The Butterfly Kid
Encyclopedia
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Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Chester Anderson
Chester Anderson
Chester Valentine John Anderson was a novelist, poet, and editor in the underground press. Raised in Florida, he attended the University of Miami from 1952 to 1956 before becoming a beatnik coffee house poet in Greenwich Village and San Francisco's North Beach...
originally released in 1967. It was nominated for a Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 1968. The novel is the first part of the Greenwich Village Trilogy, with Michael Kurland
Michael Kurland
Michael Joseph Kurland is an American author, best known for his works of science fiction and detective fiction....
writing the second book (The Unicorn Girl
The Unicorn Girl
The Unicorn Girl is a science fiction novel by Michael Kurland originally released in 1969.-Plot introduction:The novel is the second part of the Greenwich Village Trilogy, with Chester Anderson writing the first book and the third volume written by T.A...
) and the third volume (The Probability Pad) written by T.A. Waters
T.A. Waters
Thomas Alan Waters was an American magician, writer about magic, and science fiction author.-History:...
.
Plot introduction
The novel is primarily set in Greenwich VillageGreenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, and is thoroughly saturated with psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
and 1960s counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
elements. The time is an undefined near future, indicated by SF elements such as video phones and personal hovercraft; the Bicentennial
United States Bicentennial
The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to the historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic...
is also mentioned. The use of psychoactive drug
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
s and their effects are a central element of the story; much of the action revolves around an alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
-introduced drug (referred to as "Reality Pills") that cause LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
-like hallucinations to manifest physically, generally causing chaos. The book's protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
shares a name with the author, and another character shares the name of Michael Kurland
Michael Kurland
Michael Joseph Kurland is an American author, best known for his works of science fiction and detective fiction....
, a friend and roommate of the author's at that time.
The book's title refers to a character, Sean, who is able to spontaneously produce butterflies of all shapes, sizes, and colors after taking a "Reality Pill." Although Sean is introduced very early in the story, he is not the novel's central character.
Literary significance & criticism
The book's counterculture subject matter and lighthearted tone have led to it being associated with the New WaveNew Wave (science fiction)
New Wave is a term applied to science fiction produced in the 1960s and 1970s and characterized by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, a "literary" or artistic sensibility, and a focus on "soft" as opposed to hard science. The term "New Wave" is borrowed from the French...
movement in science fiction. Although some reviews state that the novel is "written with wit and elegance," and "an engaging expression of countercultural exuberance," another points to it being "already dated" as of 1984.
Release details
- First edition published by Pyramid BooksPyramid BooksJove Books, formerly Pyramid Books, is a paperback publishing company, founded in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers . The company was sold to the Walter Reade Organization in the late 1960s. It was acquired in 1974 by Harcourt Brace which renamed it to Jove in 1977 and continued the line as an...
, 1967, 190 pp - First hardcover edition published by Gregg PressGregg PressGregg Press was founded about 1965 by Charles Gregg in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey to distribute in the United States the antiquarian reprints published in the UK by Gregg Press International....
, 1977, ISBN 0-839-82374-6 - Paperback re-release published by Pocket BooksPocket BooksPocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
, 1980, 204 pp, ISBN 0-671-83296-4