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| Plot Summary of The Butterfly House |
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"
Mira, Jan 2005, 19.95, 288 pp.
ISBN: 0778321355
In 1990, a man claiming to be Harley Jaines visits Roberta “Bobbie” Lee with a request. Bobbie insists that the real Harley died in the 1960s in Nam, but the visitor remains insistent as to who he is. Harley wants Bobbie to testify at the parole hearing that his wife Leonora, incarcerated for killing Bobbie's drunk mom Ruth in 1971 in Shady River, Oregon, is about to face. He also asks if she can arrange for him to meet his daughter Cynthia, her best friend as children when Bobbie would flee her intoxicated mom to spend time at the Jaines' Rockhaven home.
Bobbie considers both requests, but feels uncomfortable with fulfilling either of them. She has doubts about testifying on behalf of Leonora who was blamed for the fire that razed Rockhaven, killed Ruth, and destroyed the butterfly collection that fascinated Bobbie as a child. She feels strange telling Cindy she met her father long thought dead and that her dad wants to meet his daughter twenty years too late. Worse Bobbie knows the truth of what happened on that fatal day that destroyed two families. Having spent time at a mental institution she fears revealing what she knows.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Butterfly House |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- search for family/history
Crime & Police story
Yes
Story of
- arsonist
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 40's-50's
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
Setting
United States
Yes
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
- a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Marcia Preston Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Harriet Klausner
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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