Review by Elaine Audet, writer, poet, co-publisher of www.Sisyphe.org
INSECTUAL - The Secret of the Black Butterfly is published, with 75 drawings by the author. Extremely well written, this passionate journey through the narrow tunnel of blocked memory oscillates between the spiritual quest and a psychological thriller. Her heroine Maya’s life is anything but trivial. From Nazi Germany to the civil war in the ex-Belgian Congo, where she worked for the United Nations in the ’60s, until her arrival in Montreal in 1974, she lived a perpetual adventure, and married a handsome Italian with whom she had a boy and a girl. As I would do for a thriller, I will not reveal here the details of her difficult journey through her past, since she was careful to keep the suspense until the end.
Everybody interested in the process of psychotherapy will learn a great deal, as much about the blessings as about the risks of entrusting the direction of one's life to another person to challenge the painful secrets of the unconscious – even if that person is a member of the Order of Psychiatrists. In a fluid, colourful language, always with a truly authentic voice, Barbara knows how to interest us about her heroine’s struggle to regain her sexuality and her personal autonomy. Over a period of 30 years, she imposes on herself this quest for truth. Her growing commitment in the visual arts and writing - parallel to her therapy - favours the recovery of her independence, often put aside in the name of a harmonious family life and the safeguarding of her marriage.
The journey of this courageous septuagenarian shows the depth of the wounds left by incest, this absolute patriarchal power imposed upon her heroine Maya in childhood, from which it is almost impossible to liberate oneself totally. The guilt and the fear of rejection trap her unconsciously to give in to seduction, that illusory power that her predator has already cynically imposed on her during her adolescence in the name of love.
In Maya’s difficult psychological journey a journal is of prime importance. ”I want my diary to represent the absolute truth, to record as closely as possible what was said, even if it is shameful, embarrassing, unspeakable.” (page 152). In staying true to this principle and in letting her imagination flow freely - in her art - she reaches another level of consciousness thus allowing all hope to flourish.

1. To say this book is totally unlike anything I’ve ever read before would be an understatement. I’m not sure how to even describe this book as SO much happens, and it seems to touch on so many elements, themes, and subjects, times and places. It is told in a stream-of consciousness manner mostly recounting past events (but told in present tense…). Gets pretty dark and twisted, and definitely for a mature audience only. But overall a very interesting, different type of book that is memorable, moving, and very well-written. (4-5 stars). Layla Messing

*****

2. “Insectual: The Secret of the Black Butterfly” by Barbara Sala starts off with some considerable backstory to set up the scene and ground the reader in the Maya’s sexy world and perspective, which the author Barbara Sala does a wonderfully convincing job of creating as believable background for the plot to unfold. This book does touch on some pretty heavy subject matters and there should be trigger warnings for the abuse. A powerful, mind bending read that kept me captivated. And the editing was flawless (I notice these things). Adults only. (5 stars) Laura Clarke

3. Well this book took me a while to read, but in the end I’d say it was worth it! I like how everything came together, and I enjoyed reading this unusual book! I think Barbara Sala writes VERY well… very descriptive and strong and we feel like we are there almost like watching a David Lynch movie or something. Overall an interesting, if not surreal novel that pushes the boundaries of typical literature. Warning – recommended for mature readers as has sensitive subject matter. (5 stars). Sherri

4. “Insectual- The Secret of the Black Butterfly” is the first book I’ve read from this talented author Barbara Sala, but I hope it’s not the last! The way this book was written is different from many I’ve read before, but it totally hooked me right from the beginning and kept my attention throughout. It was intelligent, weird, sad, dark, funny, deep, tragic… I thought the storyline and the character development to be very well done and thought out. I feel like this level of complexity could have easily ended up badly, but instead I darn near gobbled the whole book down in just a few evenings. There were some pretty shocking events that may upset some readers but I thought the author handled the sensitive subject matter well. This book will haunt me for a long time, but in a good way. Recommend for adults only. (4 stars) Karen « Reader girl »

5. This was one engaging tale that I couldn’t put down! I did have to have some patience in the beginning until I felt that I was more caught up in the thrust of the story, but the author does a great job of explaining all the backstory and sub plots. I enjoyed the easy flow and inventive ideas and plot of “Insectual”, and really liked the characters! Happy that they were not cliché, cardboard cutouts but relatable and real. I liked that I never quite knew where the story was going, and it was anything but predictable… my eyebrows shot up and my jaw dropped many times. It gets pretty intense, and I wasn’t prepared for where the book went, but I feel like it is an important story that needs to be told. The author has a great way of writing, even if it took me awhile to get into the flow. Oh, and I loved the drawings at the beginning of each chapter! ( 4 stars). Essieharmon

