Butterfly Island by author Corina Bomann and translator Alison Layland is a wonderful story ...

Butterfly Island by author Corina Bomann and  translator Alison Layland is a wonderful story which is written layered in time, history, and characters past and present. The story is beautifully written and the imagery of the places was very integral to the telling of the multi-generational story. I did not understand fully about the books title, Butterfly Island, until I was in part two. During the telling of the story you will be in several places in Europe, from Berlin, to London, and to Sri Lanka. You will read of a beautiful tea plantation and of ancient customs which were thought to be forgotten.

This book is best read when you are in a mood for a slower paced novel. This is an experience which is telling a family story, reaching back to find answers to a family mystery, and helping the present day Diana Wagenbach  discover secrets about her family history.

As I read the book I made a short notation of some of the characters so I could keep the family connections straight. This might be helpful for other readers as well.

The story opens with a letter to Grace from her younger sister Victoria  which was written about 1888. Something has happened to separate the sisters.  Then in the 1945 prologue we meet Beatrice (a granddaughter of Grace) requesting shelter at the home of Daphne Stanwick, (daughter of Victoria) an aunt she has never met and Emily, a cousin. Beatrice is pregnant, her mother and husband have been killed during the war and she is in need of help.

In chapter one it is 2008 and we meet Diana, ( a great niece of Emily) and her unfaithful husband Philipp. Diana receives a call that her aunt Emily in London has suffered a stroke. Aunt Emily has asked that Diana come to see her while she is still able to speak.

We find out there is a secret which needs to be told.

I enjoyed this story and felt emotionally connected to some of the characters before their story had been told.