In the sprawling landscape of contemporary literary fiction, few works capture the visceral, bruising transition of adolescence quite like Ben Austin’s short story, "Butterfly Jeans." Published in The Missouri Review’s vibrant online-only prose anthology, BLAST, Austin’s narrative explores the turbulent landscape of early love, performative rebellion, and identity construction against the stark backdrop of Rennes, France, in 2006.
Described by editors as a piece that is "sweet but has a bite," "Butterfly Jeans" traces the trajectory of its protagonist, Julian (or "Mac Doe"), as he attempts to outrun his insecurities through stolen goods, borrowed aesthetics, and an obsessive fixation on an enigmatic classmate named Natalie. Far from a nostalgic stroll down memory lane, Austin constructs an unflinching, granular portrait of boyhood—one where petty delinquency serves as a proxy for emotional survival, and where a singular teenage romance casts a long, indelible shadow over a lifetime.
This review and literary analysis examine the structural anatomy of Austin’s narrative, the socio-geographical landscape of Rennes in the mid-2000s, the thematic underpinnings of performative youth culture, and the lasting resonance of a story that asks whether we ever truly escape the versions of ourselves we invent at thirteen.
Read Also
Detailed Chronology: The Anatomy of an Obsession
The Architecture of False Armor
The narrative opens in the provincial atmosphere of Rennes, France, during the autumn of 2006. The unnamed narrator—later revealed to be Julian—declares himself "cooler than I would be for the rest of my life." This artificial coolness is carefully constructed through uniform and posture: a camo Eastpack backpack, purple joggers with socks pulled over the cuffs, and neon yellow Nike Shox. Crucially, the Shox are stolen—or "carrotted"—from an overweight boy at a local swimming pool, a petty theft orchestrated by Julian’s charismatic and sociopathically detached friend, Briac.
In Julian’s adolescent calculus, delinquency is indistinguishable from self-creation. The stolen sneakers and borrowed bravado serve as armor, a way to command respect and deflect the chronic fear of emotional injury that defined his earlier childhood.
The Geometry of Desire
Julian’s meticulously curated persona fractures the moment he encounters Natalie during a right-triangles geometry class. Unlike the girls who chase social currency or mimic mainstream tropes, Natalie sits under the oak tree at the edge of the courtyard with her friends, wearing a Hello Kitty backpack and laughing without pretense.
Julian’s infatuation is immediate and totalizing. It is an obsession fueled by intense surveillance: he bookmarked her blog on his parents’ computer, downloaded her favorite tracks onto his iPod Nano, and cataloged her habits from afar. Yet, paralyzed by his own inadequacies, Julian defaults to inaction, relying on peer-pressure-laden games of truth-or-dare orchestrated by Briac to force proximity.
The Escalation of Petty Crime and Confession
As the winter chill sets in, Julian and Briac’s criminal enterprises escalate from minor pilfering to stealing Bayblades and backpacks from department stores. Prompted by Briac—who reveals that Natalie’s Hello Kitty backpack was a gift from a deceased aunt and that she desires a replacement—Julian executes a misguided, desperate gesture: he brings a stash of stolen backpacks to school and forces one upon her.
The transaction is fraught with awkward banter, leading to a pivotal moment of intimacy where Natalie administers la bise (the traditional French greeting of a kiss on each cheek) and challenges Julian to bring her along on his next theft.
The Breaking Point and Exile
The narrative hurtles toward its inevitable collapse when Julian and Natalie attempt a joint theft at an upscale department store, only to find themselves tracked by Briac. Fleeing through the historic streets of Rennes—past the Boulangerie Hoche and toward the Gare du Nord—Julian’s academic life literally unravels as his notebooks spill from his straining backpack onto the cobblestones.
On the bus ride that follows, Natalie discovers Julian’s cahier du jour, wherein he has poured out his obsessive, agonizing devotion to her. While she admits she likes him "more than him" (referring to Briac), she ultimately rejects a romantic pairing, prioritizing her loyalty to her friend Charlotte, whose affections Julian had previously dismissed.
