The sound of butterflies
By: Rachael King
Edition: 1st Harper Perennial ed.
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 2008
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 338
ISBN-13: 9780061357701
Subjects: Naturalists; Fiction; Butterflies; British; History; Psychological fiction
Description: 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.
Notes: Novel by a New Zealand author.

Originally published: Auckland, N.Z. : Random House, 2006.

Includes bibliographical references (page 26).

Montana New Zealand Book Awards, NZSA Hubert Church Best First Book Award for Fiction, 2007