The Sound of Butterflies by Rachael King

Description

Bibliographic Details

• Author: Rachael King
• Title: The Sound of Butterflies
• Publisher: ‎ William Morrow and Company; First U.S. Edition (September 18, 2007)
• Language: ‎ English
• Format: Hardcover w/Deckle Edge – 338 pages‏
• ISBN-10: ‎ 0061357642
• ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0061357640
• Item Weight: ‎ 1.25 pounds
• Dimensions: ‎ 6.5 x 1.3 x 9.75 inches
• Book Condition: Used – Very Good (may some minor discoloration on page edges)
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Edition: First U.S. Edition

Synopsis:

Sophie Edgar barely recognizes her husband, Thomas, an amateur naturalist, when he returns from the Amazon, where he had hoped to find his long-dreamed-of mythical butterfly, Papilio sophia. The optimistic young Edwardian gentleman is gone, replaced by a weak, nearly mute shadow of the man she married. Unable to break through his heartbreaking silence, Sophie must glean what she can from his diaries and boxes of exquisite butterflies in order to discover what happened to Thomas in the lush and perilous jungles of Brazil. In the process, she learns as much about herself and her marriage as she does about the secrets harbored by a haunted soul.

A magnificent debut, written in rich and sensuous prose, Rachael King's The Sound of Butterflies is an unforgettable journey from the demure gentility of turn-of-the-twentieth-century England into the heart of darkness.

About the Author:

Rachael King is a writer, reviewer, former literary festival director and ex-bass player from Aotearoa New Zealand. She is the author of two novels for children: Red Rocks (Random House), which won the Esther Glen Medal in 2013, and The Grimmelings, which is publishing in 2024 with Allen and Unwin (NZ and Australia) and Guppy Books (UK). Red Rocks is currently in development for television by Libertine Pictures (Mystic) and Sky TV.

Rachael gained a Masters in Creative Writing from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University in 2001. Her first novel for adults, The Sound of Butterflies, was published by in New Zealand by Random House, in the US by William Morrow, and in the UK by Picador; it was also translated into eight languages and won the award for best first novel at the 2007 Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Her second novel, Magpie Hall, was published in 2009 and was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Over the years, Rachael has played bass guitar in six bands, worked in bookshops, radio, television and magazines, and was the program director of the WORD Christchurch Festival for eight years until the end of 2021. The festival hosts hundreds of writers from around New Zealand and the world.

Rachael received a Waitangi Day Honour Award in 2020 from the New Zealand Society of Authors (formerly PEN) for her work at WORD bringing exiled Kurdish writer Behrouz Boochani to New Zealand. In 2023 she was named Best Reviewer at the Voyager New Zealand Media Awards. She lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch.