The Sound of Butterflies
It is 1903. Thomas Edgar, a passionate collector of butterflies, is offered the chance of a lifetime: to travel to the Amazon as part of a scientific expedition. Hoping to find the mythical butterfly, he eagerly accepts the invitation. On his return, his wife, Sophie greets him a... read full description below.
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Full details for this title
| ISBN-13 |
9780330449168 |
| ISBN-10 |
0330449168 |
|
| Stock |
Out of stock |
| Status |
Out of print |
|
| Publisher |
Pan Macmillan |
| Imprint |
Picador |
| Publication Date |
16 March 2007
|
| Publication Country |
 United Kingdom |
|
| Format |
Hardback, New title |
| Edition |
New title |
|
| Author(s) |
By King, Rachael |
| Category |
Modern Fiction
|
|
| Interest Age |
All ages |
| Reading Age |
All ages |
| NBS Text |
General & Literary Fiction |
| ONIX Text |
General/trade |
|
| Number of Pages |
368 |
| Dimensions |
Width: 135mm
Height: 216mm
|
| Weight |
Not specified - defaults to 1,000g |
|
| Dewey Code |
823.92 |
| Catalogue Code |
Not specified |
Description of this Book
It is 1903. Thomas Edgar, a passionate collector of butterflies, is offered the chance of a lifetime: to travel to the Amazon as part of a scientific expedition. Hoping to find the mythical butterfly that will make his name and immortalise that of his wife, Sophie - for if he finds it, he will call it the Papilo Sophia - he eagerly accepts the invitation, and embarks on a journey that will take him to a whole new world. On his return, Sophie greets her husband at the railway station, and is appalled by the change in him: he is thin, obviously sick, and apparently so traumatised by what he witnessed while he was away, he has been rendered mute. As Thomas struggles to find the words to describe what he's seen, it's unclear whether or not Sophie - and their marriage - will be able to withstand what he has to tell her, for the story that unfolds, the story behind Thomas's silence, is one of great brutality. Like the butterflies Thomas is so obsessed by, the butterflies that he catches and kills, it's a story of men who have been dazzled by surface splendour and wealth, and consequently refuse to acknowledge its underlying cruelty. But when that cruelty ends in murder, the question for Thomas - and Sophie - is whether or not he should be the one to speak out. Written in rich, sensuous prose, and taking the reader from the demure gentility of Edwardian England to the decadence of Brazil's rubber boom, The Sound of Butterflies is a compelling and noteworthy debut.
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Awards & Reviews
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Author's Bio
Rachael King has worked in radio, television and magazines, and played bass guitar in several bands. The recipient of the 2005/6 Lilian Ida Smith Award, she now writes full time. She lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
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