No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies: A Lyric Essay
- Downloads：9936
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-09-14 19:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Julian Aguon
- ISBN：1662601638
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Laura Sackton
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I wrote about this book here: https://booksandbakes。substack。com/i/。。。 I wrote about this book here: https://booksandbakes。substack。com/i/。。。 。。。more
Yanique Gillana
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5 stars I am grateful to the publisher Astra Publishing House for sending me an advanced copy of this book for review。 Wow， what an amazing read！ This collection of essays really showcases the breadth of sentiments surrounding the colonial identity of Guam， and the daily pressures the native people face。 I have been meaning to read from this author for a long time， but I still haven't gotten around to The Properties of Perpetual Light; however， I will remedy that soon because this memoir just 5 stars I am grateful to the publisher Astra Publishing House for sending me an advanced copy of this book for review。 Wow， what an amazing read！ This collection of essays really showcases the breadth of sentiments surrounding the colonial identity of Guam， and the daily pressures the native people face。 I have been meaning to read from this author for a long time， but I still haven't gotten around to The Properties of Perpetual Light; however， I will remedy that soon because this memoir just made me more eager for novel by Aguon。 In this memoir we cover so much ground， which is quite remarkable for a work of such few pages。 The combination of anecdotes from the life of the author， as well as harrowing descriptions of larger historical events that affected and continue to affect the people of the Pacific， was gripping， emotional， and angering。 However， the author does weave a thread of hope through all of these stories encoraging us to not simply sink into despair at the state of things， but to look forward to change。 This book talks about government， the environment and climate change， expectations placed on the shoulders of the youth， writing， activism， and the importance of identity and heritage。 The writing here was stunning， and every essay was impactful and thought provoking。 Have you ever wondered if it’s possible for writing to be simultaneously raw and polished？ With this prose， Aguon says a resounding yes。 I think everybody needs to read this book， so。。。 I recommend this book to everyone。 。。。more
miss。mesmerized mesmerized
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Julian Aguon is a human rights lawyer and defender from Guam。 “No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies” is a collection of poems， essays and speeches which center around crucial topics such as colonisation， climate change and the rights of indigenous populations。 In total， it forms into a manifesto for the respect of life on earth， no matter if human， animal or plant。 He gives insight in his own process of growing up， of gaining insight and learning that even though we as humans should care for th Julian Aguon is a human rights lawyer and defender from Guam。 “No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies” is a collection of poems， essays and speeches which center around crucial topics such as colonisation， climate change and the rights of indigenous populations。 In total， it forms into a manifesto for the respect of life on earth， no matter if human， animal or plant。 He gives insight in his own process of growing up， of gaining insight and learning that even though we as humans should care for the same ideas and aims， the world often works with other mechanisms。The author has formed a strong voice which immediately captures the reader。 In the afterword， he states what he thinks is crucial at the moment， it is not being loud， but to listen。 He does not use an accusatory tone， but a quite voice which makes you concentrate more on what is said， paying more attention and reading more closely。 Some of the essays provided new information to me， in others， it was mainly the perspective that was new and which I have ignored so far。 It is beautifully written despite the seriousness of the topic and the increasing urgency for action。 An outstanding collection that definitely does leave an impact on the reader。 。。。more
Gegenwort
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This book is something special。I don't want to take the same line as everyone else in saying how important this book is in an age of postcolonialism。 It is， don't get me wrong - reading books from people that weren't granted the same rights as I was as a European male is something very eye-opening。 I'd even say it's relevant for forming my own identity， but that is something personal。 Then again， people who act like they suddenly became enlightened after reading these perspectives shouldn't be t This book is something special。I don't want to take the same line as everyone else in saying how important this book is in an age of postcolonialism。 It is， don't get me wrong - reading books from people that weren't granted the same rights as I was as a European male is something very eye-opening。 I'd even say it's relevant for forming my own identity， but that is something personal。 Then again， people who act like they suddenly became enlightened after reading these perspectives shouldn't be trusted either。 I said "eye-opening" because we Europeans do know the harm we're inflicting on others， we just conveniently choose to look away every day。 But that's something different again， so。。。I'll stop talking about that。What I want to talk about is the prose， the way of conveying information this book chooses。 Because in my opinion， it's just not good。 First off， the structure itself。 Its patchwork style of essays， letters， speeches and poems （？） could theoretically work， but in practice it reads like someone just slapped together some old texts and called it a day。 I don't see a guiding thread that leads me through the different pieces。 The only thematical link is the postcolonial activism of the author， but besides that: different tones， different target audiences， different quality。 Some texts are very emotional and personal， while others are weirdly bureaucratic （not in a Kafka kind of sense， more like in an "I don't get what this law is all about" kind of sense）。 And it could work if the prose wasn't very rough at times （for your information， I read this book in German， so this point might not be that bad for you）。Especially the speeches seem to fall off。 One example: Aguon's graduation。 It may have been a good speech for that specific day， but I just don't feel taken along at all。 Instead I feel like I snuck my way into the backstage area like an old creep and had to listen to something that was not intended for me。 I can see that these texts are meant to be personal documents of his activism， but I need more information， more insights。 I'm not able to empathize with someone I know so little about。 To me， it seems like the author wrote the book for his friends。And this leads me to another important point: The whole book is a circlejerk for a certain niche of authors。 It starts with the foreword written by Arundhati Roy that delivers an impressing eulogy on the work the reader is about to experience themselves。 That just feels like I'm being manipulated into liking this book。 But it doesn't stop there。 Aguon has these little footnotes that tell the reader everything about any reference one might possibly find in this book。 Most of them are something like "this or that word or sentence is from the [insert magnificient， wonderful or great] book from [insert author]"。 Seriously: why？ I won't read the random book you've pushed on me if I don't know it and if I do I don't need your footnote。 I sincerely believe it's there to butter up these other authors。But this is just the symptom of another weak point。 That is the unclear target audience。 You may have noticed this in my other criticisms but this book doesn't know who it's talking to。 As someone who isn't in the author's bubble it's quite difficult to follow sometimes because I don't know the laws， people or places mentioned there。 On the other hand the self-declared goal of the author is to fight for indigenous people's rights globally。 But all I can get from this book is a dull sense of righteousness and heroic activism。 That's cool， but please - give me more to chew on。I could go on for quite some time but I'll end it here。 In order to not make this completely negative I will say something I've enjoyed， and that is the author's ability to tell stories。 In some rare instances it felt like I could really catch a glimpse of Guam's reality。 That was when Aguon talked about his blue school bag， about details， really - because they made me empathize。 It's obvious that this author can tell good stories。 So get me more of these and less of the former。 。。。more
Laura Rogers
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All the stars！ RTF
Megan
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