- Paperback: 608 pages
- Publisher: Paperbooks Publishing (31 Oct 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1908248602
- ISBN-13: 978-1908248602
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 845,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Butterfly Hunter
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Product Description
Product Description
Jessica, an English rose, loses her fiancé, Hamid, to a suicide bombing and must journey into the heart of Jaish to answer the burning question that consumes her: was Hamid the bomber?
Jimmy is a second-generation Pakistani drug dealer, alienated from his father's belief in Islam and disillusioned by the hypocrisy and deceit of the local Imam. However, an encounter with the charismatic Abu Umar inspires Jimmy to find true belonging in The Cause.
Meanwhile, revolutions are rocking the Muslim world and the West is about to be destroyed by simultaneous nuclear explosions in twelve of its most important cities: Not small puffs of dust to be cleared by the prevailing wind like 9/11 or 7/7. A final solution to the Clash of Civilisations is underway.
Will Jimmy and Jessica discover the truth and find fulfillment or will they become instruments of the West's destruction?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
There's a reason this is a self-published book,
This review is from: The Butterfly Hunter (Paperback)
There's a reason this is a self-published -vanity published- book. No self-respecting publisher would put their name to it. The author, Max Malik, clearly thinks he's destined for great things which is why he went with a vanity publisher to get this book out, but his ambitions far exceed his talent. Whilst there is an interesting story here somewhere, it is lost in a quagmire of poor dialogue, weak characterisation and inappropriate metaphors. Take for example one of the protagnists, Jimmy, who is supposed to be a street tough drug dealer from Southall, West London, yet he speaks the Queen's English perfectly in this novel as does his dying Pakistani immigrant father. Like I said before, dialogue isn't the author's speciality and all his characters seem to sound exactly the same, which makes it hard for you to tell them apart, and therefore harder still to empathise and sympathise with their trials and suffering.The biggest events in the novel, like the bombing of a train station for example, are handled quite poorly. Their descriptions really fail to capture what should be earth-shattering moments that turn the tide of the narrative. The individual traumas of the characters caught up in those events are also poorly articulated and should really have been better written to capture their emotions. When Malik does try to articulate his protagonists' emotions it comes across as unrealistic as it's hard to imagine people feeling or behaving the way they do in this fictional world the author has created. Finally, the author seems to think that he has an authentic grasp of what the British Pakistani community are like. He really doesn't. There are pseudo-controversial themes within the novel, but the author is a little late to the party. So many British Asian authors and playwrights have trodden that ground already, and done it with greater aplomb than Malik, that his attempt at running over the same old ground seems tired and is badly executed. The likely problem is that Malik hasn't experienced the lifestyle of the working class and underclass characters he's created. From his own website we discover he is a middle class ex-military physician who had to "research" the British Muslim community for this work. That's probably why his characterisation of that community doesn't come across as genuine. He only has a second-hand understanding, unlike say Monica Ali or Khaled Hosseini. Unsurprising then that Malik's characterisation of the White middle class in this novel rings truer as it's a community he more closely associates with than the British Pakistani gangsters, Mullahs and terrorist leaders of this world. Max Malik certainly has a kernel of talent as a writer and he should develop it further. However, this is likely to be his first and last book as it's a mess and demonstrates he should pick a different subject matter for his literary ambitions. Maybe cookery books. He certainly has a flair for describing the art of South Asian cooking in all the kitchen scenes. However, he isn't going to be the next Monica Ali, that's for sure.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Butterfly Hunter,
This review is from: The Butterfly Hunter (Paperback)
The Butterfly HunterA brilliant, brave and fascinating journey into the hearts of the characters, which takes the reader on an emotional journey full of passion and wonderful discovery. A book filled with gritty realism that doesn't shy away from the hard issues facing the protagonists but despite this is beautifully written. The novel is full of lyrical sentences, apposite metaphors and evocative and memorable insights into different civilisations that not only live and resonate long in the memory but will affect the way you live and think. Never has the historical context of the 'Clash of Civilisations' been so well explored nor so well applied to the current situation. At each stage the reader has the so much empathy with Jessica and Jimmy that you will cry and laugh with them and their lives will continue to affect your thoughts and enter your heart at every stage. They live on and reverberate in the memory long after the reader has turned the last page...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
1.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
There's a reason this is a self-published book,
By Ali Bongo - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Butterfly Hunter (Paperback)
There's a reason this is a self-published -vanity published- book. No self-respecting publisher would put their name to it. The author, Max Malik, clearly thinks he's destined for great things which is why he went with a vanity publisher to get this book out, but his ambitions far exceed his talent. Whilst there is an interesting story here somewhere, it is lost in a quagmire of poor dialogue, weak characterisation and inappropriate metaphors. Take for example one of the protagnists, Jimmy, who is supposed to be a street tough drug dealer from Southall, West London, yet he speaks the Queen's English perfectly in this novel as does his dying Pakistani immigrant father. Like I said before, dialogue isn't the author's speciality and all his characters seem to sound exactly the same, which makes it hard for you to tell them apart, and therefore harder still to empathise and sympathise with their trials and suffering.The biggest events in the novel, like the bombing of a train station for example, are handled quite poorly. Their descriptions really fail to capture what should be earth-shattering moments that turn the tide of the narrative. The individual traumas of the characters caught up in those events are also poorly articulated and should really have been better written to capture their emotions. When Malik does try to articulate his protagonists' emotions it comes across as unrealistic as it's hard to imagine people feeling or behaving the way they do in this fictional world the author has created. Finally, the author seems to think that he has an authentic grasp of what the British Pakistani community are like. He really doesn't. There are pseudo-controversial themes within the novel, but the author is a little late to the party. So many British Asian authors and playwrights have trodden that ground already, and done it with greater aplomb than Malik, that his attempt at running over the same old ground seems tired and is badly executed. The likely problem is that Malik hasn't experienced the lifestyle of the working class and underclass characters he's created. From his own website we discover he is a middle class ex-military physician who had to "research" the British Muslim community for this work. That's probably why his characterisation of that community doesn't come across as genuine. He only has a second-hand understanding, unlike say Monica Ali or Khaled Husseini. Unsurprising then that Malik's characterisation of the White middle class in this novel rings truer as it's a community he more closely associates with than the British Pakistani gangsters, Mullahs and terrorist leaders of this world. Max Malik certainly has a kernel of talent as a writer and he should develop it further. However, this is likely to be his first and last book as it's a mess and demonstrates he should pick a different subject matter for his literary ambitions. Maybe cookery books. He certainly has a flair for describing the art of South Asian cooking in all the kitchen scenes. However, he isn't going to be the next Monica Ali, that's for sure. |
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