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As seen in the Crucian Trader, each month a member of our team reviews a recently released book.
This month, Ashley reviewed The Butterfly's Daughter:
Esperanza Avila, the matriarch of “The Butterfly’s Daughter,” would be well-suited for life on St Croix. At her wise age, she has found a short list of things she values – sunshine, food, nature and family. Esperanza is an “abuela” (grandmother) displaced from the warmth of Mexico to the bitter cold of Wisconsin to raise her granddaughter Luz. Her simple life revolves around cooking, gardening and raising monarch butterflies.
Luz is in her early twenties, born and raised in the US and disinterested in her Mexican heritage. She’s led a tough life scraping by without parents in the picture. We find Luz working in a foundry, having dropped out of school to support herself and her grandmother. The only highlight in her world seems to be her boyfriend, Sully. While he hopes to settle down with Luz and raise a family, she’s not ready to commit. Sully’s mechanic work offers no escape from the paycheck-to-paycheck life she lives, burdened by debt and inherited responsibility.
The novel opens with Esperanza buying an ancient car and imploring Luz to drive with her to Mexico. Esperanza wants Luz to meet her extended family, and see the over-wintering site of monarch butterflies as they complete their migration south (which coincides with the important Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead). Luz gives the typical American objections to an extended, impromptu trip (job, budget, et cetera). Her grandmother simply counters, “Work will always be there.”
Luz eventually heeds her words, but unfortunately it’s too late for her grandmother, who unexpectedly passes away. To honor Esperanza, Luz decides to make the journey on her own, take her grandmother’s ashes home to Mexico and experience the journey she wished for her (though Luz does not fully understand why the trip was so urgent and important to her grandmother at the time). Along her journey, she meets “goddesses” who become her friends and passengers. They each teach her something and in turn, Luz inspires a sense of independence, adventure or pride in them. Near the end of her journey, she discovers someone who will forever change her life.
This tale was difficult to put down as each turn in the road cleverly reveals a new challenge for our heroine. Author Mary Alice Monroe builds her reputation as a thought-provoking writer who pristinely captures nature’s miracles – this time, the calling of generation after generation of monarch butterflies to fly south every winter. Her latest book is compelling fiction for every woman from grandmother to granddaughter. “The Butterfly’s Daughter” is a beautifully crafted story about coming of age and what is truly important in life.
