some of the book’s potential emotional development isn’t capitalised on. There is also a particular plot point that I felt was handled poorly; the one moment in which McFadden tipped into gratuitous suffering. It’s not the plot point itself that I took issue with. It felt inevitable, and made sense from a narrative perspective, but it could have been done in a way that was circumstantially in-keeping with the rest of the story, and no less tragic for it. Instead, it unfolded in a way that was entirely avoidable, making it feel needlessly cruel on the author’s part.
The book’s opening scene is bold, shocking, and instantly hooked me in. By contrast, I found the closing scene weak and clichéd. That, in essence, sums up my prevailing attitude towards the book as a whole. It starts strong, and has a lot of potential, but whilst its heart is in the right place, and it sets out to impart a commendable message, I found the execution left me wanting.
Overall, I’m glad this was longlisted for the Women’s Prize. I hadn’t heard of it before, and likely wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise, but I truly admire what McFadden was trying to say – even if the way she said it was a little clumsy at times.
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You can pick up a copy of Praise Song for the Butterflies from Book Depository by clicking here. If you’ve already read it, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I am glad you at least mostly liked this. I am still not convinced I will really appreciate this book but I am now not dreading it anymore either. Great review though!
I’m very intrigued to see what other people end up thinking of it! It’s one I can imagine will split opinion, but then reviews on Goodreads so far seem to be pretty good.
It seems well excecuted at least – so maybe it comes down to genre preference? It just really doesn’t sound like my type of book.
It certainly has its strengths, and despite its flaws, I can understand why it was longlisted. I hope you’re pleasantly surprised when you pick it up!
I started listening to the audiobook on my way to work this morning. It should be a quick listen (only 6 hours compared to Milkman’s 14).
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it!
Excellent review! I still have no idea what I’m going to think of this one…
I changed my opinion on it so many times throughout, so I’m very intrigued to see what other people make of it!
It’s been a while since I’ve read McFadden, I believe my last one was called The Book of Harlan and I think I remember feeling like things didn’t come together by the books conclusion. Somehow I missed this one so thanks for bringing attention to her current book.
My pleasure! This was my first McFadden, and it was its inclusion on the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist that brought it to my attention. There were certainly things about it that I admired, and I’d be open to trying more of her work in the future.
I know I’ve read some of her other books years ago but can’t remember them off the top of my head. Glad this one was a good introduction to her work and piqued your desire to read other books from her. Any you have in mind?
I haven’t looked into her other books yet, but I’ll keep an eye out.
I hadn’t heard of this one. Sounds like it has a lot of potential even though it falls short in places.
I’m glad it was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, or else I wouldn’t have heard of it either. It’s certainly a thought-provoking read.
Great review! I’ll be picking this one up soon as well while I make my way through the Women’s Prize longlist, and I’m cautiously optimistic. It does sound like a worthwhile read, if not flawless. I’m glad you found some appreciable elements!
Thank you! It certainly has its high points, and I’m glad it was longlisted, otherwise it would likely have passed me by. I hope you enjoy it! 😊
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Great review! I so, so agree that the ending scene was so weak, particularly compared to the first scene. I was actually quite frustrated by it.
Thank you! Yes, it felt like such a waste, undoing all the impact of a strong opening scene.
(Spoiler warning for anyone else reading this!) Rachel’s gonna be seriously pissed off when she realises the opening was a dream sequence all along 😂
Omg YES she is, I can’t wait to see her reaction. I was soOoOo intrigued to see how it turned out, it was such a cop-out.
It really was 🤦🏻♂️
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