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What I am reading Wednesday
I’m a bit fascinated that I hadn’t finished a book last week. Taking the bud instead of the train really impacts my reading! Of course, I still read several books at once, so one of these Wednesday I have probably finished more than one book again.
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison. Sometimes you read a book and you get so involved in the story you don’t notice the screaming discrepancy until you are finished. This book was like that.
When I was in my teens I read a book called The Collector by John Fowles. It’s a story about a man who “collects” a young woman and lock her up in his cellar, hoping she would learn to love him. It’s a very bleak and sad story and it stayed with me for many years. The Butterfly Garden is a kind of updated version, with lots of sex and violence added. A Man who calls himself The Gardener kidnaps young and beautiful girls and keeps them prisoner in a beautiful garden. He tattoos their backs with a large butterfly and changes their name. Eventually he also kills them. The book has two timelines. One is in the present when the garden has been found by the police. Something has happened which has killed or wounded several of the girl and they are so shocked the police can’t speak to them. Except for one of them, Maya, who seems unusually calm. The police suspect she may be more involved with the Gardener than she lets o. The second timeline is Maya’s story.
Hutchison is a good storyteller. Maya is an engaging personality and through her we get to know the other “butterflies”, their different personalities and how they cope, or not cope, with being imprisoned and knowing they will eventually be killed. I found it very easy to “see” the garden and the characters as the descriptions were very vivid. I really enjoyed the friendships which evolved between the captive girls. It was definitely a page turner.
However. Though usually not described in detail, and without violence, the Gardener rape his victims and they are young, 16-21 years old. And there is also another character who is very violent and who rapes a small child. Also, the Gardener is a man in his 60’s. Even with medical help i find it highly unlikely he has the stamina to rape 2-3 girls every day. And if he keeps at least 20 girls captive at any time, well, even if one takes into account that they are frightened and subdued, 20 healthy teenagers can easily overpower a middle-ages man. Even with constant monitoring it’s possible to find ways to communicate in secret and the book even provides a space where it would be possible to plot. And then there is the garden. It’s explained in details how the girl's cells are hidden underneath the ground and that they are locked in at intervals for normal gardeners to come inside and take care of the plants. But someone must have built this elaborate prion once upon a time and someone would be bound to take notice and talk about it.
So in retrospect I found this book too violent and too implausible. I might read something else by this author as I think she has the possibility to become really good, if she only reined in herself a bit.
The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison. Sometimes you read a book and you get so involved in the story you don’t notice the screaming discrepancy until you are finished. This book was like that.
When I was in my teens I read a book called The Collector by John Fowles. It’s a story about a man who “collects” a young woman and lock her up in his cellar, hoping she would learn to love him. It’s a very bleak and sad story and it stayed with me for many years. The Butterfly Garden is a kind of updated version, with lots of sex and violence added. A Man who calls himself The Gardener kidnaps young and beautiful girls and keeps them prisoner in a beautiful garden. He tattoos their backs with a large butterfly and changes their name. Eventually he also kills them. The book has two timelines. One is in the present when the garden has been found by the police. Something has happened which has killed or wounded several of the girl and they are so shocked the police can’t speak to them. Except for one of them, Maya, who seems unusually calm. The police suspect she may be more involved with the Gardener than she lets o. The second timeline is Maya’s story.
Hutchison is a good storyteller. Maya is an engaging personality and through her we get to know the other “butterflies”, their different personalities and how they cope, or not cope, with being imprisoned and knowing they will eventually be killed. I found it very easy to “see” the garden and the characters as the descriptions were very vivid. I really enjoyed the friendships which evolved between the captive girls. It was definitely a page turner.
However. Though usually not described in detail, and without violence, the Gardener rape his victims and they are young, 16-21 years old. And there is also another character who is very violent and who rapes a small child. Also, the Gardener is a man in his 60’s. Even with medical help i find it highly unlikely he has the stamina to rape 2-3 girls every day. And if he keeps at least 20 girls captive at any time, well, even if one takes into account that they are frightened and subdued, 20 healthy teenagers can easily overpower a middle-ages man. Even with constant monitoring it’s possible to find ways to communicate in secret and the book even provides a space where it would be possible to plot. And then there is the garden. It’s explained in details how the girl's cells are hidden underneath the ground and that they are locked in at intervals for normal gardeners to come inside and take care of the plants. But someone must have built this elaborate prion once upon a time and someone would be bound to take notice and talk about it.
So in retrospect I found this book too violent and too implausible. I might read something else by this author as I think she has the possibility to become really good, if she only reined in herself a bit.
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It still sounds intriguing in an awful way though.
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Oh yikes! I'm so much of an emotional wuss these days I don't think I'd be able to read this book. Thank you for sharing, though. I'm more than intrigued by the dual narratives. Maybe I'll look up other books by this author.
Oh, and happy belated birthday! Hope it was a good one! :)
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