“The Butcher and the Butterfly” follows several lost souls looking for connection, reconciliation and purpose.
“A butcher can hit… A butterfly can dance.”
In the boxing world, there are either butchers or butterflies, as Bobby Raymond’s old trainer used to say. The Butcher and the Butterfly, as its title promises, balances the violent with the delicate, the brutal with the graceful, while paralleling two sports that are ruthless on the body, requiring determination and focus. Starring a boxer and a dancer, Jim Antonini’s novel juxtaposes two contrasting characters who have far more in common than they ever expected.
The Butcher and the Butterfly follows several lost souls looking for connection, reconciliation and purpose. Their physical wandering of the city in search of something — whether that be an escape, a brother, or a lover — serves as the perfect metaphor for the imbalance and uncertainty in their lives. It is a quest for something to latch on to beyond the careers, misery and hurt they’ve come to know all too well.
In the characters’ journeys, readers will be witness to the rich diversity of the people and the nightlife of New Orleans, as well as the gritty underside of this historic location. In fact, Jim Antonini’s story emerged from the smoky haze of afternoons spent with his late friend Noel Rockmore at a dive bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The setting of the story provides a special kind of realism, pulling the reader into the story and endearing them to the characters.
Anyone can see themselves in Bobby, Holly or Chuck, and it’s impossible not to root for them — whether inside the boxing ring or out in the real world, where daily life can be just as brutal, complicated… and worth fighting for.
The full review by BookTrib here: Boxer and Ballerina Discover Friendship and Hope in Most Unlikely Place | BookTrib.