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The Butterfly State
Wrong place, wrong time or could a ten year girl be guilty of murder? The Butterfly State is the story of a Co. Wicklow family whose lives are forever altered when their violent, alcoholic father is murdered by the lakeshore near their home. Tess his eleven year old autistic daughter is charged with the murder, having been found standing over the body with the murder weapon in her hand. Tess is sent to an institution for ten years and her sibling s lives are equally ruined. Her sister s engagement is off. Her older brother sinks into alcoholism while her younger, more severely autistic brother is left in the reluctant care of the two older siblings. Tess s return home opens old wounds and brings about a chain of events that reveals what really happened at the lake. Tess s return culminates in salvation for her sister while her brother spirals further into self destruction, believing that she is secretly planning his downfall.
338 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 26, 2025
Angela's Ashes mixed with a who'dunnit.
March 31, 2013
The Butterfly State (Das Mädchen mit den Schmetterlingen) ist eine irische Familientragödie. Die elfjährige autistische Tess wurde des Mordes an ihrem Vater für schuldig befunden und verbrachte zehn Jahre in einer Anstalt. Trotzdem es einen Mord gibt und am Ende dessen Aufklärung steht, ist dieses Buch kaum ein Krimi. Wer sich gern als Armchair Detective betätigt, wird enttäuscht sein.
Der Roman spielt sich auf drei zeitlichen Ebenen ab, die alternierend erzählt werden. 1981 als Tess nach Árd Glen im County Wicklow zurückkehrt. 1971 bis Ende der siebziger Jahre, die Zeit nach dem Mord vor allem aus Sicht ihrer älteren Geschwister, deren Leben dadurch einen anderen Verlauf nimmt. 1948 bis Ende der sechziger Jahre, die Ehe der Eltern, die die Saat für die künftigen Ereignisse legt. Ich mag diese Art der Erzählung sehr.
Die Geschwister Byrne sind neben Tess der älteste Bruder Sean, der wie sein Vater dem Alkohol verfallen ist. Die ältere Schwester Kate, die alles zusammenhält und dabei ihr eigenes Glück aufs Spiel setzt. Und der jüngere Bruder Ben, dessen Autismus stärker als Tess' ausgeprägt ist. Keiner von ihnen fragt sich oder traut sich zu fragen, ob ein kleines Mädchen wirklich einen Mord begehen kann und wenn nicht, wer dann. Ein Reporter hat bei dieser Geschichte Blut geleckt und forscht nach. Die Figur des Reporters ist unnötig, weil er keine Erkenntnisse zu Tage fördert, die nicht auch schon aus anderen Teilen der Romans bekannt geworden sind.
Am Ende wird der Mörder entlarvt, doch das wirkt so, als hätte sich die Autorin irgendwann besonnen, dass dieser Mord auch noch ein Teil der Geschichte und deren Aufhänger war. Der Epilog sieht auch sehr zusammengeschustert aus, um alles sauber ablegen zu können. Als Kriminalroman wenig überzeugend, als irische Familiengeschichte dafür umso mehr.
Der Roman spielt sich auf drei zeitlichen Ebenen ab, die alternierend erzählt werden. 1981 als Tess nach Árd Glen im County Wicklow zurückkehrt. 1971 bis Ende der siebziger Jahre, die Zeit nach dem Mord vor allem aus Sicht ihrer älteren Geschwister, deren Leben dadurch einen anderen Verlauf nimmt. 1948 bis Ende der sechziger Jahre, die Ehe der Eltern, die die Saat für die künftigen Ereignisse legt. Ich mag diese Art der Erzählung sehr.
Die Geschwister Byrne sind neben Tess der älteste Bruder Sean, der wie sein Vater dem Alkohol verfallen ist. Die ältere Schwester Kate, die alles zusammenhält und dabei ihr eigenes Glück aufs Spiel setzt. Und der jüngere Bruder Ben, dessen Autismus stärker als Tess' ausgeprägt ist. Keiner von ihnen fragt sich oder traut sich zu fragen, ob ein kleines Mädchen wirklich einen Mord begehen kann und wenn nicht, wer dann. Ein Reporter hat bei dieser Geschichte Blut geleckt und forscht nach. Die Figur des Reporters ist unnötig, weil er keine Erkenntnisse zu Tage fördert, die nicht auch schon aus anderen Teilen der Romans bekannt geworden sind.
