Boria Sax’s The Butterfly Who Dreamt He Was a Man; Metamorphoses, Entomological and Human was published in the UK in June of this year by Reaktion and made available through distribution by University of Chicago Press this past week. Sometime between those two points in time a copy found its way to my desk. If there is one thing I’ve learned from my readings of previously published books by Dr. Sax, it’s that you hang your expectations in the closet for storage, make sure your shoelaces are tied, and square up your hat, because the trip you’re about to take down the rabbit hole is going to lead to some very unexpected places indeed.
What is the subject of this new book, you may ask? Well, that’s a question that’s much more easily asked than answered.
Natural history? In some ways.
Entomology? Sort of.
Literary theory? Partly.
Mythology? To a degree.
Philosophy? At times.
Psychology? Somewhat.
All of these? That’s getting closer.
If you’ve previously read any of Dr. Sax’s books, you know exactly what I mean. They are adventures in ideas, explorations of connections that at first don’t seem to follow – until they do, and jewel boxes overflowing with interesting information. I’m only two chapters in as of this writing and in the first chapter alone I encountered Doaism, Renaissance humanism, the mythological studies of Joseph Campbell, animism, and a number of other ideas that, as I learned in the second chapter were all presented as an initial departure point, a warm-up, if you will, for the journey into which Dr. Sax was to take me next. And be assured; I know that this path will have many, many side-tunnel explorations.
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