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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Henri Charriere, or Papillon, is convicted at the age of 25 and transported to a penal colony French Guiana. He attempts 9 escapes, some of which succeed. Papillon is his honest and detailed memoir about his time in penal.
I didn't quite get along with the style much of the time. It had a feeling of "and then this happened and then that happened..." that seemed a little too matter-of-fact. Once there was "I forgot to say that...". The memoir might have benefitted from a bit of editing.
And then there is the possibility that Papillon might have taken liberties with the truth. Especially the part with the pearl-diving Indians seemed very far-fetched.
But the pages kept turning and it was an interesting and impactful read.
I didn't quite get along with the style much of the time. It had a feeling of "and then this happened and then that happened..." that seemed a little too matter-of-fact. Once there was "I forgot to say that...". The memoir might have benefitted from a bit of editing.
And then there is the possibility that Papillon might have taken liberties with the truth. Especially the part with the pearl-diving Indians seemed very far-fetched.
But the pages kept turning and it was an interesting and impactful read.
Technically this was my first book which I started reading voluntarily rather doing school assignements, after my friend recommended this work during my college days. I have to say this is an incredible true story of a man's courage, determination, perseverance and full of hopes. Had a profound impact reading the novel. Kind of book which could improve broadening your visions of horizon.
Lot of insights over the Historical background of the western culture. Working reading again and again.
Lot of insights over the Historical background of the western culture. Working reading again and again.
The word "odyssey" really describes this book well and here's why.
Henri Charriere, or "Papillon", is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, but is still street smart in the criminal world. Arrested in France, then transported to French Guyana, Papillon's journey is very much a story of epic travels in which he meets various kinds of people, learns a variety of new things and attempts multiple escapes at various points during his incarceration leading to a grand finale of escape in what many thought was impossible.
This book is structured in various notebooks that were kept throughout Charriere's imprisonment, and he even disclaims at the beginning that there were some things he omits due to memory loss, or fills in because of common sense. There are times where he even tells you that you can skip parts because of minor details, but the story does paint a detailed picture of what his life was like. Ideally, I would want to compare it with Homer's epic, "The Odyssey" to describe perseverance and even compare the adventure timelines.
Read if you enjoy memoirs, prison stories, South America adventure stories or even "Orange is the New Black" book/show.
Henri Charriere, or "Papillon", is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, but is still street smart in the criminal world. Arrested in France, then transported to French Guyana, Papillon's journey is very much a story of epic travels in which he meets various kinds of people, learns a variety of new things and attempts multiple escapes at various points during his incarceration leading to a grand finale of escape in what many thought was impossible.
This book is structured in various notebooks that were kept throughout Charriere's imprisonment, and he even disclaims at the beginning that there were some things he omits due to memory loss, or fills in because of common sense. There are times where he even tells you that you can skip parts because of minor details, but the story does paint a detailed picture of what his life was like. Ideally, I would want to compare it with Homer's epic, "The Odyssey" to describe perseverance and even compare the adventure timelines.
Read if you enjoy memoirs, prison stories, South America adventure stories or even "Orange is the New Black" book/show.
slow-paced
This book was a struggle to get through, and I found it difficult to like the author.
Usually reserving my five-star ratings for books that I would read again, I must give this one the nod despite that I likely won't.
Making me reminisce about epic heroes like The Count of Monte Cristo and Jean ValJean, it's hard to believe it's all true that all of these adventures happened to Papillon, but if even half of them did, what a tale to be told. Never a dull moment, which really surprised me considering the length of this memoir. Totally worth the read.
I'm going to have to pick up The Count of Monte Cristo again soon.
Making me reminisce about epic heroes like The Count of Monte Cristo and Jean ValJean, it's hard to believe it's all true that all of these adventures happened to Papillon, but if even half of them did, what a tale to be told. Never a dull moment, which really surprised me considering the length of this memoir. Totally worth the read.
I'm going to have to pick up The Count of Monte Cristo again soon.
Ugh, I could not with this guy. I get the adventure part of the story is captivating, but his attitude - sheesh. According to him, everyone, literally EVERYONE is willing to break the rules for him. When a judge was like, I've known this warden and these guards for 20 years but your one statement now makes me think they are untrustworthy, and it is you, Papillon, who should get to decide your own fate. Or the one conversation he had with a doctor that apparently revolutionized the French prison system. Uh huh. This guy was full of himself.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Despite being largely ripped off from Clement Duval, this story was fascinating and a great read. Would highly recommend to anyone, basically an action-novel about escaping from prison. Despite all of the main character's talk of desiring to return to a normal life accepted by society, I heard that there is another book of his memoirs from after his final cavale where he resumes his life as a criminal...
reminds me of Shawshank redemption in a max security prison. wish there was more exploration of the rehabilitation of humanity