The Butterfly Garden

Overall thoughts The Butterfly Garden blew my mind, and it definitely left me wanting more. The combination of such a gripping and intriguing premise, profound and memorable characters and a fantastic use of language has caused this novel to become one of my favorite reads of the year, and one of my favorite mystery & thriller books. While there are some things that I dislike, such as the somewhat lackluster ending, as a whole, the book was nothing short of absolutely amazing. However, I understand that it won’t be for everyone and that many will turn away from the book, be it because of the plot or the brutality of some of the themes. For those that decide to read this, it will probably become a fast-paced and enjoyable ride that will prove itself hard to put down. In this case, the rating that I would give this book would be a solid 5 out of 5 without any hesitation. For a more detailed account of my thoughts, please read below, though there might be some minor spoilers (and I would most definitely recommend reading this book without not knowing much about it). Plot & Themes This book revolves around a very unique, dark and disturbing premise. A girl, known for the most part as Maya, recounts the tale of how she got herself kidnapped and woke up to what she, and others, referred to as the Garden, which is run by the Gardener, though his sons are also present at different points in the story. While the story starts with Maya being interrogated by a pair of FBI agents who are trying to find out more about the Garden, we are quickly exposed to the actual events that took place in this location. Despite being kidnapped by a male figure, Maya found herself being awoken by another young girl. This girl is later revealed also to have been kidnapped, and she’s not the only one. Little by little, we are exposed to the practices that take place in this garden. For starters, every girl is tattooed with a different butterfly on her back. Until then, the girls are mostly kept in isolation from the rest of the victims. As she starts being acclimated to the conditions of the Garden and as she gets her own tattoo, Maya starts discovering some harsh realities of her new existence. The harshest of all, perhaps, is that all of these girls are trapped in a dome. These girls are free to roam the Garden, though they do follow some strict schedules and rules. For example, they need to eat at certain times of the day, and they are only allowed to have select snacks and drinks outside of the designated meals. Furthermore, if any girl isn’t eating, for whatever reason, then they get a visit from the lunch lady, who also happens to be the nurse. This, however, doesn’t even begin to cover the realities that these girls face. As soon as the girls get their own tattoos, they are raped for the first time by the Gardener. This is, sadly, not the only time that this occurs. In fact, this is a very common occurrence, with the Gardener visiting these girls quite often. The Gardener is not the only person to take part in these activities either, as oldest son also does this. This son in particular though tends to be more brutal with these girls. While the Gardener seems to have some level of affection and seems to care about these girls to some degree, these sentiments are not shared by his son. His son, in fact, tortures and sodomizes the girls through some very sadistic behavior. He even ends up killing some by accident, which leads to another important of the book: death. Death is an important aspect of the novel. It is a reality that the girls have learned to accept and something that they are surrounded by and reminded of daily. This can be explained thanks to the deranged reasoning that the Gardener provides in order to have his butterfly garden. It is revealed throughout the book that the Gardener’s father used to have a collection of butterflies, which he eventually lost in an accident. Following his father’s footsteps, the Gardener decides to have his own collection, though in a much more disturbing way: by collecting girls with butterfly tattoos on their backs. Due to the relatively short lifespan of butterflies, the Gardener attempts to recreate this phenomenon on his own collection. The way he does this is by injecting them with formaldehyde, and later preserving their bodies on glass displays. These young, preserved girls are kept in the halls of the Garden, next to where the current residents sleep, hence the constant presence of death in the novel. Another incredibly strong aspect of the book is the characters themselves. The characters in the novel are extremely complex and have their own personality traits. These characters are presented in a way that it is easy to distinguish between them, due to their mannerism and behavior, and in a very convincing manner. The interactions between them also present some very memorable, enjoyable, and emotional moments. The girls throughout the story go through different events, from periods of celebration and happiness to mourning and despair. Even those characters that could be labeled as the villains have their own depth. In my opinion, these characters have certain traits and characteristics that make them easier to remember and to distinguish from past characters in similar genres. Narration & use of language The narration shifts throughout the book. The scenes where Maya is being interrogated are narrated from a third person perspective, while the events of the Garden are told in the first person. The interplay between both narrative styles is easy to follow and suits the story well. The language used throughout the book is phenomenal. The author has managed to write the novel in such a way that it hooks the reader, despite how messed up and disturbing some of the things are. The descriptions also make the book very vivid. Lastly, the language flows very well and is incredibly easy to follow, causing it to be a fantastic page turner. Recommendations for further reading I’d recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a solid thriller or, to some extent, a horror novel. I’d also recommend it to those that are looking for either something dark, memorable, or original. Due to the originality, there is very few books that I’d recommend that could capture the same amount of emotions, details, and creativity as The Butterfly Garden does. In the mystery and thriller area, I’d recommend Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. Leaning more towards horror, I’d recommend A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. Lastly, for those that want something between horror and thriller, I’d recommend Bird Box by Josh Malerman. Thanks for reading my review, and I hope that those of you that decide to read this book enjoy it. Happy reading!