The consequences are swift and severe. The following day, the dean and local police officers remove Julian from history class. He has been implicated in the department store thefts, his incriminating notebooks handed over to authorities. Within months, his family relocates to the United States, depositing him at Kennedy Oaks, a therapeutic boarding school in Utah.
Supporting Context & Metrics: Setting the Scene in 2006 Rennes
To fully appreciate the atmospheric weight of "Butterfly Jeans," one must contextualize the socio-cultural ecosystem of Rennes, the capital of Brittany in northwestern France, during the mid-2000s.
The Cultural Milieu
- Media and Technology: The narrative is anchored by the technological artifacts of 2006: iPod Nanos, clock radios playing Justin Timberlake’s "What Goes Around… Comes Around" on the French radio station Skyrock, and early blogging platforms. These elements highlight the liminal phase of the digital age—a time before smartphones flattened teenage interiority into instant social media feeds, leaving adolescents to obsess over fragmented digital breadcrumbs.
- Geographical Markers: Austin meticulously grounds the story in specific Parisian-adjacent French architecture and local geography: the Place des Lices, Rue Père LeSage, the Centre Colombier, and the regional transit network. These real-world locations imbue Julian’s frantic flights and quiet stakeouts with tangible grit.
- The Aesthetics of Delinquency: The concept of "carroting" items—stealing minor commodities like energy drinks, tobacco, and school supplies—reflects the mundane, low-stakes nihilism of European suburban youth culture. It is an exercise in agency for teenagers who feel powerless within rigid academic and domestic structures.
Publication and Artistic Pairing
- BLAST, The Missouri Review’s digital-only prose showcase, was specifically designed to house narratives that are "too vibrant to be confined between the covers of a print journal."
- The story is aesthetically paired with Emil Schmidt’s 1878–1909 artwork, Cockchafer and butterfly, bridging nineteenth-century natural history illustration with modern adolescent metamorphosis.
Official Statements and Editorial Insights
In evaluating the literary impact of "Butterfly Jeans," critics and editors have praised Austin’s ability to navigate the complex emotional topography of youth without leaning into clichéd sentimentality.
"It’s sweet but has a bite," remarked one Missouri Review editor, encapsulating the tonal duality that defines the piece.
The narrative resists tidy moral conclusions. Julian is neither a sympathetic hero nor a traditional villain; he is an adolescent archetype caught in the crossfire of his own performative aggression. As Austin illustrates through Julian’s internal monologue regarding his childhood peace offerings of stolen candy (carambars) to playground bullies, the psychological blueprint established at a young age dictates how we navigate love and power well into adulthood.
Julian’s lifelong fixation on Natalie—tracked through the digital ghost town of social media long after they have drifted into adulthood and marriage—speaks to the haunting nature of first love. As the author notes in the closing lines: "Would you believe I met the love of my life at thirteen? No one ever does, so I keep her to myself."
Future Outlook: The Literary Trajectory of Ben Austin
Ben Austin’s inclusion in BLAST marks another significant milestone in a rapidly ascending literary career. With roots spanning New Jersey, Texas, and Brittany, France, Austin brings a distinct transnational perspective to contemporary American fiction.
Having earned his MFA in fiction from Texas State University—where he currently teaches in the English Department—Austin has steadily built a formidable bibliography. His short fiction has appeared in esteemed literary publications such as Cleaver, Beloit Fiction Journal, and J Journal, earning nominations for the prestigious Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net anthology.
What Lies Ahead
As Austin continues to develop longer-form fiction, works like "Butterfly Jeans" signal a masterclass in psychological realism and stylistic economy. His ability to evoke the sensory overload of adolescence—the smell of department store air-conditioning, the scratch of cobblestones beneath cheap sneakers, the heavy silence of unrequited longing—positions him as an important voice in contemporary prose. Readers and critics alike will be watching closely to see how Austin translates these themes of displacement, memory, and formative trauma into upcoming novel-length projects.
Comments
Facebook App ID not configured. Please add it in the Customizer.