6. From the very beginning the story moved seamlessly from one page to the next, and was unpredictable enough to make me just *have* to see what would happen next. Not formulaic or cookie-cutter at all, even though there are plenty of “familiar elements” necessary for a psychological thriller, this one is very different from others, probably because of the historical element. I was impressed with this author’s writing style and her attention to detail… I really felt transported to another time and place. The narrative is literary, almost poetic at times, even when discussing ugly events. Lots of metaphors, symbolism, and double-meanings, which I thought was really cool. Recommended for ages 18+ and I will look for more works from her in the future. (5 stars) Elisabeth Brown

Dear Barbara, I just finished reading your amazing book an hour ago (I started it yesterday) I was seriously hooked from your first two words: Making love. Wow, what a start to a book that is inspirational, mesmerizing, troubling, raw, mystical, fascinating, insightful, hopeful, sad, deeply personal: there are not enough words to say how I was touched by you. I enjoy a book sometimes for the writing, sometimes for the story, lucky if I have both in the same book. I had both in abundance with yours (the writing is wonderful as well as the story); however, the added bonus of the art is just marvelous. In each chapter, I kept going back to the art several times : it added dimension, joy and depth to each. Thank you ever so much for sharing this deeply personal saga.

Your courage and your journey deserve to be shared by as many people as possible. Your bravery is as inspiring as your art.

Insectual: The Secret of the Black Butterfly by Barbara Sala is a book which can be categorized in the Historical fiction genre.
This story traces Maya’s journey which begins in Germany, coinciding with the Second WorldWar. Maya grew up in Bavarian Alps, where the family had fled to escape from the bombing raids. Growing up was a tough experience for Maya, due to the constant tension between her parents which culminated in their divorce. After finishing her education Maya moves to former Belgian Congo as part of a UN mission. There she meets and marries her Italian colleague and gives birth to her two children, in the middle of all the chaos of the Mulele Revolution. The ensuing revolution forces Maya and Lorenzo (her husband) to move to Montreal with their family. Maya’s life has been eventful but there has been an ailment ailing her, gnawing at her subconscious constantly, something that she calls ‘the devil’. This ‘devil’ is now threatening to end her marriage and tear apart her family. Maya undergoes psychotherapy to find out the reason behind this condition and discovers that the answer is hidden in the troubled memories of her childhood. Will she find out the truth that she desperately seeks?

The book is divided into four parts with around seventy chapters in all. All the chapters begin with a dialogue quoted from the chapter, accompanied with an intriguing, often funny, illustration. The illustrations are mostly related to Maya’s fantasies or her dreams. The story is written in first person and starts with Maya’s life in Montreal. The story is written mostly in the form of flashbacks and the author takes the reader back and forth in time, tracing Maya’s journey across three continents. The fantasies and dreams which the author conjures for Maya’s character are quite inventive, with a deeper meaning camouflaged in them. One huge positive of this story is its unpredictability. With every flashback a new facet of Maya’s life comes to fore, changing the direction of the story. There are plenty of metaphors and symbolism used by the author to narrate this tale.

This book is pretty unusual in the sense that though there are some familiar elements like sexual abuse, troubled child psychology due to separation of parents, etc, it doesn’t follow the oft taken route and displays a twisted view of things. At times I was confused whether I should see Maya as a victim of circumstances or a victim of her own mind. Our protagonist, Maya, lives in a dual world caught between reality and the world of her imagination. She desperately wants to save her marriage and give her children a good family life. The other characters in this book are also interesting and not conventional characters made in the familiar mold. One would sympathize and be annoyed with them at the same time.

The author weaves in two important events in history and portrays them through a different lens. Readers who like psychological thrillers coupled with historical content should try this one. This book tells a story which is thought provoking and has a dark tone. I rate it 4 out of 4 stars for its unusual plot and riveting storyline.

I've read INSECTUAL at various stages as I was involved in editing it beginning about ten years ago. I'm very glad to see it finally appear in print. It has all the qualities other reviewers have mentioned: strong, vivid writing; a fast-moving story that begins in Nazi Germany during the war years, moves to the Belgian Congo in the early sixties and another particularly bloody war, then comes to rest in Montreal where the narrator enters therapy with a brilliant psychotherapist who helps her retrieve childhood incest memories and unfreeze her considerable artistic talent. (Writing is just one of Barbara Sala's gifts -- she's also a well-respected 'naive' painter.)

