A review by wdantzler
Papillon by Henri Charrière

3.0

A modern epic outlining the thrilled misadventures of a convict in the French Guianan penal system of the 30s & 40s and his attempts to escape. Henri Charriere, known affectionately as Papillion, was a victim of a miscarriage of justice and thrown into an inhumane and unforgiving system not fit for the 21st century. His story recounts, without sparing any detail, both the repugnant aspects of that prison lifestyle and his journey to escape those prisons. For all of the exhilarating, page bending retellings of the escapes, there are equally as many mind numbing parts, specifically the 7 years between the two primary (and successful) cavales. Those sluggish parts, although necessary to the story because of the failures there, might have been communicated better had Charriere been a more experienced writer. It is a fantastic tale overall, one that has the heart racing at points, but note the word 'fantastic'. Charriere has a clear reliance on hyperbole in some cases and can be an unreliable narrator. Some might find that endearing to the story but his constant introduction of characters without background, misappropriation of ethnicities/geography (calling Vietnamese prisoners Chinese for example), and unrelentingly heroic appraisal of himself makes other specious elements that much more glaring. It is a wonderful thriller but it doesn't take a linguist to see the gaps and potential red flags riddled in the book. Regardless, what he endured and accomplished is legendary. For those who crave adventure and overcoming near insurmountable odds, this is absolutely worth picking up. I'm grateful he was able to share his story.

EDIT: I learned later Henri himself claimed only 75% of the story was true and French historians claim as little as 10% of it is. This makes sense for the reasons I listed but also improves my view of the story knowing it is, at least partly, deliberately fictitious.