Butterfly Burning is a novel written by Yvonne Vera. The novel was published on January 1, 1998. Set in the late 1940s, the novel is about the voice of the people under colonialism in Zimbabwe. It is a romantic story that follows the lives of Fumbatha, a construction worker, who falls in love with a much younger woman, Phephelaphi.

Phephelaphi seems to view Fumbatha as though in a fantasy, as she wades out of the waterway in the township of Makokoba. The two fall in love, but Phephelaphi soon tires of Fumbatha's devotion to her, even while living with him. Prior to her mother's murder, Phephelaphi had been given some training to assist her in self-sufficiency. After picking up a position at a neighborhood nursing school, she learns she is pregnant and no longer qualified for the instructional class. Therefore, she induces abortion to be able to apply for the program.

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