Narrated by Paige McKinney and Kevin Scollin
I went into this listen knowing it was an unusual subject – heroine Rebecca O’Neill is a former sitcom star who suffered a stalker attack which almost killed her, leaving her scarred for life; hero Michael Warner’s partner was killed by a drunk driver almost a year before, leaving him and their young daughter to cope with the grief. However, there’s a rather big twist – Michael’s partner was a man with whom Michael had a committed relationship for twelve years before Alex’s untimely death.
As the story in Butterfly Tattoo unfolds, it seems that Michael didn’t even know he was gay until he met Alex. Well, maybe “gay” isn’t the right term – Michael is clearly bi-sexual. He had been in sexual relationships with women before, and apparently never felt attracted to men before he met Alex. The attraction between Michael and Rebecca is clear from the their first meeting. But he wasn’t at all apologetic or even as confused about his ability to form sexual and emotional relationships with either gender as you might think. I found myself needing to know more about Michael and Rebecca, compelled to listen carefully as they form a tentative bond with Michael’s daughter Andrea in the center. Andrea was in the car accident that killed Alex, and she too has scars, physical and emotional, from the experience, much like Rebecca. It’s what helps Andrea start opening up – something Michael is desperate to encourage, since both of them have been so broken and distant from each other for a year.
It’s a bold, compelling story, told in first person POV from each of the protagonists, which puts you inside their heads, their story, as it develops. It’s very immediate. Ms. Knight writes well from both POV – Michael’s feelings about Alex’s surviving twin sister and his ruptured relationship with his own parents, and Rebecca’s insecurities about her physical appearance, her ability to love and be loved – all of this seems genuine, feels genuine. It’s moving, emotional. As Rebecca begins to really comprehend Michael’s sexuality, she becomes more and more confused about his feelings for her and their relationship – it was very thought-provoking.
The audiobook uses two narrators, in the way of The Time Traveler’s Wife or The Help, each reading from the point of view of one of the two main characters. Paige McKinney reads from Rebecca’s POV – she’s got a pleasant, clear voice and sounds roughly the age of the character (late twenties if I recall correctly). She did character differentiation well enough – lower pitch for men, a credible British accent for one, slight touch of Southern for Rebecca’s parents. But she talked too fast – truly, it was as if the speed was on 1.5 for many parts of the book. I even wondered if that was done post-production, because the pauses between sentences seemed so short. I could still understand her, but the pacing was almost frenetic in places, and it is not a thriller or suspense novel, and she doesn’t have any urgency in her tone.
Kevin Scollin has about three times as many audiobooks at Audible as the female narrator, which seems to indicate more experience – thirty years, according to his website. He too has a very pleasing and clear voice, and he managed to sound roughly the age of Michael. His methods of character differentiation worked well enough – he had to perform eight-year-old Andrea a fair amount, and made her sound mostly age-appropriate without having to use his inner Julia Child falsetto. His accent for Rebecca differed from Paige’s, which I found a little jarring – he put a lot more Southern into Rebecca’s speaking than Paige did. This is something he could have discussed with the other narrator and the director, since the listener is hearing it all linearly, so when Paige speaks it without much of an accent, I kept wondering why Kevin didn’t mimic her a little more closely. Because Kevin speaks clearly and sounds so pleasant, I also wanted to like his delivery better than I did. But his earnest, almost boyish, upbeat performance didn’t always reflect the dark undertone of this story or the pain of this character. Michael was practically an alcoholic since Alex’s death, and the growing rift between him and his daughter was so palpable – I wanted to hear more grief in his tone, in his speech.
It was hard to really grade this work – I found the subject matter so alluring, the story intriguing, the narration close but not quite what I wanted, so I’m conflicted. I read some other reviews of the story, and found readers split – some were put off by Michael’s “gay for you” portrayal while others found it credible and realistic. I have to admit I’m not that versed in bi-sexuality and how people deal with those kinds of feelings, so I can’t really speak to that. Many reviewers felt Andrea came across as unrealistic, older than just eight years (nine by the end); I didn’t observe that, but I see how it could seem that way. I attributed it to her having to grow up fast after her father’s death; I may have to re-listen to get another take.
Melinda
Narration: C+/C+
Book Content: B
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: None
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Audible Studios
I love this book, although I’ve only read it, not listened to it on audio. Here is a part of what I wrote in my review:
“This is an unconventional love story, and definitely not what might be expected from the label “contemporary romance.” Deidre Knight writes beautiful, lyrical prose that suits this quiet, yet emotionally-packed story about recovering from grief and trauma. This is a story about healing, scars, grief, guilt, trusting, finding yourself, letting go, opening up, learning to live again, and letting go of preconceived ideas about people and what a family looks like. The butterfly metaphor is subtle, but apt. ”
Thank you for the very clear review of the narration. I think I will continue to enjoy this book in print since it has been a favorite since i first read it.