“The Butterfly and the Violin” by Kristy Cambron
Book: "The Butterfly and the Violin" by Kristy Cambron
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Genre: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Contemporary
Pages: 335
Rating: 4/5 ⭐
Synopsis:
"A Mysterious painting breathes hope and beauty into the darkest corners of Auschwitz--and the loneliest hearts of Manhattan. Manhattan art dealer Sera James watched her world crumble at the altar two years ago, and her heart is still fragile. Her desire for distraction reignites a passion for a mysterious portrait she first saw as a young girl--a painting of a young violinist with piercing blue eyes. In her search for the painting, Sera crosses paths with William Hanover--the grandson of a wealthy California real estate mogul--who may be the key to uncovering the hidden masterpiece. Together Sera and William slowly unravel the story behind the painting's subject: Austrian violinist Adele Von Bron.
A darling of the Austrian aristocracy of 1942, talented violinist, and daughter to a high-ranking member of the Third Reich, Adele risks everything when she begins smuggling Jews out of Vienna. In a heartbeat, her life of prosperity and privilege dissolves into a world of starvation and barbed wire. As Sera untangles the secrets behind the painting, she finds beauty in the most unlikely of places: the grim camps of Auschwitz and the inner recesses of her own troubled heart."
Content Breakdown:
Positive Content- Faith mentioned multiple times, found family themes, courage and hope, clean language
Negative Content- (Keep in mind this is a WW2 Historical Fiction that portrays accurate events) Violence and hate crimes, mentions of dead bodies, blood, carnage, murder (all of these are mildly graphic but not fully detailed, mainly just mentioned). family members turning on each other, Auschwitz, concentration camps, drinking, cigarettes and clubbing.
Romance - A few kisses shared between our main couples ( Adele/Vladimir and Sera/William) but nothing in depth or too sensual (no make outs, sex, or groping) mainly a long peck type of kiss. Attraction and crushes mentioned. Feelings of nervousness and blushing's whenever our main female characters are close by their love interest. Mentions of going on dates and dancing. Mentions of some characters being boy crazy and not as reserved.
My Review:
What I liked:
I like how faith filled this book is. The main characters are shown multiple times referencing God and their relationship with Him as well as calling out for help when they need Him. I also love that one of the themes in the book is identifying God given talent and using it to glorify Him as well as living for Him and His purpose for our lives.
Even though I prefer Adele's point of view better, I do like how there are duel point of views from different timelines. I also liked how there are similarities between each of our characters. Sera and Adele are similar to each other, and William and Vladimir are as well.
Adele and Vladimir’s relationship was beautiful and well paced. They have been though so much together and even through their moments a part, they were still connected by their faith and memories. Their relationship felt real, believable, and unbreakable.
I love the found family aspect of the story between Adele and the other members she meets within the camp. Omara is my favorite character within the story, and the comfort, support, and advise she gives to Adele is amazing. She acts as a mother to Adele and the rest of the girls with her and because of her I think they all become more connected despite the horrors they all go through.
The moment of finding out who painted the portrait of Adele left me with no words. That scene filled me with so much emotion and awe.
There are many beautiful quotes written within this book that I believe many people including myself can learn from and apply to their own lives.
What I Didn’t Like:
In my opinion, Sera's point of view plays out more like a Hallmark romance and at times this can be shown to be a bit cringey and off putting after reading Adele’s more deep and solemn point of view. I think that Adele’s story plays out like a history fiction, while Sera’s plays out as more of a romance book that has a side plot of history. Because of this, I don’t think that Sera point of view helps to enhance Adele’s story.
To add to the previous point, I believe that Sera and Williams relationship is progressing far too quickly and this doesn't seem appropriate. Sera had a bit of a crush on William from the beginning but their first impression didn’t go well. The next day they both hang out with each other and make up but William is already grabbing for her hand. Then the next day when they have spent roughly only 48 hours with each other (this amount of time being acknowledged by William) he kisses Sera. To add to this, Sera has mentioned that she can't trust or love anymore since it has hurt her in the past ( her ex- fiancé canceled the wedding) and that she doesn’t let herself have a life and that it has been two years of her just working and only leaving the house for work . With this information I feel as if the pace of this relationship is not well played out since both of these characters have no prior history with each other and have only met due to having a similar interest. Due to the pace of this relationship, I do not feel their romance is proper ( it feels rushed and there are no boundaries since hand holding and a kiss happens in just 48 hours) or helps to enhance Adele’s story and background behind her painting. If there was prior history or more time given to these characters to then later have emotions arise then it would be more appropriate for them and help to match Adele and Vladimir’s well paced relationship.
Favorite Quotes:
"Hiding out from having a life. All because she was terrified of getting hurt again. Had she been hiding out from God too?"
"It was time to grow up, not just with a birthday."
"“Because I believe that this too shall be used by God. Somehow, this story He is writing will live on.”…..“How does He tell the story?” …..“He tells it through the art of creation. His creation. He tells it through each one of us who survives.”
Do I Recommend This Book:
Let me start by saying that I think the author did a beautiful job with Adele’s story and I will definitely be reading the second book of this series as well as her other works. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres and I think Kristy did great at portraying the events of this timeline through Adele. But I do not like Sera and Williams point of view much as it feels like a completely different story and mood. As a Christian, I love how faith filled this story is and I understand how Sera and William ( as well as their friends) are very similar to Adele and Vladimir but I believe their story could have been written better to be more balanced to Adele’s story. After reading other reviews, I have seen multiple people share the same view point as me. Many others also would have preferred this book to have just been Adele’s story since her point of view has more depth and feels more believable and real.
Due to this, I am 50/50 on if I would or would not recommend this book in it's entirety. If the story was fully just Adele’s point of view, then 100% but due to Sera and Williams point of view having a completely different feel from Adele’s and to me lacking balance and proper pace, I think it makes the story take a major blow. I agree with fellow reviewers who mentioned that Adele’s story play out like an actual historical fiction while Sera’s story reads like a romance novel disguised as historical fiction. Besides from the negatives, I do think that Kristy wrote a great book and I will read more of her work but in regards to this one, I would not recommend it entirely.