I haven't read the current version of INSECTUAL -- a brilliant title that I believe her granddaughter contributed to the project. I'm a fan of Barbara's writing (and painting) but we came to loggerheads when she revised the book, back in about 2010. I was in love with the earlier version -- a masterpiece of dramatic irony with a darker subtext than the current one -- in fact I thought it really had 'bestseller' potential as a portrait of a woman caught in the throes of romantic obsession to the point of extreme self-deception. If this version is disturbing, the earlier one was at times terrifying in its exploration of a shattered female psyche, almost (but not quite) rescued and redeemed by art

The reason I'm giving it four stars (instead of 5) is that I still hold onto the hope that Sala will resurrect her earlier draft, which was even more relentlessly honest and thought-provoking than this one, which has lost some of its truth and power to political correctness. That, in my opinion, would be a rare act of healing -- which is what INSECTUAL is about.

This review is from: INSECTUAL: The Secret of the Black Butterfly (Kindle Edition)
This is quite an exciting book written in a unique manner. In fact, a lot of the bitter truths about life can be found here. Consider, for instance, the very opening paragraph of the book: which couple, married or in an otherwise long term relationship, won't be able to relate to the mundaneness and monotony of sex life after the initial fervor is gone? -

"Making love. Oh making love! I really hate it. Day in, day out, always the same ritual. I don’t desire it as often as he does. Therefore, we get the passive sessions, when he "rapes" me, and the active sessions, when I play along"

OR

"To me, making love is boring and a waste of time. One housewife once confided to me that eating a steak was much more pleasurable than making love."

Is it any wonder that there is something called 'marital rape' in lawbooks? Is it any wonder that sometimes men and women in long term relationships cheat on each other? The whole book is a very accurate mirror into the mind of a woman who has lost the urge for sex.

Surprisingly enough, a lot changes in the protagonist's life except for one thing: her sexual ardor: she is still frigid, even with a new lover:

"Sexually, I am still a cripple."

Well at least she realizes the reality of sex therapy, thank goodness!

The atmosphere is sometimes chilling and often takes you by surprise; many a times the character's actions themselves are shocking. In one of the chapters ("Abortion") for instance, you are transported from the relatively calm and serene images of refectory and flowers to a comparatively bleaker imagery of cemetery.

The dialogs could have been better, however. A lot of times they are unoriginal, hackneyed or cheesy:

"Hi," it says cheerfully. "I am here, look at me."

"Come, Chérie, sit on me. Give yourself to me," says the little thing. It is trembling."

""Yes, I will perform a proper abortion. But abortion is illegal in this country. That’s why we have to be so prudent."

Considering the effort the author spent on creating extremely relatable, multi-dimensional characters and a page turning plot, if only she had invested just as much effort on the dialogs too, I would have given it five stars.

As it is stands though, it is worth the money due to the unique nature of the plot and very realistically drawn characters. I believe both genders would be able to relate to this book: women, who confuse sex with rape when the relationship gets old and tired, and men, who are frustrated by their wives' increasingly reduced appetite for sex. It even has something to appease the feminist crowd ("I am riding on this powerful wave."Get the bastard," I hear myself say. "Castrate him. Get justice for all of us who are in brothels, underprivileged, bound to sexual slavery or mistreated for our womanhood.") as well as for the 'religious' crowd ("The "devil" represents temptation, guilt and sex")

We all live lives full of experiences. So much we learn. Yet, because we live in a society where it is best seen to remain ``private`` a lot of lessons remain untold and lost. I loved reading Barbara Sala`s book. She puts it all out, emotions, experiences, hardships, in details. You read and you actually live Maya`s story (the heroine of the book), realizing that someone here has had the guts to show herself totally naked. Many difficult experiences were described (which depending on the reader`s life some could relate to), but what fascinated me the most was to learn how powerful the mind is. That is, the capacity to hide information in the subconscious in order to survive and stay strong. But then, what is hidden has to come to the surface one day…
We all need examples of the struggles others go through so we can see how it is possible to grow and emerge.
This book is a reminder to respect our elders because they have so much to teach. They are like gold mines rich with experiences. Can you believe that Barbara will turn 80 years old in 20017! It is up to us to choose to dig into these mines.

5 Stars This is a powerful book...I absolutely enjoyed every chapter :-), July 29, 2017
By Amazon Customer
INSECTUAL: The Secret of the Black Butterfly (Kindle Edition)
This is a powerful book. It recounts the journey of young girl....all the way through to her adult life. The problems she is now facing in her present marriage and how these troubles are rooted deep in her past. Through the advice of her husband Lorenzo she is now seeing a therapist and their sessions are nothing short of fascinating. The ways in which the therapist uncovers the truth....her confessions...her falling in love with the therapist and her learning to let go and find a new beginning are all truly inspiring. Not to be forgotten is her unusual obsession with insects and the pleasure she feels while in their presence...more pleasure than being around her husband. This story also shows the danger of physical and emotional abuse and how it can affect ones thinking ability and subsequently their future dealings with others. I absolutely enjoyed every chapter :-) .....it was most intriguing.