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Butterfly: A Daring Novel of Erotic Obsession
An inventive, erotic retelling of the tragic and passionate story of Madame Butterfly-as daring, creative and sexy as Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty tales, this is the timeless beauty of legend, and here, the fictionalized account of one man's passion, anguish, and tremendous erotic drive.
288 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1988
About the author
Paul Loewen
7 booksPaul Loewen lives with his wife in Paris. BUTTERFLY is his first novel, a "brilliant meditation on obsession and desire, a tour de force of erotic storytelling and literary invention" drawn from the life of Pinkerton in the renowned Puccini opera, Madama Butterfly.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 13, 2026
What a delicious conceit! Puccini's famed opera, "Madame Butterfly" is based on a true story, discovered by Madame Butterfly's grandson whose mother revealed HER mother was Butterfly. Puccini's Suzuki is actually Itako, who married an American, Pinkerton, was abandoned by him, bore a child and committed seppuko, ritual suicide by disemboweling herself.
Only it's not a true story. But what a remarkable work of fiction it is.
The son finds a treasure trove of manuscripts, weaves them into a tale that reveals the strange legacy of his parents. It's a story of love mixed with sadomasochistic adoration. It speaks of Itako's pure love for the weak man called Pinkerton whpo marries her, only to return to thge U.S. from Japan where he finds himself the totally committed, contracted slave of Kate, the woman he spurned in order to return to Japan and marry Itako, only to leave Itako with children to become Kate's unconditional submissive for years. That Kate is a dominatrix is one of the surprises of this book (spoiler).
While it flirts close to the edge of BDSM porn, it never quite crosses the line. There are few if any outright scenes of SM play/torture. What it does, however, to touch the feelings of what a full-blown S/M relationship is like. You feel Henry Pinkerton's helplessness as he finds out who his spurned fiance, Kate, really is, and is swept into an unconditional relationship for her to use in whatever fashion she pleases. We can only guess at his total degradation before her, but we clearly see the control he gives her over him.
By contrast, we wee what he lefy behind in Ikato, a different reverental form of submissiveness given from her wise heart, not the hate of Kate. Her suicide is less clear, but given the purity of her character, it's understandable.
There are other characters in the book: Kate's woman slave, Pinkerton's banking friend who writes letters of love to Ikato purportedly from Pinkerton. Again, these are more aspects of love in a sensual, erotic setting where cruelty, abandonment, weakness, cowardice and bravery all find themselves at odds and yet in symmetry.
No matter what the subject matter--this book is not for the faint-hearted or those who recoil from literatature about sexual domination and submission -- it ultimately is an examination of loving soneone perhaps too much. Which relationship we're addressing is up to the reader to decide. There's a variety to choose from.
Is it worth reading? If your curiosity or interests are open to this area of erotica, read it by all means. If you read love stories, and can allow yourself to open your eyes to a different view of what love is , it's well worth your time.
If it's not your cup of tea, it's not your cup of tea.
Only it's not a true story. But what a remarkable work of fiction it is.
The son finds a treasure trove of manuscripts, weaves them into a tale that reveals the strange legacy of his parents. It's a story of love mixed with sadomasochistic adoration. It speaks of Itako's pure love for the weak man called Pinkerton whpo marries her, only to return to thge U.S. from Japan where he finds himself the totally committed, contracted slave of Kate, the woman he spurned in order to return to Japan and marry Itako, only to leave Itako with children to become Kate's unconditional submissive for years. That Kate is a dominatrix is one of the surprises of this book (spoiler).
While it flirts close to the edge of BDSM porn, it never quite crosses the line. There are few if any outright scenes of SM play/torture. What it does, however, to touch the feelings of what a full-blown S/M relationship is like. You feel Henry Pinkerton's helplessness as he finds out who his spurned fiance, Kate, really is, and is swept into an unconditional relationship for her to use in whatever fashion she pleases. We can only guess at his total degradation before her, but we clearly see the control he gives her over him.
By contrast, we wee what he lefy behind in Ikato, a different reverental form of submissiveness given from her wise heart, not the hate of Kate. Her suicide is less clear, but given the purity of her character, it's understandable.
There are other characters in the book: Kate's woman slave, Pinkerton's banking friend who writes letters of love to Ikato purportedly from Pinkerton. Again, these are more aspects of love in a sensual, erotic setting where cruelty, abandonment, weakness, cowardice and bravery all find themselves at odds and yet in symmetry.
No matter what the subject matter--this book is not for the faint-hearted or those who recoil from literatature about sexual domination and submission -- it ultimately is an examination of loving soneone perhaps too much. Which relationship we're addressing is up to the reader to decide. There's a variety to choose from.
Is it worth reading? If your curiosity or interests are open to this area of erotica, read it by all means. If you read love stories, and can allow yourself to open your eyes to a different view of what love is , it's well worth your time.
If it's not your cup of tea, it's not your cup of tea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2026
Coming...
November 5, 2023
1.5 stars
This book was not my cup of tea in the least. From the back cover: " .... the author of Butterfly weaves a tale of domination and enslavement, obsession and betrayal." Copyright 1988, today's book banners would have a field day with this one. The male protagonist is forced to wear a male version of a chastity belt and the woman who has enslaved him has sex with her maid in his presence. He never does consumate his relationship with not well like female character (at least by me.) The storyline is touted to be the back story of the famous Puccini opera "Madame Butterfly."
I don't remember how I came to have a copy of this sitting on my shelf, but it did fill the prompt "Script font on the spine." Glad I'm done with promps in 2023. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I can at least say it's not the WORST book I've ever read.
The 52 Book Club Challenge - 2023
Prompt #46 - Script font on the spine
This book was not my cup of tea in the least. From the back cover: " .... the author of Butterfly weaves a tale of domination and enslavement, obsession and betrayal." Copyright 1988, today's book banners would have a field day with this one. The male protagonist is forced to wear a male version of a chastity belt and the woman who has enslaved him has sex with her maid in his presence. He never does consumate his relationship with not well like female character (at least by me.) The storyline is touted to be the back story of the famous Puccini opera "Madame Butterfly."
I don't remember how I came to have a copy of this sitting on my shelf, but it did fill the prompt "Script font on the spine." Glad I'm done with promps in 2023. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I can at least say it's not the WORST book I've ever read.
The 52 Book Club Challenge - 2023
Prompt #46 - Script font on the spine
September 14, 2014
This is the true account of Madam Butterfly and Henry Pinkerton as told from his manuscripts. After his death, his grandson obtained these manuscripts, letters, diary entries and interviews to give us this so interesting account of history.
I've heard of the play and the opera of Madam Butterfly but they didn't come close to telling the story.
This was very interesting!
I've heard of the play and the opera of Madam Butterfly but they didn't come close to telling the story.
This was very interesting!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews