Abstract: In “Butterflies”, Ian McEwan depicts the entropic state of London in terms of energy loss and inadequacy of negative entropy. The presence of the “underground”, the return of Dionysian spirit and the deficiency of community performance construct an entropic city where desolation, uncanniness and isolation permeate London’s geographic space, the protagonist’s psychic space and the city’s socio-cultural space. Urban entropy reveals the conflicts between development and deterioration, between civilization and barbarism, and between empathy and distinction. It suggests Ian MacAbre’s skepticism about the notion of “linear progress” that is in accordance with the ethos of the Enlightenment, insinuates the vulnerability and uncertainties of the city, and reveals McEwan’s deep concern for the existential predicaments of marginalized subjects in the city.

Key words: the city, entropy , Ian McEwan, “Butterflies”