Brandon’s Reviews > The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death > Status Update
Brandon
is on page 22 of 132
The poetry of misunderstanding: narrator wants to ask for glasses (“lunettes” in French), but as soon as the visitor sees the word “lune” spelled out, s/he asks what the narrator wanted to do with the moon (22).
— Sep 10, 2026 05:29PM
Like flag
Brandon’s Previous Updates
Brandon
is on page 131 of 132
Process & Product: “Claude is reading out these pages. We have patiently extracted from the void every afternoon for the last two months (131).
— Sep 16, 2026 07:05PM
Brandon
is on page 97 of 132
Does Bauby’s “butterfly hearing” mean he’s getting closer to the inside and farther from the outside of the diving bell?
— Sep 16, 2026 02:03PM
Brandon
is on page 71 of 132
The speed of wit is not conducive to dictation…one letter at a time (71).
— Sep 14, 2026 09:45PM
Brandon
is on page 25 of 132
The “butterfly” can animate a smile onto a statue of the empress (25). That’s comedy.
— Sep 11, 2026 12:21PM
Brandon
is on page 16 of 132
More humor: “Since the demarcation line runs across my mouth, I can only half-smile, which fairly faithfully reflects my ups and downs” (16).
— Sep 10, 2026 05:15PM
Brandon
is on page 13 of 132
The narrator’s dry sense of humor regarding prayer and healing his body is what might be left to someone with locked in syndrome (13).
— Sep 10, 2026 05:10PM
Brandon
is on page 8 of 132
The body is bother: “ these uncooperative, deadweight limbs, which serve me only as a source of pain” (8).
— Sep 10, 2026 05:02PM
Brandon
is on page 5 of 132
Source of title: “[S]omething like a giant diving bell holds my whole body prisoner….My diving bell becomes less oppressive, and my mind takes flight like a butterfly” (3, 5).
— Sep 09, 2026 01:03PM