Nellie
New Member
I couldn't see a thread on this book, so if I have missed it, please merge as required. Thanks!
The Behaviour Of Moths is a darkly humorous book about family relationships and versions of truth. Ginny is an elderly lady living in a large rambling house that she used to share with her sister Vivi and her parents Maud and Clive. Clive was a moth expert before his death and Ginny had followed in his footsteps continuing his research.
The story is told from Ginny’s point of view. She reveals to us the closeness of her relationship with her sister, and how as they grow older Vivi’s natural vivaciousness takes her away from the family home leaving Ginny with her parents. Maud starts to drink heavily and falls down the cellar steps and dies, shortly after that Clive dies too. Before his death, Vivi argues with her father and never returns to the family home leaving Ginny alone in the house. Ginny, who has always been uneasy interacting with people retreats into her work studying moths until one day, decades later Vivi returns and upsets Ginny’s world.
This book is a great read, it’s raises questions about truth and how reliable a narrator of a story can be. Ginny is a odd character, she clearly struggles with relating to people apart from her sister, and her need to try and hold relationships together results in the exact opposite. Ginny makes several large sacrifices for her family in order to try and keep them all happy. There is a real sense of the injustice that Ginny feels burning inside her, and it is this which leads to the climax of the book.
There are some great descriptions of the study of moths, some of which is a little gruesome, but interesting nevertheless. I also learned what happens when a caterpillar enters it cocoon to turn into a moth, I wasn’t sure whether to marvel at the wonder of nature or to be utterly horrified. In my view the moths were not just an interesting plot device, but rather reflect the situation that Ginny found herself in. She is the caterpillar locked up in the cocoon of the family home whilst Vivi is the moth, moving along through the natural progression of life.
All in all a really enjoyable book which will really make the reader think. I also learned the word lepidoptery which will be useful in my next game of Scrabble.
The Behaviour Of Moths is a darkly humorous book about family relationships and versions of truth. Ginny is an elderly lady living in a large rambling house that she used to share with her sister Vivi and her parents Maud and Clive. Clive was a moth expert before his death and Ginny had followed in his footsteps continuing his research.
The story is told from Ginny’s point of view. She reveals to us the closeness of her relationship with her sister, and how as they grow older Vivi’s natural vivaciousness takes her away from the family home leaving Ginny with her parents. Maud starts to drink heavily and falls down the cellar steps and dies, shortly after that Clive dies too. Before his death, Vivi argues with her father and never returns to the family home leaving Ginny alone in the house. Ginny, who has always been uneasy interacting with people retreats into her work studying moths until one day, decades later Vivi returns and upsets Ginny’s world.
This book is a great read, it’s raises questions about truth and how reliable a narrator of a story can be. Ginny is a odd character, she clearly struggles with relating to people apart from her sister, and her need to try and hold relationships together results in the exact opposite. Ginny makes several large sacrifices for her family in order to try and keep them all happy. There is a real sense of the injustice that Ginny feels burning inside her, and it is this which leads to the climax of the book.
There are some great descriptions of the study of moths, some of which is a little gruesome, but interesting nevertheless. I also learned what happens when a caterpillar enters it cocoon to turn into a moth, I wasn’t sure whether to marvel at the wonder of nature or to be utterly horrified. In my view the moths were not just an interesting plot device, but rather reflect the situation that Ginny found herself in. She is the caterpillar locked up in the cocoon of the family home whilst Vivi is the moth, moving along through the natural progression of life.
All in all a really enjoyable book which will really make the reader think. I also learned the word lepidoptery which will be useful in my next game of Scrabble.