Saph1re's Synopsis

When I first finished this book (and to be honest, sometimes during reading it) I was left with the feeling of “Did I just read that?” “What just happened to my mind for the hours and days it took to read this?”

This is probably going to be hard to review, as I’m not sure I’ve fully got my head around this fascinating and creative novel. It’s not often I say this, but I honestly feel the desire to read it again. To make better sense of some of it. To make sure I understood it correctly. Probably the last time I felt like this was when I studied philosophy as part of my university degree in the 1990s. I loved philosophy, but couldn’t always make full sense of it. This novel is a little like that. Not in a bad way, but some parts are so surreal, it challenges a mind that has learnt to see things in a certain way.

Each chapter appears almost as a separate short story, but each story connects with the others in some way, creating a somewhat unusual, visually descriptive and very intriguing plot.

This is in no way a book that can be rushed. As a reader, you need to enter this book with an open mind. Absorb each story. Fully experience it for what it is. Allow yourself to become a part of the often dark and sometimes brutal world created within these pages.

The Dreams of the Black Butterfly is not only thought provoking, but a work of art that touched my soul. Filling my heart with emotion and my mind with so many thoughts and questions, I didn’t know what to do with them all.

I’m not sure what genre to place this book under, as it covers so many, such as literary fiction, historical, science fiction, fantasy, spiritual, thriller, and romance. It would seem that this story has as many different aspects to it, as the Black Butterfly has stories on its wings!

This isn’t a book for everyone. Some, I imagine, will be completely baffled by it, while others will soak up the pages with eagerness, as I did. You will question the way you treat the planet you inhabit, as well as the plants, animals and people you live alongside, and the impact that may have on your future. If you like a novel that challenges the way you think, has a philosophical, ethical and spiritual element to it, then this is definitely a book you do not want to miss!

I would like to thank the publisher, Troubador Publishing Ltd. for allowing me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book so much, I have bought a paperback copy for my own book collection.