I’ve had this book on my shelf for maybe ten years. I have to say, I found it chilling how Ovid spent so much of this story discussing the dangers of a biological system off-balance, of a climate that is changing, and of a new reality that we will all have to face in as little as ten years. And here we are, in 2023, with drought ridden summers, freak events of hurricanes and snow storms and wild fires stretching across the continent. It’s truly terrifying to witness this novel coming true before our very eyes.

That said - I still very much enjoyed the path of this story. The soul of the characters, and the small heartbreaks and hopes this flock of butterflies filled me with. 

I especially loved Dellarobia. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I think I may have rotted my brain with one-to-many romance novels lately, because I definitely was rooting for her and Ovid to fall impossibly in love and end up together, somehow. 

I think I like the story better this way, though. I feel saddened, and somehow, inspired. I really like how the ending isn’t necessarily happy… and how the happiest thing, for Dellarobia, is divorcing her husband and moving out. I loved the honest, bare conversation she has with Preston. Barbara Kingsolver really makes me root for the mothers in her stories, and Dellarobia is really easy to root for.

I loved this book, even though it was devastating to read.