Papillon | 
 enlarge | Author: Henri Charriere
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 211337
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Perennial ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0060934794
Dewey Decimal Number: 365.6092
EAN: 9780060934798
ASIN: 0060934794
Publication Date: July 1, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Some wear on book from reading, spine creases, wear on binding and pages, we guarantee all purchases and ship all items via USPS mail.
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Product Description
Henri Charriere, called Papillon, for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 for a murder he did not commit. When he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, one thought obsessed him: escape. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, Papillon was eventually sent to the notorious prison, Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped -- that was, until Papillon. His escape, described in breathless detail, was one of the most incredible tests of human cunning, will, and endurance. In 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape, Charriere had his astonishing autobiography, Papillon, published in France to instant acclaim -- a worldwide bestseller describing the gripping, shocking odyssey of the author's imprisonment and escape over a greuling decade.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 78 more reviews...
Superb if Fictionalized Story June 23, 2008
This is a gripping adventure story about imprisonment and escape. Henry Charriere (1906-1973), or Papilon, was a French criminal sentenced to life for murder (he claimed innocence) in 1931. Readers follow as he arrives across the Atlantic Ocean at the penal colony in Guiana (South America) for a life of hard labor under the hot sun. Papilon set his sights on escape, and flees on a small boat to Columbia, where he is captured and re-imprisoned. Escaping again, Papilon lives with some coastal Indians, moves on, and again is captured. Eventually returned to Guiana, Papilon endures two years in solitary confinement. Then he escapes by boat to Venezuela, ends up imprisoned there, and is set free in 1945. Readers follow his every move with great interest, but we don't know how much of this narrative is true - all, most, or some. Whatever the facts, this is a gripping story of adventure, daring, justice (or injustice), and escape.
The book is somewhat different than the also-superb 1972 movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Also, Charierre married and ran a resturant in Venezeula, returned to France as this book arrived in 1969, and put out another (BANCO) before dying of cancer in 1973. Then, in 2005, a 104-year old ex-convict named Charles Brunier (1901-2007) claimed he was Papilon, adding to the mystery.
an intrepid journey of the hero through a series of hells July 7, 2007
A petty thief wrongfully convicted of murder by a French court in 1931. The bulk of this narrative, and it is a tremendous one, is this man's incarcerations in penal colonies in French Guyana: the many escape scenarios and attempts; the final escape to the mainland; and 2 years living with the local Indians.
Charriere's writing style is spontaneous, lucid, and totally without pretense; real storytelling prowess. The storylines are inbued with perserverance, grit, and undercurrents of humor. He never surrenders to despair; his sense of intrepid survival and courage sustain him throughout the 13 years of his imprisonments. The will to live is the engine that drives these riveting episodes.
The question of the authenticity of this narrative, like the Castaneda books, arises; but ultimately, it doesn't matter if this story is true or not. This is an adventure story; and hyperbole is always involved in the narration of any adventure, regardless of degree. It is the power of the storyteller that mesmerizes the listener/reader in this, a hero's journey. In this case, it is a journey of liberation from a series of hells.
After reading this book, you will come away feeling enriched by this man's intrepid spirit. Highly recommended.
Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts
An Irresistible Adventure, An Escape from Devil's Island June 11, 2007
Charriere's book was impossible to put down. Whether novel or real, his story as a prisoner is unforgettable. Highly recommended.
The Indomitable January 21, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
One of the great adventure books of any time; certainly had had huge impact on my childhood as it was more mesmerizing and novel and gripping than any of the more conventional classics. There it was: a documentary that once again proved that the human spirit at its highest truly becomes indomitable and cannot be destroyed.
The writer erected the monument to the spirit that went unbroken even in the harshest brutality of the Guyana's tropical gulag.
VERY overdue for an updated translation October 23, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
No, there's no need whatsoever for some poor sod to re-translate the whole book! It still reads beautifully. But, and this is a BIG but, the translation is, today, WAY TOO TAME. The quaint, oblique, charming English expletives he employs now badly interfere with the book's mood and thrillingly immediate, rough flavour. He translated this book way back in 1969; even the English aren't so delicate any longer. Please, isn't it time to honour Charriere's original manuscript, and dirty things up a bit??!
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