The pages turned quickly and I was reminded of Girl at War, one of my absolute favourites, as well as The Pianist. I also appreciate the really concrete suggestions of the author for overcoming the “segrenomics” currently affecting most of the United States’ urban areas. The process of firing Black teachers and closing the schools that serve the most Black students is a racial equity issue.

Persuasively arguing that because urban apartheid was intentionally erected it can be intentionally dismantled, The Black Butterfly demonstrates that America cannot reflect that Black Lives Matter until we see how Black neighborhoods matter. Please keep in mind that because we deal mostly in used books, any extra components, such as CDs or access codes, are usually not included. Putting Baltimore under a microscope, Brown looks closely at the causes of segregation, many of which exist in current legislation and regulatory policy despite the common belief that overtly racist policies are a thing of the past. This book is a collection of memories and experiences Drake lived after the death of one of his brothers.Morris gets us to experience every little emotion with Zora—the shock, the hurt, the cold, the hunger, also the few moments of comfort or happiness snatched amidst it all. The possibility of making a perilous escape from the city brings Zora hope that she might be reunited with her family but also a feeling of guilt for others left behind. Such is the nature of bigotry in the 21st century, it manifests itself under the guise of “plausible deniability. Sarajevo is a multicultural city (where the city is full of the Muslim, Serb, Croat, and Yugoslav populations) but racial sentiments, and ethnic tensions have arisen, and conflict is brewing. Zora must cope with much—the struggle for survival, the pain of watching the city she loves being torn to pieces around her, her art that she lives for and through which she expresses herself destroyed, separation from her family (whom she needs more than ever at these times), grappling with the question of leaving versus staying, and really also wondering about the war itself which makes no sense.

This didn’t make any difference to me this time but to those who expect a book to cater to its advertised genre, this could be a minor problem. I’m recommending Black Butterflies for fans of beautifully written historical fiction, for readers who might be familiar with Sarajevo, for readers who love stories about ordinary people in the most difficult circumstances, and for those who appreciate a memoir-like narrative. Zora is trapped in Sarajevo and she is forced to maneuver around the constant bombings, shellings, and violence happening in the city, together with her neighbors and friends, and she has to resort to art to keep herself sane.

When the wealth and taxes seem to favor certain sections over others, you see what happens to those that feel excluded. It was especially poignant to be reading this during the war in Ukraine and think about the sorts of daily dangers and deprivation that people face in conflict zones. Each night, nationalist gangs erect barricades, splitting the diverse city into ethnic enclaves; each morning, the residents – whether Muslim, Croat or Serb – push the makeshift barriers aside. I had no idea that it was part of the Ottoman empire once, and enjoyed getting glimpses of its culture like how festivals were celebrated and some folklore as well as some of its bridges and landmarks.