Am Ende wird der Mörder entlarvt, doch das wirkt so, als hätte sich die Autorin irgendwann besonnen, dass dieser Mord auch noch ein Teil der Geschichte und deren Aufhänger war. Der Epilog sieht auch sehr zusammengeschustert aus, um alles sauber ablegen zu können. Als Kriminalroman wenig überzeugend, als irische Familiengeschichte dafür umso mehr.
May 12, 2009
Book Review of the Butterfly State by Annette Dunlea
The Butterfly State by Carol Coffey is published in 2009 by Poolbeg. Its ISBN is 9781842233979 and it is a brilliant debut novel. This book is a tale of a toxic husband and an unhappy marriage. It records the hardship of running a small farm in rural Ireland, made worst by having two special needs children. Tess is austic and Ben her brother is very austic trapped in their own worlds with little communication. The suffering of the family is heart wrenching and then the mother dies and Kate is left to run the farm and rear the kids. Sean her older brother initially helps with the farm. The father remains obnoxious and drinks heavily until one night he is beaten to death by a rock. Tess is found standing over the body with the rock in her hand. She is austic with little communication and in shock. She refuses to speak about the death. She is ultimately blamed her murdering the drunkard father and spared a prison sentence and sent to a hospital for mentally ill children. She is abandoned by all her family in a new environment. She remains there until she is 21 and then is returned home. Sean her brother roars at her and refuses to speak to her fuelled by hatred as she owns the farm, willed to her by her dad. Kate adores her and Ben and the burden of rearing them and running the farm is all hers. Sean becomes a heavy drinker and becomes the nasty drunk his father was. A local reporter decides to write an article on the father murderer returning to Wicklow and so the truth about the murder is revealed.
The Butterfly State by Carol Coffey is published in 2009 by Poolbeg. Its ISBN is 9781842233979 and it is a brilliant debut novel. This book is a tale of a toxic husband and an unhappy marriage. It records the hardship of running a small farm in rural Ireland, made worst by having two special needs children. Tess is austic and Ben her brother is very austic trapped in their own worlds with little communication. The suffering of the family is heart wrenching and then the mother dies and Kate is left to run the farm and rear the kids. Sean her older brother initially helps with the farm. The father remains obnoxious and drinks heavily until one night he is beaten to death by a rock. Tess is found standing over the body with the rock in her hand. She is austic with little communication and in shock. She refuses to speak about the death. She is ultimately blamed her murdering the drunkard father and spared a prison sentence and sent to a hospital for mentally ill children. She is abandoned by all her family in a new environment. She remains there until she is 21 and then is returned home. Sean her brother roars at her and refuses to speak to her fuelled by hatred as she owns the farm, willed to her by her dad. Kate adores her and Ben and the burden of rearing them and running the farm is all hers. Sean becomes a heavy drinker and becomes the nasty drunk his father was. A local reporter decides to write an article on the father murderer returning to Wicklow and so the truth about the murder is revealed.
May 24, 2011
On the good side this was easy to read and I finished it over two days. Also, I did not guess who did it.
The story centres on Tess who was blamed for murdering her Father Michael Byrne. She was sent to an institution for 10 years. Because she lives with Autism, we are not sure if she committed the crime. The story is set in "rural Wicklow" Ireland. (Incidentally in reality all of Wicklow is beautiful)
Early in the story, Tess is released from the institution into the care of her Sister Kate and Brother Sean even though she has not received a visit from either all the time she has been away. Her return to Wicklow opens up old wounds for many. Gradually we hear the history of the Family. We discover lots of people might like to have killed Michael Byrne and we eventually learn the circumstances of his death. More tragedy follows and we are left with what might be a new beginning.
The story was depressing as indeed were many of the characters. The book was a mix of a who dunnit and a Mills & Boon tale, but it was never light. I cannot believe there was not one witty Wicklow character to add a bit of light relief to this book.
The story centres on Tess who was blamed for murdering her Father Michael Byrne. She was sent to an institution for 10 years. Because she lives with Autism, we are not sure if she committed the crime. The story is set in "rural Wicklow" Ireland. (Incidentally in reality all of Wicklow is beautiful)
Early in the story, Tess is released from the institution into the care of her Sister Kate and Brother Sean even though she has not received a visit from either all the time she has been away. Her return to Wicklow opens up old wounds for many. Gradually we hear the history of the Family. We discover lots of people might like to have killed Michael Byrne and we eventually learn the circumstances of his death. More tragedy follows and we are left with what might be a new beginning.
