The Good Serb
"The good Serb" is a metaphor that originates from the World War II phrase "good German" which ironically described Germans who later claimed to have not supported the fascist Nazi regime. The narrator describes a "good Serb" as "the Serb who is not a nationalist, who does not want to divide the country, to ethnically cleanse." The protagonist is a Serb who is growing tired of having to explain that anti-Serb prejudices do not apply to her.
Sarajevo
The setting of the book is war-torn Sarajevo during the Bosnian War of the 1990s. For the protagonist, however, Sarajevo is not defined by that horrific era of its long history. "She knows all its alleys and courtyards, all its scents and sounds...the old neighborhoods—that radiate from the center like the spiral of a snail’s shell." The simile used here to compare Sarajevo to the concentric circles making up the architecture of a shell carries an undertone of geometric order. This metaphorical imagery is used ironically as commentary on the how the orderly design of the city lapses into disorder that results from internal conflicts creating civil war.
Characterization
The author often turns to metaphorical language to intensify description of characters' emotional states. One perfect example is "The color empties from their faces and the dots of rouge glow like embers on the woman’s pale cheeks." This description occurs at a moment of great emotional turmoil among the participants. The figurative description of embers burning on cheeks is a subtle foreshadowing of the later arrival of the black butterflies.
The Butterflies
The title of the book itself is metaphorical. "Black butterflies" refers to the charred bits of paper floating through the air as a result of the national library being bombed and bursting into fire. The "black butterflies" gain their metaphorical name as a result of not just floating through the air but landing on residents softly just like real butterflies.
Animal Allusion
It is not uncommon for similes to be engaged which compare humans to animals. Such comparisons usually work most effectively when the comparison is straightforward and easily understood. "A smile as smug as a camel’s spreads on the woman’s lips" is an example that veers a bit from this direct connection. This is an unusual use simile dependent upon personification of an animal in a way that is not universally recognized. The smugness of the camel is not exactly as universally recognized as the presumed stubbornness of a mule, for instance. The intent of this simile is designed less to accurately describe the smile itself as to subtly suggest the unpleasant personality of the woman who is smiling.
