Black Butterflies

(Paperback, Large Print Edition)

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SHORT-LISTED FOR THE WOMENS PRIZE FOR FICTION. A timeless story of strife and hope set during the conflict in the Balkans in the early '90sa searing debut novel about a woman who faces the war on her doorstep with courage, fierceness, and an unshakable belief in the power of art.

Sarajevo, spring 1992. Each night, nationalist gangs erect makeshift barricades, splitting the city into ethnic enclaves. Each morning, the people who live therewhether Muslim, Croat, or Serbpush the barriers aside.

When violence erupts and becomes, finally, unavoidable, Zora, an artist and teacher, sends her husband and elderly mother to safety in England. She stays behind, reluctant to believe that hostilities will last more than a few weeks. As the city falls under siege, everything she loves about her home is laid to waste, black ashes floating over the rooftops. Yet Zora and her friends find ways to rebuild themselves, over and over. Told with breathtaking immediacy, this is a story of disintegration, resilience, and hopea stirring debut from a commanding new voice.

Reviews

Black Butterflies makes the case for art in times of war. . . . [It] wrests beauty and hope out of suffering. . . . Morris is a brilliant writer of place. Her Sarajevo is finely drawn, as vividly rendered as Naguib Mahfouzs Cairo. . . .It is a work of literature that transforms horror and violence into a life force.Bea Setton, New York Times Book Review

A moving, compelling, deeply human novel about love, hope, and resilience in a city under siege. Everyone should read it. Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters

A gripping, heartbreaking yet hopeful tale of human resilience, compassion, and the haunting devastations of war. A book that will stay with you for a long time. Cecile Pin, author of Wandering Souls

Exquisitely crafted, it pulses with tension: we couldnt stop turning the pages. Rachel Joyce, on behalf of the judges of the Womens Prize for Fiction

Lucidly and vividly written. . . . Feels totally authentic. . . . Zoras paintings, like the existence of this book, are testimony to the way that wars come and go but art goes on forever. The Sunday Times (U.K.)

Stunning. . . . Unforgettable. . . . This astonishing novel will linger with readers long after the last page. Morriss exceptional storytelling marks her as a writer to watch. Booklist (starred)

A compelling debut. . . . Contains episodes of page-turning uncertainty and heartbreaking pathos. Kirkus Reviews (starred)

The stirring story of a communitys heroic efforts to maintain its humanity. . . . The world she crafts is perfectly rendered, and it amounts to a poignant love letter to Sarajevo and to the human spirit. This one is tough to shake. Publishers Weekly (starred)

If you want a story of hope persisting through hardship, read Black Butterflies. Stylist

Both devastating and beautiful, infused with a sense of hope. . . . Black Butterflies is a story of how art sustains and gives purpose in moments of desolation and terror.BookPage

A powerful, gripping portrayal from within the siege of Sarajevo of how war first encroaches upon, then obliterates, the perimeters of daily life. In Black Butterflies, Priscilla Morris uses beautiful, tightly-calibrated prose and deep empathy to portray the disbelief, reckoning, resilience, and will to keep living of the besieged inhabitants of Sarajevo and the novels fierce, unforgettable protagonist, the painter Zora, who survives with art in the midst of unexpected love and unfathomable loss. Aube Rey Lescure, author of River East, River West

Black Butterflies is incredible, a must-read. There are few novels that stay with you after the final page is read, but this is one. Brutal yet also uplifting, immersive and real, it shows what the human spirit is capable of. Karen Angelico, author of Everything We Are

Beautifully drawn. . . . Thoughtful and atmospheric. . . .This is a reflective novel about dark times that tells us life goes on, love stories develop, humanity remains in the most inhumane of times. Irish Independent

Astonishingly good. . . . Zoras story broke my heart, and I hope it will open the hearts of all those who read it, at a time when history is destined to repeat itself. Liz Nugent, author of Our Little Cruelties

Brilliantly evokes a world slipping, day by day, under the surface of the opaque waters of war. Dark yet starkly beautiful, Black Butterflies . . . is at once a testament to the victims and survivors of the Siege of Sarajevo, to the power of art, and to Morriss skills as a storyteller. Aminatta Forna, author of The Hired Man

An intensely evocative and deeply moving debutI held my breath as I read. Ruth Gilligan, author of The Butchers Blessing

"The best contemporary novel I have read for a long while and also chillingly resonant with the scenes unfolding in Ukraine,Black Butterfliesis a book for our time. Sarah Burton, author of The Strange Adventures of H

Black Butterflies paints a portrait of a devastating moment in history, but also of one womans capacity for beauty and resilience. An intensely evocative and deeply moving debutI held my breath as I read. Ruth Gilligan, author of The Butchers Blessing

Beautifully written and hauntingly evocative, Black Butterflies distillsinto a single consciousness a nations violent trauma and an artists sense of hope. Rich and highly accomplished. Sam Byers, author of Idiopathy

An elegy to the vibrant and inclusive society that was subjected to a murderous assault in 1992. It comes at an apt time because it testifies to the ease and speed with which things can fall apart. Kevin Sullivan, author of The Longest Winter

Incredibly affecting . . . superbly researched and beautifully written. It could not be more topical. Paula McGrath, author of A History of Running Away

Author Bio

Priscilla Morrisis a British author of Bosnian and Cornish parentage. She grew up in London, spending summers in Sarajevo, and studied at Cambridge University and the University of East Anglia.She teaches creative writing and divides her time between Ireland and Spain. Inspired by real-life accounts of the Siege of Sarajevo (199296), Black Butterflies is her debut novel.It wasshort-listed for the RSL Ondaatje Prize, the Authors Club Best First Novel Award, the Wilbur Smith Prize, the Nota Bene Prizeand the Womens Prize 2023.