The story was depressing as indeed were many of the characters. The book was a mix of a who dunnit and a Mills & Boon tale, but it was never light. I cannot believe there was not one witty Wicklow character to add a bit of light relief to this book.
September 3, 2013
So ein schönes Buch ich habe Tess von der ersten Seite an geliebt und in mein Herz geschlossen. Das Buch geht aufregend und interessant los, hat aber durchgehend auch etwas echt trauriges, bin das ganze Buch über irgendwie betrübt und nachdenklich geworden, was sicher einigen Lesern so gegangen ist. Ich fand es total interessant von der Zeit vor dem Mord und danach zu lesen und habe mich wie mittendrin gefühlt. Die Protagonisten waren alle interessant und hatten alle ihr eigenes Schicksal. Hier hatte ich zur Abwechslung mal gar keine Ahnung wer denn nun der Mörder gewesen sein könnte und habe nach einigen leider auch etwas langweiligen Passagen der Aufklärung entgegengefiebert und war dann am Ende im Epilog auch ganz zufrieden :)
August 22, 2015
A really good intriguing book with a brilliant plot that was full of twists and turns that kept me gripped from the very first page.
A lot of good characters and the way the book went back and forth in time so you get the whole story from way back in the past till the murder and to the present day.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was for the ending, a good ending yes that cleared everything up but I was hoping for more of a twist to who really killed Mr Byrne, yes there is still a brilliant twist at the end regarding this that is genius but the overall murder itself was a let down and lacked the excitement and anticipation that the whole story had been building up to.
A lot of good characters and the way the book went back and forth in time so you get the whole story from way back in the past till the murder and to the present day.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was for the ending, a good ending yes that cleared everything up but I was hoping for more of a twist to who really killed Mr Byrne, yes there is still a brilliant twist at the end regarding this that is genius but the overall murder itself was a let down and lacked the excitement and anticipation that the whole story had been building up to.
February 25, 2016
The story is about a girl who gets accused of her father murder, it's 10 years later and she's trying to live a normal life.
I really enjoyed this book, I love how the novel went back and forth character to character so you felt you knew everyone and their own story. The pase of the book flowed just perfectly it wasn't too slow or too rushed. The last few chapters are really the one you read for and they really didn't disappoint. This novel is about love, family and mystery and I love it. It makes me want to read more of carol Coffey's books.
I recommend this book 100% who wants a lovely book to read with a bit of mystery
I really enjoyed this book, I love how the novel went back and forth character to character so you felt you knew everyone and their own story. The pase of the book flowed just perfectly it wasn't too slow or too rushed. The last few chapters are really the one you read for and they really didn't disappoint. This novel is about love, family and mystery and I love it. It makes me want to read more of carol Coffey's books.
I recommend this book 100% who wants a lovely book to read with a bit of mystery
October 3, 2016
Ein sehr schönes Buch. Man muss dazu sagen, dass man während des Lesens in eine etwas betrübte, depressive Stimmung verfällt und man muss bereit sein sich darauf einzulassen. Es werden zahlreiche Blickwinkel verschiedener Personen beschrieben und die Autorin schafft es, dass einem jeder Charakter ans Herz wächst. Die Geschichte enthält einige plot twists weswegen für den Leser vieles unvorhersehbar ist. Die Autorin hatte alle Einzelheiten gut durchdacht und das Ende hat die Geschichte perfekt abgerundet. Es wird sehr zum Nachdenken angeregt und trotz der depressiven Grundstimmung sieht man am Ende den Lichtblick.
January 16, 2013
First of all I have to admit I liked this book but I didn’t love it. It’s a murder mystery book and yes hands up I didn’t guess whodunit until nearly the end of the book so that’s a plus. As well as the mystery, there was a romantic sub plot and telling the story involved moving back and forth over decades which is something I enjoy within a story. Overall there was something just missing for me which stopped from engaging fully with the book and the characters.
July 25, 2011
Gut geschriebenes Psychodrama, sehr spannend durch drei Zeitebenen, nur gegen Ende hatte es die Autorin wohl ein bissl eilig.
September 20, 2011
well worth a read, this book was good, not at all predictable, which is what i look for in my books these days!
January 6, 2016
Gripping story and cleverly written taking the reader between three timeframes with the characters. Highly recommended.
September 15, 2013
This debut novel is well researched and the story well structured. While is suffers a little from all working out fine in the end its a more than decent read
July 17, 2016
Couldn't put it down . Omg .
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews