Papillon

Papillon #1

by Henri Charrière

Henri Charrière, 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.

Charrière'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 defeated.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Classics, Memoir, Adventure, Autobiography, History

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Henri Charrière was a convicted murderer chiefly known as the author of Papillon, a hugely successful memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony on French Guiana.

Reviews

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother knew Papillon and another one of the characters in the book (Francoise). He was a customer of my uncle's restaurant Il Padrino, in Venezuela, back in the 60's,70's (after this story was told). My brother was just an infant/toddler at this time and they would take turns throwing him in the air, swinging him, etc.. I told this guy Neil about this and he was shocked that my family knew this guy. He had read the book and loved it so much. So as a gift, he gave me a copy of the book.

This book was written in my uncle's other restaurant Il Pappagallo back in the day. What a great story!!!

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henri Charrière's utterly consuming autobiography has blown me away! Henri was called "Papillon" because of his chest butterfly tattoo which features on the cover of this edition. Unjustly convicted for murder in Paris in 1931 and sentenced to life imprisonment on French Guyana, he became utterly obsessed with escape.

The book superbly covers his planning and executions of numerous escapes which have you as a reader transfixed but also imploring for him to succeed. His intense fight for freedom remains one of the greatest modern classics for me, and my only real question is how I only gave this a 9 out of 12, when I read this back in 2006! Really looking forward to rereading this one!

2006 read

[Luís · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henri Charrière, nicknamed Papillon because of the tattoo on his chest, is sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder he claims not to have committed. He was sent to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, where he escaped with two other convicts. This time is where his incredible adventure begins.
This fact encompasses several facets. First, it understands moments of indescribable joy, especially during the beginnings of successful runs with her companions of fortune. These moments often take place aboard a boat or a makeshift boat.
There are also moments of doubt when he feels abandoned by this God, whom he comes to know through history and religious figures who help him keep the faith and believe that anything is possible. And yet, despite all these difficulties, he always regains hope.
In this story, Papillon encounters moments when he is faced with and obliged to tap into an indispensable moral strength and extraordinary power not to go mad or commit suicide. Moreover, during his years in prison, he developed unique methods to maintain a more or less correct level of health, especially during his two years of imprisonment. Papillon is also used to rationing since he has to impose it on himself several times in the book, whether to stay alive in dark dungeons or on a makeshift boat.
This work also features breathtaking landscapes, disturbing warmth, and moments of relief and pain.
Finally, the most beautiful part of this book is all the encounters between Papi and the locals, the guards, the other convicts, and the authorities. He gives the impression of adaptability and is extremely friendly because he meets people who want to help him wherever he goes. These people are often impoverished, have also been in prison, or are very sick, but they always do their best to help Papillon go on the run or get a new life. He also meets a few suspicious people who denounce or try to kill him, but he always gets by and goes his way.
I will conclude with my opinion of this book. Papillon has made me vibrate throughout its history. At times, the suspense was breathless, and I recommend this biography to any lover of good adventure novels.
However, I was very disappointed by what I discovered while reading this book because it is an autobiography of Henri Charrière that called into question. It proved that it is, in particular, a collection of stories about other convicts who knew Papillon.
Therefore, it fails to be an entirely true story that made me spend delightful moments.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in the mid 70's, as a teenager. Then I read it again. And then, a little while later, I saw the film. The three events have subsequently blended into one, and I certainly now have difficulty differentiating the book from the film. But that's no big deal as I know the film followed the written narrative pretty closely. It's a true story of one man's battle against injustice and the terrible personal consequences that transpired.

It left a big impression on me. It was a big story. A huge adventure which I believed in entirely, though I now know some doubt has subsequently been levelled at the detail. It was also the largest book I'd taken on at this point - by far. Not only did it convince me of the power of a story, it also demonstrated to me that I could be transfixed by a tome so large it seemed impossible it would hold my interest long enough for me to finish it. When I look back to early 'adult' books I've read it's this one that stands out - read as I laid on my bed with a Rod Stewart cassette (Atlantic Crossing) playing in the background.

When the film was released, I know I doubted it could match the power of the book, but in my memory, it came close. I loved Hoffman and McQueen in the lead roles, and the scenes of solitary confinement seemed a perfect reflection of what I'd conjured up in my mind.

I'm not sure if I'll ever re-visit this tale of a Frenchman shipped off to a prison in French Guiana for a crime he claimed he didn't commit, as I wouldn't want to be disappointed by a second re-read. I think I'll just continue to treasure the untainted memory of my first memorable reading experience.

[Steven Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One can only presume Henri Charriere (Papillon, or simply Papi to inmates) was a cat in a previous life, and was still blessed with nine lives in this, believe me he needed all of them. Nine death-defying escapes from the brutal penal settlements of French Guiana in eleven years, pushing his stubborn body to the brink each time, wow!, now that's quite something, how it was even possible for a man of flesh and bone not to die a hundred deaths whilst also going round the bend is beyond me. He would not accept a life's incarceration for a crime he didn't commit, no way, after being wrongly convicted of murder in Paris 1931, and sent to the infamously named Devils Island. The man who had a beautiful butterfly tattoo on his chest, against all odds beat a system dreaded from the days of Napoleon who used its harsh and near inhospitable conditions to punish renegades and political prisoners. Well, this prisoner was simply having none of it!

This was a big book in length, and it felt like it to, through a ravaging chain of events Papillon reads both as an adventure story of high thrills and tension and a savage graphic account of the misery and inhumanity of the French penal system. Right from the start there is no settling in period, and you’re left in no doubt as to how hard you needed to be to survive. Charriere grabs you by the scruff of the neck and drags you all the way on this incredible journey, leaving you just as exhausted as he. The emotions are explicit, the story is resolute and pumped full of testosterone, and the lessons from his life are succinct. He made his first break from the prison of Saint Laurent within the first forty-two days of his term navigating the heat, humidity and shark infested waters of the Caribbean Sea. Showing exemplary courage and will power he reached as far as Colombia using a rickety and an old crumbling wooden boat only to be captured and returned back to the French, this totally pissed them off. Angered and embarrassed French officials shipped him to the devil’s islands without delay. The failure only made him more resilient; he simply refused to accept his fate, eventually ending up in Venezuela, doing a little jail time, before, with the sun on his back he's a free man.

The book also explores the humane relations Papillon shared with his cell mates, and you feel for a lot of them to, he was heavy handed with the sods but easy to make friends with. He learned to live with the rogues, the dreaded convicts who hacked at moment’s provocation but he never abandoned the meek and the suffering, whilst also getting along with guards and wardens. Most were never repulsed by his intense obsession to break out, believing his innocence and respecting his dream to live as a free man. It was this trust that enlivened his spirits and increased his strength to keep his sanity in the lowest ebbs of confinement, which generally were truly awful.

On finishing Papillon I put the book down feeling that, out there in the big wide world, anything is possible. This is a testament to the human spirit on a grandeur level, an adrenaline soaked, hard as nails unshakable will to live. As for his writing, he took to it like anything else, without ever imagining that he could fail, putting pen to paper, 5,000 words a day, and if events from 30 years before ended up feeling a little fictionalised, he still managed to get Papillon across to the reader in the most believable way. An experience never to be forgotten. 5/5

[Debbie W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why I chose to listen to this audiobook:
I read this book back when I was in high school during the late 1970s. As a young, impressionable reader, I had given it 5 stars. A few years ago, my daughter and her husband gifted me with a copy of this book after they watched (and liked) the 2017 movie version. I found an audiobook recording to follow along with the book.

Praises:
1. a memoir written by Henri Charrière, focusing on his unjust incarceration at a penal colony in French Guyana during the early 1930s. It's an action-packed adventure story of perseverance and survival as he attempts several escapes from various prisons; and,
2. the hardcopy contains a Glossary of various French terms used, as well as a map outlining a couple of Papillon's lengthier escapes.

Niggles:
1. although written as a memoir at least 40 years after this time period, Charriere is extremely detailed in his conversations, which is amazing, because I can't recall what I said word-for-word with anyone that I spoke to a couple of hours ago. Personally, I felt there was TOO MUCH DIALOGUE which got boring at times;
2. there was a lot of tell, not show, and a lot of repetition;
3. I was mystified as to how often Papillon was welcomed and adored wherever he went, given free rein, gifts, and money. He was revered as the center of attention by prison wardens and indigenous peoples alike, even though everyone was highly aware that he was an escaped prisoner convicted of murder;
4. the audiobook recording was confusing as there were huge amounts of dead air between "notebooks"; and,
5. I was totally disgusted when he is welcomed into a Colombian indigenous tribe during his first escape, "inherits" two young wives, 17-year-old Lali and her 12-year-old sister, Zoraima, impregnates them both, and then leaves them high and dry in order to continue his adventure.

Overall Thoughts:
Well, this is the second book in a row that I loved in my youth, only to be highly disillusioned with in my 60s as I reread them. I often questioned the overall authenticity of this "memoir", and it appears that I'm not the only one. Many parts just seemed so wrong.
This is just proof that books sometimes affect us differently throughout the years.

[Sawsan · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية قائمة على أحداث حقيقية في حياة الكاتب هنري شاريير
شاريير المتهم البرئ المحكوم بالمؤبد ورحلة هروب بائسة استغرقت 13 سنة
هروب من الظلم والقسوة والعنف والألم وصولا إلى الخلاص والحرية
تجربة انسانية مريرة مع إصرار على النجاة والتحرر والأمل في العيش بسلام

[Dalia Nourelden · Rating 4 out of 5]

" لم أعش إلا من أجل تحقيق هذا الهدف : أن أهرب ، أن أهرب من السجن. ليس مهما أن أهرب بمفردي أو برفقة أحد، المهم أن أهرب. كانت هذه فكرة ثابتة في ذهني "

"رحلة نحو الحرية " هذا ما يمكنني وصف به هذه الرواية . كانت توقعاتي لها مختلفة عما وجدت . لا أعني ان الرواية سيئة او لم تعجبني لكن فقط توقعتها بشكل مختلف عن ذلك .
ظننت في البدا��ة انى سأجد ماتوقعت فها هو هنري شاريير المدعو بابيون أى الفراشة كما لُقب من البداية وقد تم إتهامه زوراً وحُكم عليه بالمؤبد ظلماً .
" في تمام الساعة الحادية عشرة ليلاً ، انتهت لعبة الشطرنج ، بعد أن قبل للمحامين المدافعين عني ( كش مللك ومات!) وتم الحكم علي وأنا برئ من التهمة."

ليقرر منذ أول يوم أنه سيهرب من السجن بالتأكيد وانه سيعود للإنتقام ممن أودعوه بالسجن .
نتابع خططه المتكررة للهروب من السجن ونتعرف على من يحاول ضمهم اليه في الهروب ونعيش معه افكاره ومحاولاته بل ونشهد نجاح أول محاولة للهروب معه ومالاقاه في رحلة الهروب هو واصدقائه ومن إلتقي لهم .



"لقد خسرت المباراة ، ولكن روحي لم تنهزم"

نحيا مع بابيون كل الأحداث في السجن ونتعرف على الكثير من رفاقه هناك وحكاية كل منهم ، فالرواية نعم من وجهه نظره وعنه لكنه يحكي لنا قصص الكثير ممن يلتقيهم لنعرف سبب سجنهم واحكامهم وأشياء مما تحدث معهم . ونرى من خلال حكاياته سواء مما حدث معه او مما حدث للسجناء الآخرين المعاملة المهينة والسيئة والعنيفة في بعض الأحيان والمنعدمة الإنسانية تماما في أحيان اخري ، ونتابع مآسي الحبس الإنفرادي ، وكيفية التعامل مع جثث الأموات من المساجين حيث لايوجد مكان للدفن . وتعامل السجناء مع بعضهم البعض وخياراتهم في التعامل مع السجن .



"لا اهمية لسجين محكوم بالأشغال الشاقة، فحتى لو قُتِل بطريقة جبانة، يمتنع الآخرون عن إزعاج أنفسهم بالسعي إلى معرفة القاتل. بالنسبة إلى الإدارة هو لا يعني شيئاً على الإطلاق ، فهو مجرد محكوم ، أدني من كلب "


لم أشاهد الفيلم بعد لكن هذه اللقطة من الحبس الإنفرادي ، اللحظة الوحيدة التي يستطيع السجين ان يري غيره وقد يتمكن من ان يتحدث بكلمتين إن كان سعيد الحظ.

اسلوب الرواية كان أسهل بكثير مما توقعت ، لا اعلم لماذا كان لدى إعتقاد أن لغة هذه الرواية وإسلوبها وطبيعتها ستكون أثقل من ذلك بكثير . لكن أسلوب الكاتب كان شيق .و الرواية عموماً كانت كما قلت في البداية رحلة ، تتخللها المغامرات والمخاطر والأحزان والأفراح والمواقف الطريفة والمبكية .

" منذ عام وأنت لا تكف عن محاولات الفرار ولم تستسلم مرة واحدة. ما إن تخفق في محاولة فرار حتى تعد لمحاولة أخرى"

إصرار بابي على الهروب من السجن والحصول على حريته كان رائعا ، وتعامله مع حياته في السجن ورفاقه وطريقة تعامله ليتحمل عقوبة السجن الإنفرادي كانت ملهمة وجميلة لتثبت لنا أن الخيال أحيانا يستطيع إنقاذنا من الجنون والمعاناة . ( ده طبعا للناس اللى خيالها بيوديها لأفكار وخيال كويس ، مش جلد الذات اللى بعضنا واولهم انا بنعمله 😅) لذا كان الخيال وإصرار هنري على الحياة والحرية هو مل انقذه وجعله يواجه الكثير مما لاقاه دون أن يقع في براثن الجنون أو ان يقوم بالإنتحار .

"إنهم بالفعل مجانيين .هل يعتقدون مجرد اعتقاد أن الصدمة القوية التي نزلت على رأسي يمكنها أن تودي بي إلى اضطراب قد يصل إلي حد التفكير في الانتحار ؟ أنا شجاع وسأبقى كذلك. سوف أكافح في وجه كل شئ وضد كل شئ ."



" من بين الذين سوف يقرؤون هذه الصفحات ، إذا ما قيض لها أن تُنشر ذات يوم ، سوف يرثي بعض لحالي ربما عند سر ما اضطررت لتحمله ، ويشعر حيالي بشئ من الشفقة "


الرواية قائمة على احداث حقيقية حدثت مع الكاتب بالفعل لا اعلم إلى قدر هي حقيقية وأى الاحداث متخيلة.

"هنري تشاريير (بالفرنسية: Henri Charrière )‏ (و. 1906 – 1973 م)، كاتب فرنسي. كتب رواية (بابيلون) وهي مذكرات حول سجنه وهروبه من مستعمرة عقابية في غويانا الفرنسية. ادعى شاريير أن الأحداث المذكورة في رواية بابيلون صحيحة في الغالب، إلا أن الباحثون المعاصرون يعتقدون أن شاريير لم يكتب الكثير من محتوى الرواية بل السجناء الآخرون"



مما قيل عن هنري شاريير :

"على الرغم من كل أنشطته غير القانونية كعصابة في باريس ، لم يتم القبض على هنري شاريير إلا بعد مقتل رجل عصابات محلي / القواد رولاند ليجراند في عام 1931.
المخبرين غير أمناء ونظام قضائي فرنسي سعى إلى حل سريع للقضية. لماذا بالضبط ربطت الدولة شاريير بأنه رجلهم لا يزال غير واضح ، لكن مع ذلك ، تلقى حكمًا بالسجن مدى الحياة في كايين ، المستعمرة الجنائية سيئة السمعة في غيانا الفرنسية.
لكن لم يكن لدى هنري شاريير أي نية للبقاء محبوسًا - وكان تسلسل الهروب الجريء من السجن الذي سيجعله مشهورًا في النهاية على وشك البدء."

خلصنا جبل الرواية نروح نشوف الفيلم 😅



اه في حاجة ضايقتني منه هو وعد قاله لأمرآتين وثقوا فيه وحبوه وهو في النهاية طبعا منفذش الوعد كالمتوقع يعني و مفتكرهمش خالص ولو بكلمة حتى في النهاية.

شكرا لصديقتي بسمة عمر على مشاركتي في قراءة الرواية ❤

٢٤ / ١٢ / ٢٠٢٢

[Tahani Shihab · Rating 5 out of 5]

كان عُمر بابيون خمسة وعشرون عامًا عندما حُكم عليه بالسجن مدى الحياة على جريمة لم يرتكبها. بعد محاولات عديدة وفاشلة للهروب استطاع أن ينجو في محاولته الأخيرة. فرّ من السجن بعد إحدى عشرة عامًا من الظلم والمعاناة والتوق للحرية، حيث استطاع بنجاح أن يصل إلى عاصمة غويان الإنجليزية. ومن ثم هرب إلى فنزويلا، حيث استقرّ فيها.

الرواية ملحمة إنسانية مؤثرة ومحفزة للتواقين للحرية، فإذا كنت قد شاهدت الفيلم سابقًا فقد فاتك الكثير، ففي الرواية تقرأ عن أحداث ومعاناة لم ترد في الفيلم.

أسلوب الكاتب رائع، سهل سلس وشيق، كتب بكل انسابية قصة سجنه ومحاولات هروبه. كتب أيضًا قصص سجناء آخرين، سبب سجنهم، معاناتهم من التعذيب في السجون، الجنون الذي أصاب البعض بسبب السجن الإنفرادي، مقتل بعض السجناء سواءً على يد سجناء آخرين أو على يد سجانيهم أو أثناء الهرب. ثقافة وأخلاق أُناس وشعوب عاصرهم وعاش معهم، منهم الطيب ومنهم الشرير.

أحداث مؤلمة وأخرى جميلة ستقرئها في هذه الرواية. من أبشع ما ستقرأ عن السجن الانفرادي الذي كان يُسمّى بسجن آكل الرجال!.

رواية شيقة ومُلهمة عن الحرية والعدالة والظلم والبؤس، التعذيب اللاإنساني الذي يمارسهُ السجّان على أخيه الإنسان.




اقتباسات…




“أدانتني المحكمة وأنا بريء..!”.

“لقد حولني قمع العدالة إلى رقّاص ساعة، فالذهاب والإياب في الزنزانة هما كل عالمي”.

“ليس من حق الشعب أن ينتقم في صورة سريعة أو أن يخلع الأشخاص الذين أساؤوا إلى المجتمع، فهؤلاء الأشخاص أولى بالعناية بدلًا من معاقبتهم بصورة لا إنسانية”.

“الناس الصرحاء الذين لا يراؤون وهم على درجة حسنة من التربية الحضارية، تكون ردود الفعل عندهم عفوية، وسرعان ما يبدو عليهم الفرح أو الحزن، السرور أو الغم، الاهتمام أو اللامبالاة”.

“لم أستطع أن أتحمل أو أتصور أن بلدًا مثل بلدي فرنسا أم الحرية في العالم أجمع، الأرض التي أنبتت حقوق الإنسان والمواطن، كيف أمكن مع ذلك أن تقيم في غويان، فوق جزيرة ضائعة في الأطلسي لا تزيد مساحتها على رقعة منديل، بربرية زجرية، مثل الانفرادي في سان جوزف”.

“انعموا بالنوم الهادئ أيها الجبناء الذين حكمتم علي. انعموا بالنوم، وأظن أنكم لو علمتم مآلي لرفضتم وترعرعتم عن أن تكونوا من طالبوا بتطبيق مثل هذه العقوبة”.

“احذر نظرة منك كاذبة أن تحسب السجّان إنسانًا سَوِيًّا. إن ينتسب إنسان إلى هذه المجموعة فليس جديرًا بهذه التسمية. وقد يعتاد المرء على كل شيء في هذه الحياة حتى الدناءة قد يجعل منها ديدنه. ولا يرعوي إلا إذا دنا من القبر وخشي ربّه إن كان ديّناً فيمسي خاشعًا نادمًا. لا لأن ضميره يؤنبه بل لأنه يخاف أن يحاسبه به على ما جنت يداه وأن الله هو الحاكم الذي سيحاكمه”.

“أقول بكل إخلاص: إنني أفضل أن أكون مجرمًا على أن أكون سجّانًا”.

“الحياة، الحياة، الحياة، هذا ما يجب أن يكون مذهبي الأوحد”.

“عليّ أن أحلم وأن أحلّق في جو الخيال قدر المستطاع مختارًا الأفكار السعيدة حتى أبعد عن نفسي شبح الجنون”.

“الحياة، الحياة، الحياة. عليّ أن أردّد كلمة الأمل هذه ثلاثًا، كلما شعرت بالاستسلام إلى اليأس، لا يأس مع الحياة”.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a story! Papillon is an autobiographical novel about a man who in 1931 was charged with killing someone (of course, the author claims he was innocent) and he was sentenced to a life of hard labor at a penal colony in French Guiana.

After many weeks of planning, he managed to escape on a raft and sailed hundreds of miles to Colombia. He spent several months living happily in a fishing village -- with not one but two wives! -- but he was eventually picked up by the authorities and sent back to prison. He tried many other escape attempts, but it wasn't until 1941 that he managed to escape again by sea, floating away on a sack of coconuts. Yes, a sack of coconuts.

Papillon, a nickname referencing the French word for butterfly, is a wonderful storyteller and the book is filled with his adventures. I can understand why this book was a huge bestseller when it was published in 1969; it is compulsively readable and the stories are memorable. Like any great storyteller, the author comes across as so clever and heroic that you wonder how much is exaggerated, but you also don't care because you're enjoying it too much.

[Paul Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true tale of courage, perseverance and an unbreakable spirit!

Henri Charrière, born in France in 1906, was not a gentleman. In 1931, following a shadowy career in the Paris underworld spent in the company of safecrackers, thieves and prostitutes, he was convicted for a murder he always maintained he did not commit and sentenced to transportation and life imprisonment in the notorious penal camps located in French Guiana.

Charrière, determined to preserve his health, his sanity, his spirit and, indeed, even his capacity for enjoyment of life, under unimaginably deplorable conditions and suffering inhuman punishment and abuse, always maintained that he was only visiting the prison. He definitely had no intention of hanging around for long. Labelled as "dangerous" by the prison authorities, he was an incorrigible "escaper".

After serving a scant six weeks in French Guiana, Papillon (Charrière's nickname earned in the navy due to a magnificent butterfly tattoo on his chest) escaped for the first time completing an astonishing sea-faring voyage worthy of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Without benefit of either maps or compass, Papillon navigated a thousand miles through shark-infested waters in an open boat to Colombia. With the assistance of a leper colony, he ultimately found his way to a native village tribe where he "married" not one but two young native girls who positively adored him and bore his children.

But life was not yet finished with Papillon. Recaptured, he was cruelly sentenced to two years of solitary confinement and a starvation diet which was intended to break both his body and his spirit. It's difficult to believe but, when Papillon was released to the general prison population, he remained all the more determined to escape once again.

PAPILLON tells the story of seven more daring but unsuccessful attempts. His ninth and final attempt on a raft of coconuts enclosed in a jute bag is described in breathless detail and has to count as one of the most exciting stories of adventure and endurance that I've ever been privileged to read.

How much of Charrière's autobiography PAPILLON is hyperbole and how much is fact is certainly not clear. Some have accused Charrière of stealing the adventures of his fellow inmates and representing them as his own. But, to the breathless reader, none of this will matter. Incorporating themes reminiscent of THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, PAPILLON has to count as one of the most exciting stories of adventure and survival that I've ever read.

Be warned! Don't crack the binding on PAPILLON unless you've got the time to finish it. Setting it down until Papillon successfully reaches the safety of the shores of Venezuala will not be an option.

PAPILLON was a sensation when it was first published in 1969 and it remains sensational to this day. Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

[Layla ✷ Praise the sun ✷ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time to believe a lot of the stuff in this memoir and was hardly surprised when I read that a lot of it was actually invented or had in reality happened not to Charrière but to his inmates.

Papillon was interesting as a narrative novel transmitting a message about the French punitive system back at that time, but even though Charrière could almost get philisophical at times, I personally couldn't get myself to like him at all and the plot was repetitive.
Charrière seemed rather full of himself and the moment he entered prison, he immediately got in contact with potential later break companions and planned out in his head who he would have to kill to get his revenge.
From there, everyone who disagreed with him in some way was evil and the rest of the world always seemed eager to help him escape. Too black and white for my taste.

You might very well enjoy this book as a work of fiction, but it was just not for me.

[Andrei Tamaş · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Papillon" este cel mai captivant roman de aventură citit vreodată.
Autobiografie romanțată fiind, autorul ne spune că a fost condamnat la închisoare de către curtea cu juri. La începutul secolului XX, în Franța colonialista, oamenii făcuți vinovați de delicte grave, erau trimiși la ocnă în teritorii îndepărtate (Guyana franceză, în cazul de față, "un loc din care nimeni nu a ieșit vreodată viu"). El, autorul, ne mărturisește că, deși în tinerețe a fost un golan, a fost condamnat la închisoare pe nedrept, deoarece nu a săvârșit niciun delict (dar -repet- este AUTOBIOGRAFIE).
Ajuns în închisoare, primul lucru care-i încolțește în minte este evadarea. Toate inchisoarile de maximă siguranță fiind, se înțelege că planurile sale -deși absolut geniale- întâmpină greutăți și dau greș. Dacă reușește să evadeze din spitalul unei închisori (prefăcându-se că era bolnav), este înhățat în timp ce își construiește luntrea de evadare, în cimitir.
Apar, de asemenea, diferite personaje de diferite nații cu diferite caractere și diferite stiluri de viață.
Unul din miile de detalii ar fi acela conform căruia deținuții care primeau bani din exterior erau nevoiți să uzeze de diferite mijloace pentru a-i pune în siguranță. Papillon al nostru (da -uitasem să menționez- Papillon este porecla autorului) folosește o metodă destul de des întâlnită în a două jumătate a secolului XX: pune banii într-un tub de dimensiuni mici și și-l bagă în anus (deci nu mai are dimensiuni mici, ci considerabile :D).
Cred că elaborează vreo 15-20 de planuri de evadare, fiind transferat -din pricina eșuării lor- la diferite închisori mai aspre. A fost și la Recluziune (un fel de carceră a timpurilor moderne, numai că muuuuuuuuuult mai aspră) unde Papillon al nostru a stat în două rânduri (când spun că a stat, vorbesc în ani :) ).
Replici de genul "mă simt stânjenit să vorbesc despre asta..." în mijlocul confesiunii sale lăuntrice denotă faptul că, dacă a ascuns anumite detalii, nu le-a ascuns pe toate. Ba chiar, în tot eroismul său descris în roman, introduce pe alocuri fapte mai puțin "onorabile".
Dar uite că îi reușește un plan de evadare...
Ajunge în Venezuela unde este primit cu căldură (având în vedere relațiile politice din contextul respectiv și ostilitatea dintre marile imperii).
Cunoscând și Franța, coloniile franceze, dar și Venezuela (un popor sărac din punct de vedere material, dar bogat cu duhul), Henri Charriere ne povestește cum -prin prisma lui- popoarele așa-zis civilizate sunt net inferioare rudimentarismului: "Acești pescari aproape analfabeți din gloful Paria, la capătul lumii, pierduți în acel imens estuar al Orenocului, au un umanism filosofic care lipsește multora dintre compatrioții noștri. Prea mult progres mecanic, o viață agitată, o societate însuflețită de un singur ideal: noi invenții, o viață tot mai lesnicioasă și mai îndestulată. Tot savurând descoperirile științifice așa cum lingi un șerbet, devii însetat de un confort tot mai desăvârșit și lupți fără încetare să-l obții. Toate acestea ucid sufletul, mila, înțelegerea, mărinimia."

Andrei Tamaş,
28 august 2015

[Aaron Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't care if this book wasn't a 100% factual, honest-to-God documentary account of what actually happened to this guy - it was a magnificent adventure novel, full of blood and drama and action. From what I can tell, Charrière cobbled the narrative out of his own experiences as a prisoner in the pitiless camps of 1930s French Guyana, plus the stories of a few camp-mates, plus his own dramatic license, emerging with a masterpiece. There were many moments where the story is less than totally plausible (if you created a drinking game where you took a shot each time a beautiful woman befriended him out of the blue, or people started doing favors for him for no reason, or an important official preposterously took him into their trust, you would be dead drunk inside of three chapters), and yet Charrière crafted a completely absorbing tropical world of hardened criminals, miserable wretches, forbidding prisons, thrilling escapes, and all-around awesome displays of survival.

I think my favorite part, out of a lot of great parts, was Papillon's moment of agonizing choice about a third of the way in, between staying in his beautiful Venezuelan paradise with his two new-found native wives, and returning to seek "vengeance" on what he thinks is the unjust society that shipped him halfway across the world to rot in a jungle charnel house. He idiotically chooses to leave this blissful native paradise, but even when I was cursing him for being a fool I thought his reflections on the differences between the "civilized" European culture who'd condemned him and the indigenous cultures who'd adopted him were well-written and interesting in the light of the complicated relationship Western countries have had with their colonies. The French, while not exactly angels, were often more willing than their neighbors the Spanish and the British to go native and peacefully blend into the various cultures who inhabited their colonies.

While I think he overdid the Noble Savage trope a little bit, in terms of the story it makes the protagonist the perfect lone wolf badass who's as at home charming the well-to-do wives of the colonial administrators as he is getting laid with the daughters of whatever tribal chieftains he runs into. Another one of my favorite parts was his first experience in solitary at Devil's Island - I've read other books with prison scenes in them, but his description of the soul-crushing loneliness it engenders is one of the best, and was surely the prototype for countless others. And of course all his various escape attempts are amazing too, but every part of the book can't be your favorite, that's like having dessert for every meal, something only a child would do. This book hit me squarely on that kind of undiluted childish pleasure level. I wish I'd read it when I was twelve, it would have been the perfect companion to The Count of Monte Cristo and Robinson Crusoe. Now to go track down the movie!

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wavered a bit on my 4* rating but in the end I decided it's such a great adventure that I'm sure I won't forget - so four stars it is. I've seen in other review there is some question in the authenticity, (and I did think that some of Papillon's adventures were over-the-top, especially making it so far in the sea on coconuts!) but I guess I don't care because it is great storytelling. I do think some of the book is a bit repetitive and a bit long but overall I really enjoyed it. Now I really have to watch the movie (I want to see the original and then the remake).

[Quirkyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saved this book from the discard pile, from one of the school libraries I worked in while living in Indiana.

This story was even better the second time around. I am glad I reread it.

[Bettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...

Description: Henri Charrière, 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.

Charrière'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 defeated.

Lordy, how much this reminds me of my youth and how convinced at one point that this was a mirror of the Dreyfus Affair.

The ruins of the prison on Île Royale - French Guiana

the island

[KamRun · Rating 3 out of 5]

مگر من از وطنم چه می‌خواستم
غیر از تکه‌ای نان، گوشه‌ای امن، جیبی با حرمت، بارانی از عشق و پنجره‌ای باز كه آزادی و عشق را به من دهد، چه می‌خواستم در این حد، كه به من نداد؟
برای همین، نیمه شبی، دری را شکستم و رفتم. برای همیشه رفتم - شیرکو بی‌کس

فیلم پاپیون رو سال‌ها پیش دیدم. با وجود سن کم آنقدر مفتون داستان فیلم، بازی استیو مک‌کوئین و موسیقی متن شدم که هرچند سال یکبار دوباره به تماشای فیلم نشستم، تا این اواخر، که فرصت مطالعه کتاب پیش اومد. اول شک داشتم که کتاب رو بخونم یا نه و آیا حرف جدیدی بجز چیزهایی که در فیلم دیدم داره یا نه. اما کتاب رو خوندم و حسابی هم ازش لذت بردم. برای من جای تعجب داره کسی از هم‌سن و سال‌های خودم این فیلم رو ندیده باشه. در مجموع اگر کسی فیلم رو هنوز بعد از این‌همه سال ندیده (محصول 1973، 45 سال پیش)، دیدنیش رو بذاره در اولویت

درباره‌ی کتاب - حاوی اسپویلر

شخصیت اصلی داستان کسی نیست جز هنری شاریر، نویسنده‌ی کتاب. او در واقع خود را در بطن داستان قرار داده است و کتاب یک اتوبیوگرافی ساختگی‌ست. داستان کتاب از آخرین جلسه‌ی دادرسی هنری، متهم به قتل عمد آغاز می‌شود. هنری در دادگاه فرمایشی و با شهادت ساختگی به حبس ابد به همراه اعمال شاقه محکوم می‌شود. اما او انسانی نیست که به این سادگی در جاده‌ی تباهی گام بردارد. او خواهان آزادی است و تا به آخرین نفس هم برای بدست آوردن آن تلاش می‌کند. در طول داستان و ماجراهای گوناگونی که پاپیون در طی فرارهای 9گانه‌اش پشت سرمی‌گذارد، با کاراکترهای گوناگونی که به قول نویسنده مرد فرار هستند روبرو می‌شویم، اما پاپیون از دو جهت با همگی آن‌ها متفاوت است: اول آنکه او هیچ گناهی مرتکب نشده است، مگر ناچیز شمردن فرصت آزاد زیستن. ماجرای قتل و شهادت دادگاه تماما ساختگی بوده. دوم اینکه او به معنای تمام خواهان آزادی است. او آزادی را در هر دو جنبه‌اش می‌خواهد. آزادی سلبی و آزادی ایجابی. او نه تنها می‌خواهد از زندان اعمال شاقه مستعمرات آزاد شود، بلکه می‌داند هدف این آزادی چه خواهد بود: زیستن و شرافتمندانه زیستن. شاید دلیل آنکه او هرگز تسلیم نمی‌شود و شرافت خود را با قتل و غارت بی‌دلیل، در مواقعی که فرصتش را دارد تباه نمی‌کند. در واقع او نه قاضی و هئیت منصفه نتوانستند او را تباه کنند. جاده‌ی تباهی بعد از سیزده سال سال هیچ اثری روی او نگذاشت، زیرا پاپیون به این جاده تعلق نداشت و در نهایت هم به چیزی که لیاقتش را داشت رسید

پاپیون طی آخرین فرار می‌دانست که این فرار - موفق یا ناموفق - آخرین فرار او خواهد بود. یا موفق شده و به آزادی می‌رسد و یا دستگیر می‌شود و با گیوتین اعدامش می‌کنند. او بر خلاف دیگر زندانیان در دوراهی زندگی با خفت یا آزادی با هر قیمت دست به انتخاب زد و خواهان بدست آوردن آزادی شد، حتی به قیمت جانش. حتی اگر کوسه‌ها او را زنده زنده در آب بدرند باز هم ارزشش را داشته، او با دست آزاد و در راه آزادی مرده. یک مرگ شرافتمندانه

پاپیون به همراه دوست زندانی‌اش سیلون برای آخرین بار تن به آب می‌زند. سیلون در چند قدمی آزادی در باتلاق غرق می‌شود و پاپیون آزادی‌اش را بدست می‌آورد و چنین سرانجامی چقدر شبیه پایان فیلم/کتاب پرواز بر فراز آشیانه‌ی فاخته بود و سرانجام مک مورفی و مرد سرخپوست : یکی پرید رو به خاوران ، یکی پرید رو به باختر، یکی به روی آشیون فاخته کشید پر

نکته‌ی دیگری که در داستان چشم‌نواز بود، به تصویر کشیدن این موضوع است که "هیچ انسانی برای همیشه از دست نمی‌رود و انسان می‌تواند فارغ از گذشته‌اش، دست به ساختن دنیایی جدید زند". زندگی شرافتمندانه‌ی دوستانِ هم‌بند پاپیون که در گذشته تبهکارانی خونریز بوده‌اند پس از آزادی در ونزوئلا تجسم این مضمون داستان است؛ هرچند این مضمون بیش از حد آرمانی و شعارگونه به نظر می‌رسد

در مجموع، داستان کتاب را بی‌اندازه دوست داشتم، بجز حال و هوای نوستالژیکی که برایم به ارمغان داشت، دلگرم کننده بود و رهایی بخش، بخصوص آنکه کتاب را در شرایط آزاردهنده‌ای خواندم و چقدر هم این خواندن، این همراه شدن با پاپیون در میان جنگل‌ها و رودخانه‌ها و دریاها، در میان قبیله‌ی بومیان، در زندان ونزوئلا شیرین بود. پاپیون در نهایت آزاد شد، من اما در کجای این راه وانهاده شدم؟

با من بگو
چگونه
شط غنای مضطربم را
سالم عبور دهم
تا تو
با ازدحام این‌همه شن‌زار و شوره‌زار، ای دریا

پی‌نوشت: مقایسه‌ای میان فیلم‌نامه و داستان اصلی

کلیت داستان اصلی و فیلم‌نامه یک چیز است، اما در جزئیات تفاوت‌های زیادی به چشم می‌خورد. نخست آنکه فیلم حذفیات بسیاری دارد، مثلا ماجرای جزیره‌ی جذامی‌ها در نسخه‌ی اصلاح شده‌ی فیلم موجود نیست و یا سرانجام دگا. در داستان دگا در هیچ فراری همراه پاپیون نشد و به همین دلیل قرار بود به زودی بخاطر حسن رفتار مشمول عفو شده و آزاد گردد. در صورتی که در فیلم دگا با پاپیون همراه شده و به همین جهت محکومیت چند ساله‌اش تبدیل به حبس ابد در جزیره‌ی شیطان می‌شود. اما اصلی‌ترین مغایرت فیلم و داستان در بخش پایانی کتاب است. فیلم با فرار پاپیون از جزیره به پایان می‌رسد، در حالی که داستان اصلی پس از این حدود 100 صفحه دیگر ادامه پیدا می‌کند. ماجرای پاپیون در اردوگاه چینی‌ها، فرار به گویان انگلیس و از آنجا به ونزوئلا و الخ جزو حذفیات پایانی فیلم است

[Maziyar Yf · Rating 3 out of 5]

مشکله کتاب و آقای هانری شاریر در حجم انبوه اغراقی هست که نویسنده در مورد شخصیت و توانایی های خود می گه .
در حالی که شاید سابقه زیادی در هدایت قایق نداره نه تنها مثله ملوانی حرفه ای هست بلکه این توانایی رو هم داره که با نگاه کردن به ستارگان آسمان مسیر یابی کنه
نویسنده تا جایی که تونسته از نقشه ما بقی زندانیها کم کرده و به مایه خود اضافه کرده . عملا تا جایی که به غیر از خود که نقشه راهنمای عده ای نابینا رو بازی می کنه ، بقیه به منزله صفر هستن و فقط دنباله روی جناب پاپیون
چون معمولا کتاب پاپیون با فیلمش مقایسه میشه به نظرم فیلم دارای اثرگذاری بیشتری هست

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. It is the TRUE story of a prison break from a penal colony in French Guiana which was later made into a movie with Steve McQueen--another of my favorites. If you liked Shawshank, you'll love Papillon.

Henri Charrier, called Papillon for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 for a murder he did not convict and was shipped off to French Guiana. It takes years and several failed attempts for Papillion to escape in this nail-biting story of amazing courage.

The book has it all, sex (for a while Papillion has two Indian wives who are sisters), drugs and a little metaphorical rock and roll. I can't recommend it enough.

Charriere wrote his autobiography in 1968, twenty years after he escaped.

[Simona Stoica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fluturele niciodată nu-și pierde aripile. Aș vrea să spun „wow”, dar nu este suficient. Am nevoie de câteva zile ca să îmi adun gândurile. Și lacrimile, pentru că nu au fost puține.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Papillon was an enjoyable enough summer read; it was just a little hard to suspend my disbelief at times for a supposedly nonfiction endeavor. I was unsurprised to see in my post-reading research that large portions the story were disputed and that several of Charriere's fellow inmates have claimed over the years that he incorporated the experiences of other would-be escapees and presented them as his own story. I guess this book was a precursor of sorts to A Million Little Pieces in that both are perfectly good stories that would go down a lot smoother were they not presented as fact.

I would like to re-read this book soon knowing what I know now, and just accept the story as a communal history of the penal colony prisoners, with Papi as the proxy for several inmates' experiences.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's been a while since I cried "uncle" but today I had to do it again. In the past several years I have suffered through William Gibson's Spook Country AND - yes, I believe I may be a glutton for punishment - Zero History (a novel about...jeans?). I did my best to stay awake through Kazuo Ishiguro's galactically dull Never Let Me Go (but please, I do so want to let you go). I forced my way through The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (next time, YOU take it). Waded through Wicked, clumped through The Client, I even managed not to "put down" The Horse Whisperer (Get it? "Horse"..."put down"...? OK, I apologize for that one). It was over 10 years ago that I last gave up on a book, and I think it was Evan S Connell's Son of the Morning Star which was actually very well researched but just so disorganized that I couldn't get through it. And now I have to dump Papillon by Henri Charriere, a grand exaggeration (according to online accounts including wikipedia) of a wildly egotistical, "wrongly convicted" French guy who escapes prison several times using money that he has hidden from guards (think: Christopher Walken in Pulp Fiction, although I realize that Papillon came first), in order to one day write a meandering memoir full of his bafflingly bloated tall tales which would be made into a movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. I understand that, as the story proceeds, Papillon finds ways to celebrate life as he endures various miseries. After suffering through about 100 pages I suddenly realized: I AM PAPILLON, and I am imprisoned in this book, and I need to escape! So there it goes, into the DNF pile, along with Shackelton's South, and Scottoline's Moment of Truth and Crichton's Electronic Life. I leave you with these words of wisdom: "It's as easy as that to drop the chains you've been dragging...'From this moment on you're free.'" - Papillon.

[Nidhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its my favorite book till date. One word for it - WOW..Its just amazing and the way the author has described the life of a man in the prisons is amazing. Its wonderful how he tells this man's story spanning so many years. I saw this movie as a kid..I must be very young then maybe class 5 or younger..and ever since then I had a desire in me to read this book whenever I get a chance.

Papillon means butterfly and it symbolises the protagonists' desire to get free from the clutches of jail. The vivid description is just too good to miss and the book too good to be put down.

I also like it because I am great fan of escape stories, prison accounts, prisoner of war and other war stories.

[Sarah (is clearing her shelves) · Rating 4 out of 5]

16/6 - Knowing nothing about this book or Charrière, only knowing the word papillon and it's English translation through the fact that there's a dog breed that's called papillon because the dog's fluffy ears (vaguely) resemble a butterfly's wings, I picked this up off the 'new and recently returned' shelf because the blurb on the back described it as "A classic memoir of prison breaks and adventure". And 'adventure' sounded like the right genre for me at that moment in time. I read the translator's introduction last night and I'm looking forward to reading a big chunk of it tonight. To be continued...

19/6 - I don't recommend reading this book if you have a strong sense of injustice, you may get the near-uncontrollable need to stab something. I like to midnight-snack while I do my nightly reading and in a number of places over the last hundred pages I found myself rage-eating my chips - just shovelling them in, too angry with the injustice of Henri's situation to enjoy them. Usually I eat them slowly, one or two per page, savouring them so that I don't accidentally eat a whole bag in one night, something which I could easily have done while reading this book last night. To be continued...

Later - I'm a bit disappointed with Charrière's description of his encounter with the lepers. He talks about a man who hands him a cup of coffee and then exclaims "Oh, where's my finger gone?". Henri finds it stuck to the outside of his cup and hands it back to him. According to Wikipedia this sequence is impossible, leprosy, despite all the old wives' tales, does not lead to body parts falling off here, there and everywhere. This next passage is taken straight from Wikipedia's page on leprosy

"Initially, infections are without symptoms and typically remain this way for 5 to as long as 20 years. Symptoms that develop include granulomas (loosely described as 'a small nodule') of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This may result in a lack of ability to feel pain and thus loss of parts of extremities due to repeated injuries. Weakness and poor eyesight may also be present.

To reiterate, the loss of body parts happens because of repeated injuries to these body parts, which have become numbed due to granulomas of the nerves. There is no "Oh, my finger just fell off.", it's more like "Oops, I just accidentally chopped my finger off while chopping the carrots, but due to the granulomas it doesn't actually hurt." Below is a second passage taken straight from Wikipedia rephrasing what I've just written, only coming from a more official source.

"Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions (light or dark patches) are the primary external sign. If untreated, leprosy can progress and cause permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs, and eyes. Contrary to folklore, leprosy does not cause body parts to fall off, although they can become numb or diseased as a result of secondary infections; these occur as a result of the body's defences being compromised by the primary disease. Secondary infections, in turn, can result in tissue loss causing fingers and toes to become shortened and deformed, as cartilage is absorbed into the body."

So, therefore that part of the scene must be a figment of Charrière's imagination as that man's finger cannot have just come off without some kind of trauma happening to it first. Silly little exaggerations (possibly playing to the public's horrified fascination with the disease and the people who suffer from it) like that could lead to a reader doubting half of what Charrière has written in this book (some of it is pretty fantastical). I don't like feeling that what Charrière has written isn't completely true. I want it all to be true, not because I want anyone to have been through what Charrière went through (and I'm only 21% of the way through), but because I want to know that it's not all made up. That his main motive for writing this tale of injustice wasn't to make a pile of cash, but to let the world know of what he went through. To be continued...

20/6 - Why oh why, Henri, did you leave those lovely Goajira 'Indians'? You had everything you needed, not one but two loving wives both pregnant with your child (not a comment on the fact that one of the wives was not much more than 12, or that the two girls were sisters, just a comment on what he had and what he left behind); you had a community who accepted and revered you. You had an idyllic island paradise life, what more could you want? Deciding not to go back for revenge doesn't make you weak, it just means you've found something more important, something worth living for, which you didn't have when you first visualised getting your revenge on all the people who were involved in your imprisonment. Now look what's happened, you've been recaptured and as you pointed out that mistake will cost you seven years of your life. Imagine how your life could have gone if you had just stayed with Lali and Zoraima. To be continued...

24/6 - This is such a dense book! There are so many words per page, with so few paragraphs that it's really slowing down my normal reading speed. Normally, when I'm enjoying a book as much as I'm enjoying this one I look down and am amazed to have read 50 pages in half an hour, with this book I look down and find I've only read 10 pages. Like I said, I'm enjoying the story, but I don't want to be reading it for the rest of my life, I do have other books that I want to get to that I may well enjoy even more than this (plus library due dates are looming). To be continued...

25/6 - Deceptions and misleading blurbs are the name of the day today. First it turns out that GR has been fudging the page count, it's not 688 as I was originally led to believe it's 560 followed by numerous pages of 'extras' including an 'exclusive essay by Howard Marks'. I think I'm pleased that I've only got 120 pages to go instead of 240 as I'm feeling the pressure from my other books' library due dates and this really is taking a long while to read.

The blurb on the back of my book reads as follows:

"Condemned for a murder he did not commit, Henri Charrière, known as Papillon, was sent to the penal colony of French Guiana. Forty-two days after his arrival he made his first break, travelling a thousand gruelling miles in an open boat. Recaptured, his spirit remained untamed - in thirteen years he made nine amazingly daring escapes, including one from the notorious Devil's Island.

An immediate sensation upon its 1969 publication, Papillon is one of the greatest adventure stories ever told, a true tale of courage, resilience and an unbreakable will."

"...Nine amazingly daring escapes..." That is a very misleading statement. From what the blurb says I was expecting Papillon to escape (by which I mean, and thought everyone else meant, leave his jail/cage/penal colony for at least 24 hours before being recaptured) on nine different occasions. What the blurb really means is that he attempts to escape nine times, he only succeeds twice, the first attempt when he managed to stay out for 11 months and the final, which I'm currently in the middle of. To be continued...

26/6 - Finally finished it! *relieved sigh* I've currently got this shelved as an autobiography/biography, but I hesitate to leave it there. Modern researchers don't believe Charrière's continual claims of complete honesty regarding his book. They now say that it's very likely the book is a combination of other inmate's adventures and Charrière's imagination. According to all available records Charrière never spent any time on Devil's Island, and like with the leprosy situation I described above he got a number of pertinent details regarding the geography of Devil's Island wrong (he describes the shore of the island as rocky, when in fact it is a gently sloping sand beach, it's not like that's something that he could 'forget'). A French journalist maintains that only "10% of Papillon represents the truth".

Learning that a book like this is pretty much just a well-imagined adventure story in the vein of Robinson Crusoe or Treasure Island takes a bit of the shine off story. It's no longer as fantastically amazing because it's not real. I went into the reading of this book believing that it was a true story and I am certainly disappointed to come to the conclusion that there's very little truth to be found anywhere in the book. After reading all that back to check for errors before posting I realise that I can't leave it on the autobiography/biography shelf, I know it's not one so it doesn't belong next to my biographies of Katherine Parr or Jamie Oliver. It's moving to the historical fiction shelf.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty amazing book by Charriere; basically his 'adventures' and escapes from various French penal colonies in French Guiana. Henri Charriere, known in the underworld as Papillon (butterfly, due to a tattoo on his chest) basically cracked safes for a living, but ended up being framed for murdering a pimp and was sentenced to hard labor for life in the late 1920s.

The prose is rather amateurish but full of heart to say the least. After a few years kicking around some truly grim French prisons, Papillon gets shipped to French Guiana, which seems to consist of several penal colonies, each one a horror. Hard to believe that such conditions still existed even in the 1930s! Papillon has one overarching desire-- escape and starting a new life. Escape means going by sea to somewhere else-- a 'cavale' in the lingo-- and hence one needs to first leave the prison and then find a seaworthy boat. The problem is the British colonies will only allow French escapees to stay (say in Trinidad) for a few weeks. The Dutch give the escapees back to the French, as due the Venezuelans (although they work them hard for a few years first!). Papillon (or Papi) dreams of going to Costa Rica, or perhaps Honduras, but dreams and reality alas often clash.

The depiction of the prisons resembles something from the middle ages. Papi ended up spending one stint of 3 years in solitary in a French prison there (punishment for his first escape). Speaking was not allowed and the prisoners never left their cells the entire time. Many suicided, went mad or simply died, and Papi depicts in some detail how he kept himself sane. Other prisons were even worse. Papi's first escape eventually led him to Colombia, where he was arrested (no papers) and lived in a cell which partially flooded on each high tide, bringing in biting crabs, huge poisonous centipedes and other vermin; after a few weeks there, he emerged covered in bites and seriously ill.

On the one hand, this is a tour of prisons in Northern Latin America circa the 1930s and 40s, but on the other, a striking adventure novel chronicling Papi's cavales. All in all, he tried escaping something like 10 times, but only made it twice. The first cavale took him first to the mainland of Guiana, then to Trinidad and Columbia, where he lived for half a year with an indigenous tribe before being captured. The second cavale took place in 1941 where he left a French penal colony on a raft of coconuts in bags and fought the sea for days before the mainland. The details of mere survival are amazing. Imagine being in a small boat baking in the sun, battered by hurricanes, little food or water for weeks at a time. The man had brass balls for sure!

Since he survived to write his 'memoirs' in 1967, you knew he eventually earned his freedom, but the adventures along the way are priceless, as are his (albeit rather sophomoric at times) reflections on civilization and the human condition. I did not really expect this to be such a page turner and was pleasantly surprised. Good stuff! 4 Papillons!!

[mai ahmd · Rating 5 out of 5]

بابليون الفراشة الباحثة عن النور عن الحرية بعد أن فقدها على إثر جريمة فقد على إثرها حياته بالحكم عليه بالسجن المؤبد في سجون فرنسا التي مارست أبشع أنواع الإضطهاد ضد المحكومين , بابي ذا النفس المتمردة والرافضة للخضوع لا ينفك يفكر في الهروب لتحقيق حلمه بالحرية , لاينفك يحلم بالإنتقام ممن كانوا سببا في وقوعه في هذه المحنة القاسية التي حرمته من عائلته وهو في مقتبل العمر , يقوم بابي بتسعة محاولات للهروب من سجانه تعرض بعد كل منها لعقاب لايمكن أن يوصف , كل الأهوال التي عاشها بابي ومنها فقده للأصدقاء إما بالموت تحت التعذيب أو في محاولات الهروب اليائسة لم تفقده الشجاعة ولا الرغبة الجامحة في أن يعود إلى المجتمع ويتعامل معه كإنسان بعد أن سلك طريق العالم السفلي في باريس حيث عاش حياةالبؤس والمعاملة اللا إنسانية هذه بالفعل نموذج للرواية التي تخطف الأنفاس , قرأتها بشغف ومحبة لهذه الشخصية التي أسرتني بقوة الإرادة والقوة والرجولة والكفاح
سيرة حياة و تجربة إنسانية تستحق القراءة وكتبت بأسلوب أدبي رفيع : )
لقد شحنني بكمية لا يستهان بها من قوة الإرادة

[Mehmet]

Bu kitabın insanı saran, gözleri bozana dek bırakmadan okuma hissi uyandıran atmosferinin yanı sıra; gerek olay akışının içine okuru hapsedişi, gerekse de yer yer karşımıza çıkan mizah anlayışıyla da romancılık açısından iyi bir kitap olduğunu gösteriyor bence.
İnsanın doğuştan iyi ve adaletli olduğu varsayımına inanan insanların güçlükle okuyacağı kitabın satır aralarında insançocuğunun gerçek yüzü; toplumda inşa edilen sözde adalet, küçük insanların küçük çıkar çatışmaları ve hesaplaşmaları da okunabilir.
Okumamın üzerinden geçen sekiz yıla rağmen bende hala güzel bir yeri olan, nadide bir kitap.

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read this many years ago, and of course I've seen the movie more than once. I mean the classic one with Steve McQueen (sigh) as Papillon. So I knew the story but while I was living in Mexico I found the sequel at a used book table at one of the regular book fairs in the main plaza in town.

I never knew there was a sequel so I got it but promised myself to read this first. It had been a very long time since I read Papillon and some of it I didn't remember at all. But I enjoyed the book and rooted for Papi every time he made an escape attempt.

However, I did get a little tired this time of the way he presented himself as knowing everything about everything, being smarter and tougher then anyone else in any prison, but at the same time being an honorable man. Maybe he was really was all of that, but by the end I was rolling my eyes a bit, and I just wanted him to get to that last big escape attempt and be done with it. This is why I changed my original four stars to three. I think I was influenced to four stars by the image of Steve McQueen (sigh) in my head the whole time I was reading.

Oh, Papillon was called that because of a butterfly tattoo that he said he had at the base of his neck. But he also had plenty of other tattoos:
"On the right side of my chest I had a guard from Calvi; on the left, the head of a woman; just above the waist a tiger's head; on my spine, a crucified sailor, and across the kidneys, a tiger hunt with hunters, palm trees, elephants and tigers."

(I looked up to see what the 'guard from Calvi' might have been: the coat of arms from the Calvi region of Corsica. A red cross on a white shield.)

In reading a bit more about the author, I saw that the educated opinion these days is that most of the book was fiction, a compilation of experiences that Papillon heard from other prisoners, not events he had gone through himself. I will let those educated people worry about that. The story itself is good, and sometimes that is all that matters.

[Alexandru · Rating 5 out of 5]

O poveste fantastică. Imposibil să te plictisești pe parcursul celor peste 600 de pagini. Se întâmplă atât de multe lucruri încât ți se pare imposibil ca cineva să trăiască toate astea într-o singură viață. Dacă am învățat ceva de la Papillon ar fi ca niciodată să nu te dai bătut indiferent de circumstanțe, să speri, să gândești și să pui în aplicare imposibilul. Cât despre alegerea de a pleca de lângă persoanele iubite după ce a scăpat din “Iad” pentru a intra din nou în “Infern” cred că nimeni nu i-ar putea judeca alegerea cu adevărat. Cu toate că toți am făcut-o și probabil l-am “urât” pentru asta..
Această carte, din punctul meu, este un “must-read”..