The Voice of the Butterfly: A Novel

In Nichols' hilarious new novel, even though aging '60s radical, Charley McFarland insists, "we're not monkey wrenchers, we're liberation ecologists" (pp. 87; 109), he would have fit in easily as the fifth member of Ed Abbey's Monkey Wrench Gang. In an attempt to derail a proposed highway bypass and industrial park, which would destroy a rare and endangered butterfly, the Rocky Mountain Phistic Copper, McFarland recruits a group of misfits (including his self-destructive, soon-to-be-ex wife, his troubled Gen-X son, and his 92-year-old chain-smoking neighbor) into the Butterfly Coalition. "Just because they're small and drab doesn't mean they're not special," McFarland says about the butterfly. "The mere fact they exist at all is a miracle." Although Nichols' characters are poorly drawn, I found myself rooting for them all the way into the novel's final pages.I started this 240-page novel last week while travelling through northern New Mexico, where Nichols happens to live, and where Monarch butterflies are also presently migrating. Although a work of fiction, this book has the easy-to-recognize heart, soul, and hum of Taos. When he read pages 66 through 71 of this novel at his recent appearance in Tempe, Arizona, John Nichols brought the voice of his protagonist to life, and as the book's title suggests, it is Charley McFarland's narrative that makes this book so much fun to read. "Here's the rub," McFarland says, decked out in his "beige Mao cap with a red star pinned over the visor, a purple fringed cowboy shirt, Black Watch Bermuda shorts, and Taos Mountain Outfitter hiking boots." "If you truly care about survival of the planet you cannot tiptoe around like a fainthearted nervous Nellie afraid to lock horns with the Philistines" (pp. 24; 35). "If you kill a single person, or an animal, or a butterfly, you destroy an entire universe" (p. 25).Unlike his earlier MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR, Nichols' new novel is thankfully not for everyone, but is sure to please fans of THE MONKEY WRENCH GANG or David Foreman's recent, THE LOBO OUTBACK FUNERAL HOME. It's not great literature, but it's a novel with an important message: "How can we save ourselves before we self-destruct?"G. Merritt

In "The Voice of the Butterfly," John Nichols takes a fairly common theme - a group of environmental activists taking on wealthy and powerful developers - and turns it into quite an uncommon novel. "The Voice of the Butterfly" is a highly critical look at modern-day American attitudes toward our environment and our political system couched in biting satire and fast-paced, non-stop slapstick humor. With characters including an "herbal proctologist," a funeral home named "Suicide City Body Shoppe," and character names such as Abe Gingivitis & Miranda Satan, the reader is clued in early and reminded often that this is not the kind of novel to be taken literally. It took me three quarters of the book to finally decide that I liked it. Although I had been warned about what to expect at a book signing by the author, it still took that long to suspend my grip on reality enough to "get" what the author was trying to accomplish and to realize that he wasn't "hearing voices" induced by smoking hallucinogenic butterflies when he wrote it. Once I realized that, it became a very entertaining and thought provoking read. The story John Nichols told at the book signing about the difficulty he faced in getting this book published is a good indicator of just how different a work it really is. Having originally written a 1500 page slapstick "epic for the ages," Nichols was turned down by 30 or more publishers. Finally, his agent promised that she could sell the novel if he'd only make a couple slight modifications - like whittling it down from 1500 pages to 250 (it's actually ended up being 240 pages) and rewriting it using the male lead character (Charlie McFarland) instead of the female lead (Kelly McFarland) as the narrator. I'd have to agree - 1500 pages of this intense writing would be torture to read. Fortunately, the result of the rewrite is a tight, bizarre, politically charged, hilarious piece of writing with a serious message. Whether the reader ultimately agrees with the message or not, "The Voice of the Butterfly" is well worth reading.

"How can we save ourselves before we self-destruct?" That's the central question of this book. Laws, social activists, the media, ordinary citizens, and economic interests all come in for the sharp stick of satire in this irreverent look at political processes in the early 21st century United States. The book revels in vulgarities and the ugly side of humanity as an attempt to shake you out of your political lethargy. The style of satire will remind you of Candide. The book's best strength is found in the character of the manic, self-destructive Kelly, who is dying from having lost her hope for the future. Charley McFarland is the central character in the novel. He is a Don Quixote of lost causes. This time he wants to stop a new road. Because the road will come through a section where a rare butterfly species lives (the "Phistic Copper"), he has hopes of winning with the regulators if not at the polls. He is aided in this process by ancient Lydia, on whose land the butterflies live, his wife Kelly (from whom he is separated), reluctantly by his son Lucifer, and Susan Delgado (an anorexic reporter who has her eye on him). The economic forces have a strong control on the town, and own the newspaper. Only after the Butterfly Coalition's antics attract the attention of outside media does progress occur. The book's moral is that elections and the free press (with all of their weaknesses) are our only, best hope. The process is described though as being like a 17 ring circus, detached from the facts. And that's probably pretty accurate in many cases. Although the average person cannot be bothered to work on the issues (even if they are affected) until the television reporters tell them it's important, the activists take significant physical and financial risks. Kelly is a one-woman guided missile, committed to helping the coalition, getting Charley back, and having another drink (not necessarily in that order). She is a tragi-comic figure of Rabelaisian dimensions whom you will find appealing, despite the bleakness of her life and outlook. Most people will find the satire overdone. Mr. Nichols certainly does like to keep putting the stick into your eye, to be sure you don't miss his point. I think that few will, but the savage and unrelenting pounding from the satire will dull your senses after awhile. The plot itself is merely a way to move from one slapstick scene to the next. There is no attempt to pretend that it is realistic. This is a tale about morality, so think of the book as a fable about modern life rather than as a normal novel. The book's style will remind you of many Vonnegut books.After you have finished enjoying the humor here, take some time to let the lessons settle in. Where should you be taking a stand, influencing others, and helping positive change occur in our society? Please start working on something you care about!May our actions match our mutual needs!