Praise Song for the Butterflies

NCBC is a long time fan of author Bernice L. McFadden. Having read nine of her ten novels, several of her short stories, AND hosting her at a local club meeting, we chose her tenth novel, Praise Song for the Butterflies, as our October Book of the Month.

WHAT YOU MISSED

In the usual NCBC fashion, the club covered a plethora of topics that were gleaned from Praise Song for the Butterflies. Never at a loss of opinions, comments flowed freely from the following talking points and questions posed from the moderator:

• Trokosi: Ritual Servitude and what can be done to stop it

• The burdens, abuses, and sacrifices of girls/women worldwide

• Reflections on the African Diaspora and the effects of the slave trade

• Africans and African Americans: Dysfunctions of oppressed people

• Modernity and Progressiveness vs Tradition and Cultural Belief

• The views of how girls/women are perceived, valued, and revered in society; how to change some negative perceptions

• Mothers vs Wives: Co-existence in the same household. A husband/son's obligations to wife vs mother

• Role of wife in a marriage (Christian views vs Trokosi views as Wife of Gods)

• Complicity of women toward their own demise

• Role/Impact of religion towards women's rights in some societies

• Members also discussed and shared their thoughts regarding the power and necessity of forgiving/forgiveness and its factor in healing

• The title and significance of the title of the book and the reference and role of butterflies in the story.

Of course we covered character analysis, the story/plot, what worked and didn't work for us (in terms of plot twists and transitional devices), pacing/flow, the sense of place/setting, and other aspects of the book. All agreed the Elmira Castle passages and the child abuse scenes pulled at the heart and it was an emotional reading experience that covered the gamut from disgust, anger, sadness, and joy.

A few members experiencing McFadden for the first time enjoyed the experience so much they plan to explore her other works in the near future.

Thanks to everyone for taking time out of their Saturday afternoon to share their thoughts and hangout.

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CONGRATULATIONS

Natalie was the winner of a Mariposa Butterfly candle inspired by the book's title and cover

Let us all light a candle and bring awareness

for those trapped in the

Immoral and illegal Trokosi system

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OUR FINAL THOUGHTS AND RATINGS

Group Average: 3.9

Adrian – 4: Very descriptive; addressed a difficult topic with thoughtfulness and care. Enjoyed the story; writing was strong (childhood passages); good job with imagery.

Channel - 4: First time reading McFadden; the story broke her heart. It was a page-turner for her. Made her aware of trokosi - and she felt many emotions while reading - she was angry, sad, heart-broken. Made her think of the global, worldwide problem of women/girls experiencing similar abuses.

Hailey (Channel's Guest): Did Not Read. Channel informed her of the meeting the night before. J After listening to the discussion, she would consider reading the book. Appreciated the cultural awareness of the novel.

Davita - 4: A long time reader of McFadden's work, she found this novel typical of the author's writing: strong characterization and solid plot. Appreciated the author packing in a lot in such a small package. One take-away/negative was the abrupt ending. Felt all women need to be aware of this practice.

Ebony - 3.5: First time attending NCBC. She enjoyed the book because she learned something new; however the ending could have been better and would have like the author to provide some answers/suggestions as to how to overcome the trauma exposed in the book.

Shun – 4: She found the story to be very informative and like reading about a new culture. A huge takeaway was the detrimental affect the mother-in-law had on the family and didn't understand why she had to move in and stay with them for so long. Some other members explained this is a cultural tradition - just the way it is in a lot of communities.

Maggie - Did not read: Appreciated the level of research the author obviously conducted to pull together such an impactful story.

Natalie – 4: Enjoyed; first time reading McFadden and found it to be a page-turner. Found the backstories of all the characters to be very interesting.

Nikki – 4: Enjoyed the book; it yielded some strong emotions and proved to be very thought provoking.

Phyllis - 3.5:

Appreciated:

• The focus on trokosi as an ancient custom steeped in child abuse and suppression of human rights in modern times and didn't shy away from the sexual exploitation, mental, emotional, and physical abuse, and complicity of women in this practice, etc.

• Ties to America via Serafine's story (poor diet and habits (smoking, drinking, failed relationships), dysfunctional relationship with Africa(n) daughter.

• The writing twists (Elmina Castle blurb, American enslaved in present-day Africa, the "stolen/returned" ring to Serafine)

Didn't Appreciate

• Rushed Ending with Too Many Coincidences – Wizard of Oz; meeting Chipo on train/bus; his wife having a sister who was trokosi, needed to emphasize professional therapy (but understandable)

Richelle – 4: Thought it was easy to read; a very tragic story. Learned a lot.

Yolanda – 4: Liked the tie-in to current events that are in the news today (sex trafficking); like the inclusion of everyone's motives and why they were complicit. Though the ending was abrupt, and compacted some topics too much - it would have been nice to expand on some topics.

Juliet - 3.5: Enjoyed the story, but was not shocked by anything presented and in that regard, she found it sort of predictable. Felt there was a universal theme present as women experiences abuses everywhere.

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