Book review: Six generations of birth pains in Robin Lim's 'Butterfly People'

I have witnessed my sister giving birth using the natural method–and by natural, I mean being in the house assisted by a midwife with our whole family "burdened" by her agony.

 

Yes, "burdened." I could not handle seeing her screaming and undergoing painstaking labor. I was only in grade school back then, but I could still see and smell her suffering, and remember how she would get mad whenever she caught me sneaking up on her while she was screaming her lungs out.

 

Scenes like those are not new to Robin Lim, last year's CNN Hero of the Year.

Lim, who founded birthing sanctuaries in Indonesia, gave childbirth a new color, a refreshing story, and yes, sometimes a new sight and smell.

 

In her new novel “Butterfly People,” Lim said she compiled stories “stolen” from six generations of her family.

 

At the book launching last April in Manila, Lim noted that the story is centered on members of the Munar-Lim family, who were lifelong residents of Baguio City.

 

The family matriarch Vicenta Munar, a hilot (healer), married to Chinese trader Lim Po, started on a journey of folk medicine.

 

“Lola Vicenta, she was a legend and she was really an inspiration to me in writing the book,” “Ibu” Robin Lim said, revealing that her healing prowess came from a bloodline of hilot.

 

“The book was a nine-month process. It was [written] in Baguio when I was there in 1998 to 1999, and then I would say it sat on the shelf for nine years,” she said, citing that through a friend’s encouragement, she decided to publish her novel.

 

“Sometimes you feel as a writer that you feel pregnant with the story so… [I] unload these stories to get them out of me,” Lim said.

 

Tales of love, life, death

 

The book will definitely capture the reader’s attention, with tales of love, life-and-death situations, kamadronas, and difficult childbirths in times of storms and war. 

 

You’ll be engrossed reading about how one character fell in love with a cousin and had her first kiss with him, tainting the most sacred value of family ties.

 

You’ll also be glued to the page reading about a girl’s circumcision, or a fateful night when a drunken husband masturbated in his wife’s hair.

 

Not all have the courage to share these stories, let alone publish them.

 

But since the novel uses magical realism, readers are left to wonder whether the stories they are reading are real personal stories or fiction.

 

In almost every chapter, a different character speaks, making it initially difficult for readers to follow.

 

But there lies the hook: by focusing on the life story of each family member, the reader can find someone to relate to, and hopefully learn a lesson from.

 

Although the novel does touch on birthing and parenting, the book is an interesting read not only for moms and moms-to-be but also for a typical reader who would want to experience the rollercoaster ride of love, life, and childbirth all tied together by the Filipino tradition of strong familial ties. –KG, GMA News