4.4 out of 5 stars! The Butterfly Garden is a heavy, heart-pounding read. I laughed, I cried, I yelled at the characters, my hands shook, and it hit almost all the right buttons for me. Before I get into the story aspects that I appreciated (and a couple I didn't), I want to say that the format was difficult for me to sink into right away. There are two parallel stories: a present tense third-person narrative in which the FBI are questioning Maya, and a first-person past tense narrative that acts as Maya's responses. The narrative that acts as dialogue didn't really work well initially because you knew she was speaking, yet it contained descriptive details that wouldn't have been conveyed in conversation (like how a character adjusted her bra). However, the story was able to engage me enough to draw me in and acclimate me to the format. Initially, Maya's responses bounce from the Garden to her life before the Garden. Sometimes these lapses killed the tension that had just been built up, but I pushed through, knowing that the lapse would be short and the story continued on just the other side. This ends when we read into Part II (it's a three-part novel), and it is smooth sailing from there. Although the narrative is rife with triggers (sexual assault, child abuse and neglect--mentioned, not witnessed, violence against women, drug addiction), Hutchison is delicate in her delivery. She doesn't get more descriptive until Part II, and even then she focuses more on effect than cause. Each character we meet has something unique about them that sets them apart from the others, even though we encounter about twenty Butterflies, three FBI agents, a few FBI techs, and a few parents. If this makes it sound overwhelming: it's not. They all one have something to make them stand out from one another. I love the rapport Hutchison gave each of these characters. They play off of each other differently and in a believable fashion. That also ramps up the stress and tension, for all the right reasons: We felt for the girls, even if we only met them briefly. They were engaging and unique, so when something horrible happened to them, we mourned. Some we mourned in passing, others we mourned... much longer. <blockquote>“Always. You never had to wait for someone [to die]. You mourned them every single day, as they mourned you, because every day we were dying.”</blockquote> My favorite scene of the entire novel is borne of the bond the Butterflies develop: <blockquote>That afternoon found me in Danelle’s room with a bowl of water in my lap so I could carefully rewet her hair each time I needed to run the brush through it. She sat in front of me on the bed twining ribbons through sections of Evita’s hair before she twisted them up into a mass on the back of her blonde head. For Danelle, I braided small sections of hair to drape between two high buns, and others to fall down her back. They were too thin to obscure the wings, but they were her small defiance. Hailee sat behind me doing something with brush and pins, while Simone stood behind her with ribbons and twists and oil.</blockquote> Hutchison successfully captures the fucked-up psychology that accompanies long-term trauma: dark humor, self-deprecation, and wry acceptance of what occurs and what might occur. These moments might seem unbelievable or surreal for someone who has never been in such a situation, but for someone who has they resonate strongly (speaking as a survivor of three years of domestic violence). <blockquote>It was sick. I don’t think there’s a person there who doubted that. It was sick and wrong and profoundly twisted, and yet somehow it made us feel a lot better.</blockquote> There were several allusions throughout the story that led me to believe Hutchison was foreshadowing something, and I thought I knew what would happen toward the end. I was wrong. I enjoyed being wrong very much. For some readers, The Butterfly Garden will test their suspension of disbelief, mostly concerning the setting: <blockquote>As far as I could tell, the greenhouse we called the Garden was actually one of two, one inside the other like nesting dolls. Ours was the one in the center, impossibly tall, with our hallways wrapped around it in a square.</blockquote> Living near the mountains, I understand very well how a compound like this can be... perhaps not hidden, but inconspicuous enough to overlook or pass by. The only detail of the story that tested my personal suspension of disbelief is at the tail end--and as far as the reader can determine, not an aspect of the conflict. Since I enjoyed the novel overall, and I don't know what the sequels will hold, I am more than willing to overlook what seems to me to be a plot-contrivance fairy. One gripe I have that I can easily overlook is that the Gardener seems a bit bland. We know he has self-control, he's intimidating in what he does and can do, but we don't see him ever doing it. He doesn't lose his temper and is almost always the doting, refined "gentleman," never the frightening, looming threat the Butterflies fear. I personally would love a brief foray into his mind as a short story or novella. But I may end up saying that about every serial killer we encounter on this blog. I enjoyed The Butterfly Garden very much, although in the beginning I sometimes felt the need to push through short sections. I was still desperate to see what would happen on the other side. The tension and emotional impact of the story more than compensate for any flaws with the story or format.

I wasn't sure about this title but once I started reading , I really didn't feel like keeping my kindle down for a moment. The storyline is not very complex but the depiction and thrill is kept throughout the story which is really worth appreciating.

Different interesting couldnt put it down.

Google trigger warnings before you read it if you’re not used to dark themed books!

I really enjoyed this book!!! A very interesting and disturbing story.

This book did everything absolutely right: it managed to have lots of interesting characters without being confusing; fantastic creative plot; breathtaking ending. This is the story of a beautiful garden, where the Gardener is the ruler and collects butterflies. The problem is that his butterflies are actually kidnapped teenage girls, who get very detailed wing tattoos. The book starts with Maya, one of the butterflies, telling the FBI about her time in the Garden and the mystery lies in how everybody managed to escape. I just couldn't believe how perfect this book was. The story was so disturbing, but told in such a delicate way that it matched the setting perfectly. The Gardener is now my favorite villain: he created a metaphor that he believe in so thoroughly that he thought he was doing the right thing. Also, I highlighted a lot, because there were so many enchanting quotes. I can't recommend this book enough, it really managed to blow me away.