| The Butterfly Revolution by William Butler |
| I have a soft spot for young adult books. I always hold things dear to my heart that introduce me into a new world. The Friday the 13th films were some of the first horror movies I became enamoured with, and I know at this point that my nostalgia will never let me outgrow them. Young adult books were where I first learned to maintain the attention span to see a book through from beginning to end. Unfortunately, I never came across The Butterfly Revolution when I was in junior high school. Instead I picked it up after seeing the interesting but flawed film version called Summer Camp Nightmare. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting when I spent those years tearing through video stores looking for any T&A filled slasher movie set deep in the woods. If these three elements are mixed together in the proper proportions I'm convinced you will come out with a flawless film. Any of the elements though are enticing enough for me to take a look (why else would I own Indian Summer on DVD?). Anyway, to make a long story short, Summer Camp Nightmare wasn't what I was looking for at the time, but I still found it intriuging enough to want to read the source novel. |
| That brings me foward about 7 years or so and I'm well out of high school at this point. I finally follow through and pick up William Butler's The Butterfly Revolution. This was a pretty wonderful experience for me, even as my ripe and cynical old age was pushing 20! Without resorting to rereading an S E Hinton book, I felt the wonder of being a kid again. Butler's book magical for me for that reason alone, factor in that it's still a damn good story after several revisits and I know I've got something special on my hands. |
| The story is never strikingly original in concept or approach, most obviously drawing comparisons to Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm. This is never an issue though, good storytelling, presentation, and characters can overcome obsticals of any genre. This is where Butler's novel shines. The story is told in diary form by thirteen year old Winston Weyn. Winston is a bit of a misfit, he likes books more than sports and spends his free time struggling with works by political philosophers (a thought provoking, if not heavy handed device used throughout) and Herodotus. His parents are a bit worried about him and decide to send him off to camp against his will as a birthday present. |
| At Camp High Pines we meet the behind the times camp director, Mr. Warren, and a handful of other colorful characters. The characters are all well drawn out, but the most remarkable is Wyn. His internal qaundaries with morality, government, and justice often parallel what he's reading in his books, but he never simply regurgitates information; he struggles with ideas. |
| Mr. Warren proves to be completely out of touch with the kids, reducing himself to the role of a strict authoritarian. He has no empathy with the campers, and they feel no connection with him. This makes it somewhat easy for a charismatic leader named Frank Reilly to rally a group of the campers to his cause and stage a mini rebellion. The rebellion starts out pretty lighthearted and low key, but as you can probably guess, things go south pretty quickly. The counselors are all locked in the brigg and the kids throw a pretty wild party. Soon the neighboring girls' camp is overthrown (or liberated, depending on who's point of view you get) and things get wilder. |
| Again, I know none of this seems to be breaking new ground, but Butler's lead character is what really puts this novel a cut above. Winston's inquisitive nature would make Socrates proud! What really gives this story it's power is Winston's views on the different characters and situations; his resentments and attachments. When things turn nasty and the revolution gets out of hand you really feel it. There are a few deaths in the story, but they don't feel cinematic in anyway. I'm not saying that they are explicit, but they are impactful. By the time the mayhem ensues throughout the revolution, it's too late. You're already at the camp and you feel like you can't detach yourself, when certain characters 'let you down' with their actions it really sinks the heart. |
| This type of great storytelling is what elevates The Butterfly Revolution (1961) above the point of just being another young adult story. I would say that it holds up well next to the more well known works by Golding (Lord of the Flies, 1954) and Orwell (Animal Farm, 1946). I think the three together would make a wonderful study of government and human nature for three successive decades. I really don't think I'm giving to much credit to Butler's novel by holding it up to such established classics. This isn't meant to take anything away from those books, I would ultimately just love to see The Butterfly Revolution get a little more of the attention it deserves. |
| review by Joe Canistro 08.10.2005 |
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