The Voice of the Butterfly

by John Nichols

Now in paperback, John Nichols's fresh, hilarious, and touching novel brings his vintage wit to the absurdities of modern life. When Suicide City's new highway bypass threatens the home of an exquisitely obscure butterfly, aging '60s radical and continuing proponent of losing battles Charley McFarland rallies an off-the-rails band of misfits to help fight the powers that be. A dazzling dark comedy of ideals and unlikely heroes, his latest novel will delight fans of his Milagro Beanfield War and of Nichols's unique "Raise the toughest questions you can think of, but keep the readers laughing" (Denver Post).

Genres: Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

John Nichols is the author of the New Mexico trilogy, a series about the complex relationship between history, race and ethnicity, and land and water rights in the fictional Chamisaville County, New Mexico. The trilogy consists of The Milagro Beanfield War (which was adapted into the film The Milagro Beanfield War directed by Robert Redford), The Magic Journey, and The Nirvana Blues.

Two of his other novels have been made into films. The Wizard of Loneliness was published in 1966 and the film version with Lukas Haas was made in 1988. Another successful movie adaptation was of The Sterile Cuckoo, which was published in 1965 and was filmed by Alan J. Pakula in 1969.

Nichols has also written non-fiction, including the trilogy If Mountains Die, The Last Beautiful Days of Autumn and On the Mesa. John Nichols has lived in Taos, New Mexico for many years.

Reviews

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Voice of the Butterfly shows that Nichols has not lost his taste for satire nor his anger at the continuing destruction of the Earth. While the New Mexico trilogy had flights of craziness, Butterfly finds Nichols in full-on Tom Robbins mode, spewing forth sentences of breathtaking insanity and wordplay. You have to have a love of over-the-top writing to fully appreciate this novel, but if you are thus equipped, you are in for one hell of a treat. A bizarre, hilarious, profane, and tremendously entertaining rant, The Voice of the Butterfly is a raging voice in the wilderness, crying out for common sense and decency over money interests and rampant consumerism."

Read the full review here.

[Georgia Oldham · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Voice of the Butterfly was certainly a unique read, but definitely not my favorite... actually I didn't like it at ALL. Although the plot had potential to be really inspiring, the book was so over the top and crazy, that I felt like the importance of the serious themes were lost. The book's potential brilliance was lost in its wacky and overwhelming characters and writing style. Maybe for some people this would be a better book, but for me... bluck. Not my cup of tea at all.

[Hailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally, not my cup of tea. I picked up this book while in Memphis as I need something to read on the plane trip back home. I had about five hours, so I forced myself to read this book. At first, I was considering a 2 star, but I continued to read cause I had nothing else to do for the next two hours. The ending bits of the book raised the stars up to a three. It truly caught my attention. I was quite interested as I finished the last fifty pages, leaving me to land in my hometown as I read the last line.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

i went to half price books one day and was just looking at the book spines to see what spoke to me, and this book did. i loved this book so much, i learned a lot of words that make me feel more like the sarcastic smart bitch i am

[Matt Heavner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hunter S. Thompson saves Taos and a butterfly. Hilarious, fast paced, and definitely Taos -- but why is the radio station a W and not a K? Really fast paced, bombastic, and insane - and really important.

[Emilie Apple · Rating 2 out of 5]

The lead character is interesting and I feel rooted in some reality. I admire people who have a desire to do the door to door push for causes and accept their circle of family for who they are. A little zany and over the top in the stories

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like wandering through a Ralph Steadman illustration. Was happy to finally finish it. Too bizarre for me. Maybe if I had cared for any of his characters I might have felt differently. I think the man had one too many peyote buttons.

[Bennett Beisbier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another random library find. I was pleasantly surprised with how engaged this book kept me, it’s incredibly unique and increasingly relevant.

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have often made the pilgrimage to the town that inspired The Milagro Beanfield War. The town and the book are two of my favorites. How could you not like a general store that sells statues of a hog (ya hafta read the book)? But of all the John Nichols books, The Voice of the Butterfly is my favorite. Perhaps I will someday be an aging ‘60’s radical trying to save a miniscule square of land containing a rare butterfly. If so, I hope I run into as many eccentric characters as populates this novel. It is not socially relevant, but it sure is funny as hell. Nichols talent for combining divergent and often contradictory ideas in the same sentence makes for a wild ride. Now on my third reading, this is the book I turn too when I need to confirm the absurdity of life. And also . . . how funny it all is. Try a bit if this:
“Our beloved transvestite stockbroker and owner of WPNX, Tristan Griffith, was wearing a Dolly wig, a double string of pearls, a silk flapper dress, and blue and white pumps while hosing down his enormous sheepdog, Beowulf, with a canister of Canine Flea Demise attached to the nozzle of an ordinary garden hose. Welder’s goggles protected Beowulf’s eyes. In the background, Tristan’s elegant modern ranch swelling simmered confidently in the shadow of large yet carefully pruned peachleaf willows, aspens, and silvertip poplar trees, some of whose yellow October leaves were sprinkled across the rich green lawn with celestial equanimity.”
Now come on—you gotta admit ‘celestial equanimity’ is a great way to describe the leaves in the yard! There is a blurb on the back of the trade paperback that says ‘Nichols is the Fellini of prose.’ That nails it precisely. Rarely do you get to read words in such a convoluted manner and come away with a huge smile on your face.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Milagro Beanfield War - which is why I happened to pick up this more recent John Nichols' novel (copyright 2001) when I saw it at the bookstore.

