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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | 
 enlarge | Manufacturer: Knopf Group E-Books
Category: EBooks
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $7.99
You Save: $2.00 (20%)
Avg. Customer Rating:  140 reviews
Sales Rank: 3090
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 144
Dewey Decimal Number: 362.19681
ASIN: B0015IPEUM
Publication Date: March 6, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
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Amazon.com
We've all got our idiosyncrasies when it comes to writing--a special chair we have to sit in, a certain kind of yellow paper we absolutely must use. To create this tremendously affecting memoir, Jean-Dominique Bauby used the only tool available to him--his left eye--with which he blinked out its short chapters, letter by letter. Two years ago, Bauby, then the 43-year-old editor-in-chief of Elle France, suffered a rare stroke to the brain stem; only his left eye and brain escaped damage. Rather than accept his "locked in" situation as a kind of death, Bauby ignited a fire of the imagination under himself and lived his last days--he died two days after the French publication of this slim volume--spiritually unfettered. In these pages Bauby journeys to exotic places he has and has not been, serving himself delectable gourmet meals along the way (surprise: everything's ripe and nothing burns). In the simplest of terms he describes how it feels to see reflected in a window "the head of a man who seemed to have emerged from a vat of formaldehyde."
Product Description
In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young childen, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem. After 20 days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body which had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking it, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired. Almost miraculously, he was soon able to express himself in the richest detail: dictating a word at a time, blinking to select each letter as the alphabet was recited to him slowly, over and over again. In the same way, he was able eventually to compose this extraordinary book. By turns wistful, mischievous, angry, and witty, Bauby bears witness to his determination to live as fully in his mind as he had been able to do in his body. He explains the joy, and deep sadness, of seeing his children and of hearing his aged father's voice on the phone. In magical sequences, he imagines traveling to other places and times and of lying next to the woman he loves. Fed only intravenously, he imagines preparing and tasting the full flavor of delectable dishes. Again and again he returns to an "inexhaustible reservoir of sensations," keeping in touch with himself and the life around him. Jean-Dominique Bauby died two days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. This book is a lasting testament to his life.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 135 more reviews...
 wish i liked it more May 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was so inspired by the premise, and I wondered what beautiful prose a man "locked in" would produce. Unfortunately, I found it average. The most inspirational part of the book was his willpower to write it, in his condition. It is also valuable to note how much he could think under the circumstances.
His situation however, was not unique, though his case was more extreme than most.
His life was not particularly inspirational - he seemed to live for fine cars and fine food and travel. A nice book, but probably more meaningful to his family and friends than the population at large.
Look elsewhere for inspiration.
 Does the Emperor wear no clothes? April 22, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is in review of the english translation by Jeremy Leggatt.
This is a difficult book to review. On the one hand, the chapter in the life of Jean-Do Bauby that this autobiographical piece captures is one which no decent person would wish on another human-being. Let alone imagine themselves having to live out. In this regard, this is a hero story of epic proportions.
But as an author, and as the protagonist of the stories he chose to share, the Jean Bauby of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is something else entirely.
I began the book with infinite amounts of sympathy for the man and his plight. By the end of the book I felt I had just finished reading some of the lower-rated sections of the Michelin Travel Guide.
And this is the troubling part - is a person who reads this book and is left feeling less-than-inspired heartless and unfeeling? Or is the rave reviews of the book more because of the feat and life lived to create it and less because of the book itself?
In the end I was left with the impression that the Jean Bauby as presented in the book was a difficult man to sympathize with. I am not a fan of the Randian hero, so perhaps this flavors my feelings, but I came to feel that the diving bell was no new feature in his life. It just affected his ability to connect and relate to others before it came to afflict his entire body.
Ultimately, as a book, it was disappointing. And as a window into his diving bell, I can only hope or assume that there was more to the man than came through.
For those who knew him, I'm sure it was a gift. But for the rest of us, I think that the emperor is naked.
 THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY April 20, 2008
Its one of the few times that the movie adds to the book, both should be experienced and are inspirational
A Unique Book April 5, 2008
The word "unique" is probably overused, but here it applies. This book was written by a stroke victim who was paralized except for one eye-lid. He laboriously wrote the book with the help of a therapist who kept reading the alphabet and the author would blink his eye when she came to the right letter. In this way, he is probably the only completely paralized stroke victim who could transmit his feelings and memories. Since his brain and senses functioned perfectly, he was able to do this. If you think that this is a depressing book, you are wrong - it is really uplifting. The movie made from this book is also very much worth seeing.
 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life and Death April 5, 2008
I thought this was a wonderful quick read. I saw the movie and couldn't wait to read the book. How amazing that in all his struggles he was able to write this book. It shows you that even without body function the amazing strength of his will can go on.
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