Der Schmetterlingsmonat

by Ariëlla Kornmehl, Marianne Holberg (Translator)

Gleich nachdem sie ihr Medizinstudium beendet hat, bricht Joni in ein neues Leben auf. Sie zieht aus den Niederlanden nach Südafrika, um als Ärztin zu arbeiten und die Auseinandersetzungen mit ihrem Freund und ihren Eltern für immer hinter sich zu lassen. In Zanele, einer Zulu, findet sie eine Freundin, die sie eine Welt von geheimnisvoller Schönheit und archaischer Grausamkeit entdecken lässt. Bald begreift Joni, dass sie ihr altes Leben nicht einfach abstreifen kann. Da widerfährt Zanele ein schreckliches Unglück.

Genres: Dutch Literature, Fiction

204 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

1975 Geboren in Amsterdam
1994-1999 Studie filosofie aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam
1998-2000 Verblijf in Johannesburg 2001 Debuut Huize Goldwasser bij uitgever Vassallucci
2005 De vlindermaand bij uitgeverij Cossee. De vlindermaand is inmiddels aangekocht door: Actes Sud (France), Bloomsbury Berlin (Germany) , Scribe (Australia), Zero91 (Italy), Sifriat Poalim (Israel) en Altin Bilek (Turkey).
2006 De Familie Goldwasser bij Uitgeverij Cossee (luisterboek).
2007 De Familie Goldwasser bij Uitgeverij Cossee (roman).

Reviews

[Ilze · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initially this book comes across as starting all over the place. It takes quite a while for the reader to realize that Joni is a doctor who works at a hospital/emergency unit of sorts. She's Dutch and is running away from her past ... to help her realize this, Zanele comes to work for her and together with Zanele's children, Shanla and Mbufu, the reader is able to piece together what had happened to Joni. It's the kind of trauma I'm not really able to identify with and so I also couldn't really understand why Joni felt she sometimes needed sex even if she didn't really know (e.g.) Mike. It's quite clear that Joni also feels attracted to Mbufu - and wouldn't that just be a complete betrayal of his mother's friendship if she and Mbufu were to end up in bed!

Joni has a fair understanding of the South African situation, though I find the undercurrent of apartheid distasteful, in addition to some of Joni's misconceptions of what is going on in Africa. I've personally seen how certain Europeans still feel they can just walk into South Africa and apply their understanding of the world to us rather than to learn about it, before trying to change it. It doesn't work that way: Just as Joni illustrates when she tries to explain WWII to Shanla and Zanele. Years of war and the incredible number of deaths in Europe is not comparable to the things that were going on in the townships at one stage. The climax is devastating, to say the least! The aftermath even worse, because it's obvious that Joni cannot or would not have survived without Zanele. It is impossible for her to return to the Netherlands and no matter how honourable her work (as a doctor) might be, she would have to admit that a part of what she did was as insensitive as she was implying her own mother was to her. What she gave to Shanla and Zanele cannot compare to what these two were giving her: They were sharing what life is to them with her. She wasn't really able to accept it at that level because she was reliving her past and the pain of that past without sharing the essence of her existence with them (which is what they were sharing with her).

It's a horrible story with a horrible ending. Africa might well drain you, but you (esp. as a doctor!) should know that that will happen to anyone, in any country, who doesn't take the time to care for themselves too.

PS I read the English version of the book ... the translator has as yet not quite understood where an apostrophe is supposed to be used.

[Diane Chehab · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I wanted to give this book 5 stars, for its first-person depiction of post-Apartheid South Africa. Then 4, because the protagonist never explains what DES is and why her mother may have taken it. She doesn’t even say the name until late in the book.
Then I wanted to go all the way to 1, because the ending made no sense.
Whoever hasn’t read DES Daughter - the Joyce Bichler Story, and/or isn’t a DES daughter herself can’t understand this part of the story. Young people especially have probably never heard of it.
The ending is tragic - that’s permitted - but the main character just makes no sense.
I enjoyed reading about South Africa, painful as it is. I recognized some of the attitudes, and discovered other aspects of the society - or should we say societies.
It would have also been useful to know in which year the story takes place.
PS I hadn’t realized that the book was not originally written in English. However, it changes nothing.

[saumya · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a great read.

[Sophiene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read! I loved the flow of the story.