I'm not certain if you can truly appreciate Nichols unless you been through New Mexico. It is a unique State with a character all its own that has inspired many artists over time. I believe Nichols' writing accurately captures all that is New Mexico, its history, its people, its beauty and passion, not to mention its craziness.

The Voice of the Butterfly is a pretty crazy ride. It's a one man diatribe against the world, at least the modernized, capitalist world, that is. The protagonist, Charley McFarland, is accurate described as an "aging '60s radical and continuing proponent of losing battles." The novel is written from his perspective in a very stream-of-consciousness, journal fashion, complete with many of his crazy, psychedelic visions.

The book is graphic and vulgar at times but it serves to reflect Charley's character. Charley is a crazy, desperate voice of reality (his reality) in a self-centered, self-diluted generation of granola environmentalists and capitalists.

The book is driven by John Nichols classic theme of true environmentalism and socialism. It's a reminder of when "radical thinking" was truly radical.

A fun and crazy ride; thought provoking like a slap in the face with a wet fish, if that makes sense. Regardless of your personal politics this book is worth a read.

"If you kill a single person, or an animal, or a butterfly, you destroy an entire universe." - John Nichols

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, irreverent and pertinent social and political satire. Big business and greed pitted against activism and idealism. Charley Macfarland, ageing 60s radical with a history of advocating lost causes, and his Butterfly Coalition seek to topple Proposition X in a Suicide City local eletion. Proposition X is all about a few rich greedy people getting wealthier by means of a new highway by-pass which would destroy the mating ground of the Phistic Copper, a rare and (perhaps) endangered species of butterfly.

Profanity alert: this title is definitely not for readers who like a gentle read: language is definitely colourful, irreverent and adult. Admirers of our own local Tom Robbins will probably really enjoy this playful modern morality tale.

[James Heald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, but if you aren't a big Nichols fan, a staunch environmentalist, or a leftist political junkie you probably won't get past the first chapter. The book has it's charm and lots of humor, but the characters are all more caricatures of people than fully rounded or even reasonably rounded characters. They are generally either good hearted, but bumbling folks or slimy evil developers, or clueless, self absorbed yuppies. In tone and subject matter, the book is most closely related to his book The Nirvana Blues.

The climax of the story is particularly outrageous and over the top unbelievable, though the epilogue hints at what might have been with another draft and a toning down of some of the madness.

[Julie Klett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blech. I really did not like this book. Unlikeable, unrealistic characters (even all their names were absurd, but not in a funny or entertaining way), and his descriptions of women were always derogatory (to be fair, the men were pretty awful too, but he described the female characters in particularly sexist ways -- they are mammary glands, man, get over it). The story seemed to go on forever without any purpose. I did not find it funny at all -- just not my style. I did not even finish it, and that's a rarity for me. Not my cuppa.

[Ruth Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked John Nichols' New Mexico Trilogy immensely. Although this novel is somewhat different, it contains the same energy and ideals. The plot involves a conflict between highway builders and butterfly habitat protectors. Nichols' writing is totally zany, but that just supports the craziness of mainstream American culture. I really liked the last chapter, where some profound and hopeful connections occur.

[Jonathan Geurts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was first introduced to John Nichols through what became his classic work, The Milagro Beanfield War. In the Voice, Nichols again captures a distinctly local voice but here protagonizes the most profane characters imaginable. I could not imagine myself venerating anyone in this book, especially not those who most match my own description. Then, surprisingly, I did. It is, simply, satire--scathing, dirty, noble satire.

[Paul Strohm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the "Milagro Beanfield War" and in fact, the entire trilogy, but I felt "The Voice of the Butterfly" was lazy.

The beauty of "The Milagro Beanfield War" was that the reader could relate to the characters -- what they faced and did -- as funny and unique as they were.

Don't get me wrong. I still think Mr. Nichols is worth a read, always.

But, satire can be taken too far, and I believe this is a prime example.

He's better than this. We've seen it!

[Lianna]

zany

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

nichols is always fairly intense, enthusiastic and sometimes too descriptive. lessons to be learned, lessons to run away from screaming

[Mercurymouth · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Nichols is entertaining...like TC Boyle.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertainingly hilarious to read, but incredibly offensive in his descriptions of women, so it cancelled out all the good stuff he was supposedly preaching.

[Adam Caus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely loved the book - the author's style is great and it was fantastic and unique story to say the least. I am looking forward to reading more by John Nichols!

[David Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, flip, short, outrageous. Nichols seems to ripen in his later years and is a bit more tart AND sweet

[Tamara Peffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting take on environmental action and issues