I was browsing the nonfiction section or my local library looking for my next “teach me something” read when I stumbled across this one. The cover wasI was browsing the nonfiction section or my local library looking for my next “teach me something” read when I stumbled across this one. The cover was beautiful and the synopsis sucked me in. Studying butterflies in the rainforest? Yes please. So, it came with me along with a bunch of other books I knew I didn’t have time to actually read, but what else is the library for other than a false sense of hope that, yea, I can totally finish all these before they’re due back. But, I did finish this one and am so glad that it found it’s way to me. I loved this book. The story was compelling, the characters (real people) were likable, relatable, and the way the author wrote them I felt that perhaps maybe I knew them too.
The events in this book take place leading up to and right at the start of the COVID pandemic. Now, before you disregard this book because you’re sick of reading about the pandemic we’re all not quite over, or through, or have yet to come to terms with in one way or the other, just know that this book is not a pandemic-centric story and is about much bigger and more important things. One thing, specifically. Butterflies. Still, there is more history to be discovered along the way. Marcum is a journalist that, at first, was only looking for a vacation, but instead found herself immersed in the culture of a forest in the mountains of Belize. She quickly found herself with a story she had to tell, called her boss, and settled in for the long haul. Next thing she knew she was moving into a bungalow and making friends with the management of a butterfly farm out to save the lives of a vulnerable species.
Even though this is nonfiction, the story is so interesting that I couldn’t stop thinking about this book when I wasn’t at home reading it. Marcum really knows how to craft a story to get her audience interested. Although there are bits of real life drama sprinkled in here and there, it’s relatable and the reader can easily see themselves, if not in Marcum’s shoes, at least along side her as she embarks on her adventures of knowledge to understand better the workings of the rainforest and how the butterflies fit into our ecosystem.
Although the ending is not altogether satisfying or wrapped up in a we’re-all-happy-and-things-worked-out way, it’s more than that. It’s real, and it lets the reader know that there is still work to be done, but that there are people out there doing it, putting in the time and the effort to give butterflies a safe home where they can flourish and fight against being labeled as endangered. It’s about more even than that, though. It’s about protecting an ecosystem and all the inhabitants that call it home. I don’t want to spoil anything, as there are quite a few things that happen at the end, traumatic and mundane, but I want to give you the chance to read them for yourself.
Marcum writes a novel that we can relate to, even if we are not fully committed to the same cause. Still, her work is oozing with charming storytelling that gets the reader so excited they might forget that they are reading nonfiction instead of magical realism. Marcum does justice to the Central American forests and weaves a story so full of beauty in the every day that you will almost be able to smell the humid air outside, listen to the sounds of the birds chirping, or even hear the flap of butterfly wings.
I find I’ve gotten a little carried away with this review and am not sure where entirely I lost sense and exchanged it for magic, but that’s what this book did to me. Although this is still nonfiction, and it truly does feel that way sometimes, the overall atmosphere of this book makes it great for nonfiction and fiction readers alike. If you’re looking for a story that will transport you to a different place all while teaching you something important alongside experiencing true human emotions, this is the next book you should pick up. Or, at least add it to your Nonfiction November TBR. Even if you already know a great deal about butterflies, many can still find Marcum’s story encouraging while lyrically offering a story that needed to be told, so it’s not just for beginners but for any butterfly enthusiasts alike. This book absolutely deserves a spot on your 2024 TBR pile.
Loading...
