Publishing 29 July, The Butterfly Lampshade is Aimee Bender’s first novel in nearly a decade. Francie is eight years old when her mother, Elaine, is admitted to a mental health hospital after having a psychotic episode. Elaine’s episode is so severe that Francie is sent to live with her aunt Minn, uncle Stan, and their newborn daughter, Vicky. However, The Butterfly Lampshade is more than a coming-of-age story. It is also a story about reflection and memory as twenty-year-old Francie attempts to make sense of three moments in her life that have haunted her since childhood.
The power of Bender’s novel comes from how expertly she places the reader inside Francie’s head. Whilst Francie quite literally sits inside what she calls her ‘memory tent’, obsessively mulling over her childhood, the reader feels as though they are sitting right next to her. As a result, it is easy to connect with Francie and difficult not to sympathise with her. Additionally, by making the reader privy to Francie’s thoughts, Bender effortlessly demonstrates how mental illness can affect a family and particularly a vulnerable eight-year-old. Perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching passages is when young Francie asks her uncle, “will [my mother’s] head heal?”. Stan replies, “her head will heal too but more slowly [than her hand]?”. Here Bender plays upon Francie’s childish innocence in a way that is emotionally impactful.
However, the extent to which we are submerged in Francie’s thoughts makes the narrative difficult to follow. This is partly due to the large chunks of extraneous information loaded upon the reader. For example, the lengthy passages describing Francie’s work-related thoughts do not progress the plot but hinder it. Moreover, although Bender’s writing is undeniably beautiful for the most part, filled with carefully crafted metaphors and magical realism, it adds to the reader’s confusion. At times, the writing feels bumpy, leaving you questioning where the plot is going.
Despite its pitfalls, The Butterfly Lampshade has been longlisted for the Pen/Jean Stein book award and will undoubtedly win over readers who are willing to decode its beautifully written passages.
The Butterfly Lampshade is available to purchase from July 29.
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