Status
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Description
Biography & Autobiography. Nonfiction. HTML: Henri Charri�?re, called "Papillon," for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he became obsessed with one goal: escape. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, he was eventually sent to the notorious prison, Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped . . . until Papillon. His flight to freedom remains one of the most incredible feats of human cunning, will, and endurance ever undertaken. Charri�?re's astonishing autobiography, Papillon, was published in France to instant acclaim in 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape. Since then, it has become a treasured classic �?? the gripping, shocking, ultimately uplifting odyssey of an innocent man who would not be defeate… (more)
User reviews
Whatever the debates on the novels false claims, the story is still very good because Papillon the character retains his humanity, his honor and dignity, in a world determined to destroy it. It's a microcosm of the issues in Europe during the Second Thirty Years War (1914-1945). Charriere blames technology and its emphasis on the machine and systems over individuals, he says the primitive peoples are the most honorable and human, while the most technologically advanced are barbaric and evil. From the perspective of the time, it would seem to be the case. There have been a number of books written about men who escaped World War Two to live alone in wild parts of the world: Papillon, Seven Years in Tibet, The Sheltering Desert, Kabloona, an interesting genre that I look forward to finding more. Papillon is also just a great prison escape adventure story, entertaining and immersive.
The book was all the more remarkable for being based on Papillon's actual imprisonment, and I kept having to tell myself that all the way through. I'm not sure whether I believed every word, but if even 50% of it is true he certainly had a remarkable life!
I can't say I was particularly fond of Papi, I found his writing style to be a little boastful at times, but having said that, having the life that he did, and coming out the other side, I could imagine that would give a person one heck of a sense of power and greatness!
I was blown away by this book ... by the strength of character displayed by the author (admittedly not always a character to be unreservedly liked), by the mad adventures he undertook, and by the amazing richness of a life that a court tried to throw into a hole and forget
There is something so fundamentally heartening about Papillon’s refusal to remain incarcerated for a crime he did not commit (though he ends his tale by admitting that he was a character ripe to be accused of it) that his escape attempts, his adventures, his successes and failures can only be followed with a mixture of – if not always approval – admiration and whole-hearted hope that things should end well for him. Despite some flaws of character and a style of writing that descends here and there into occasional egotistical self-approval, one cannot help agreeing with the friends of Papillon who declare him worthy of loyalty and every help in his escape attempts.
The brutal harshness of the French penal system, the incredible richness of life that he encounters on his breaks, the amazing friendships that he forges, the moments of genuine horror that he witnesses are described vividly and with a well-paced flair for narrative that isn’t lost with translation. Papillon may – like any person – have been capable of blunt actions and mistakes, but his credit lies in the fact that, in the face of such dismal prospect, he tried to remain a man who considered what was honourable while refusing to compromise his single-minded goal… to be free.
[Papillon] tells the
This book is a must read for fans of fiction dealing with prison escapes.
It was fascinating to hear about the protocol of escaping from a penal colony. Arriving after one successful breakout on an island under British administration, the French escapees immediately start acting like Brits - I had expected them to immediately go underground, but instead they presented themselves at the consulate (queueing, no doubt) before reporting themselves as escaped prisoners from a penal colony! To which they were effectively told 'Jolly good, chaps, off you go now!' Incredible!
One thing for sure was the movie cut out a lot of the book material and seemed to reshuffle the order of events somewhat. It is hard to believe a man could survive what he went through for so long a time while so many around him went down. But it is a testimony to the power of the human spirit when it focuses on getting to the one thing many of us hold as the ultimate objective in life, freedom.
Despite knowing that eventually Papillon would succeed in his
I actually found some of the other people in this story far more interesting than Papillon himself, like the lepers he meets during his first attempt who give him food,shelter and money to try and also sell him a boat and gun at discount prices to try and help him get to the South American mainland so that maybe he can have the freedom that because of their leprosy they could never have even if they were to escape.
Thank you Dad for the recommendation.
It is a bit hard to believe at times, but taken on the
A birthday present from Sarah.
It is book full of adventure, intrigue, friendship,sorrow, joy, heartache, revenge, life, persistence and fate!
it's a gripping story and a page turner.