How does Kappa Senoh use imagery in A Boy Called H?

Although the manner of narration is generally matter-of-fact and literal, occasionally the author uses poetic, figurative language to provide a striking effect. A notable example is after the air raid on Kobe. When H sees the unburned pages of his books caught up in the wind and swirling in the air, he at first mistakes them for white butterflies: "The scene, with white cabbage butterflies dancing round and round over the overall black of the ruins, was dreamlike, fantastic." He feels that the white flakes are "the very souls . . . of the books."