Papillon (P.S.)

Fantastic epic escapist entertainment, if a "tall" tale. Was surprising that a prison story would be so colorful:

"The Llalanes with their Roman profiles and bronzed faces illumined by eonormous brilliant black eyes, their breasts exposed as if to say: "See how perfect they are." Lots to shock: sadists, stoolies, torture, sodomy, murder, rats, sharks, snakes, piranhas, and quicksand. Suffering is shown as character building.

Most interesting is how Papillon comes up with the right words time and again to minimize trouble and punishment.

Too bad Papillon has to have sex with a 13 year old. How French can you get?

This is a gripping adventure story about imprisonment and escape. Henry Charriere (1906-1973), or Papilon, was a French criminal sentenced to life for murder (he claimed innocence) in 1931. Readers follow as he arrives across the Atlantic Ocean at the penal colony in Guiana (South America) for a life of hard labor under the hot sun. Papilon set his sights on escape, and flees on a small boat to Columbia, where he is captured and re-imprisoned. Escaping again, Papilon lives with some coastal Indians, moves on, and again is captured. Eventually returned to Guiana, Papilon endures two years in solitary confinement. Then he escapes by boat to Venezuela, ends up imprisoned there, and is set free in 1945. Readers follow his every move with great interest, but we don't know how much of this narrative is true - all, most, or some. Whatever the facts, this is a gripping story of adventure, daring, justice (or injustice), and escape.

The book is somewhat different than the also-superb 1972 movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. Also, Charierre married and ran a resturant in Venezeula, returned to France as this book arrived in 1969, and put out another (BANCO) before dying of cancer in 1973. Then, in 2005, a 104-year old ex-convict named Charles Brunier (1901-2007) claimed he was Papilon, adding to the mystery.

One of the best books I've ever read! Whenever I think things are dragging me down, I think about Henri "Papillon" Charriere and his unrelenting pursuit of freedom. The conditions in French Guiana were absolutely atrocious and yet Papillon never stopped trying to escape. This book does relate some disturbing and terrifying aspects of the worst treatments that humans will inflict on each other. Although these events took place many years ago, the message is still clear that you may think you've got it bad but don't give up. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

An amazing story about an innocent man's will to survive and escape the abhorrent conditions of the French penal institutions in Guiana in 1931.
It is book full of adventure, intrigue, friendship,sorrow, joy, heartache, revenge, life, persistence and fate!
it's a gripping story and a page turner.

This book is always within easy reach on my shelf. For those of you that can read French, the French/original version actually has many stories that were shamelessly edited out when translated into English. Also throughout the book many descriptions are simply shorter in the English version since many words were cut out. There were many beautifully described adventures in Georgetown that the non-French reader will never know. The translation into American English is quite accurate in feeling. So if you're an American, make sure you get the version translated into American English since there is a strong difference. As an American I can't really appreciate the British English translation that was done to it to make it palatable to British tastes.

I first read this book when I was 13. I have re-read it perhaps 8 times over the years. Simply my favorite of all time.

Admittedly, when I was 13 I assumed every word of it was true. I understand now that the majority of it was very loosely based on the experiences of multiple prisoners. And those experiences were most likely greatly exaggerated.

I simply don't care.

This is perhaps the greatest adventure you will ever read. Not a single slow moment in the whole book. Also understand that there is a kernal of truth in some of the details as well as the general message of the book- Never give up.

Read it. Savor it.

This real-life adventure tale was a worldwide best seller, translated into many languages. The author, Henri Charriere, called "Papillon" because of the butterfly tattooed on his chest, was wrongfully convicted in a French court in 1931 and sent to a penal colony in French Guinea to serve his sentence. He is determined to escape, and the book takes us through many attempts until at last he attains his freedom and begins a new life in Venezuela. The book is full of heroes and villains---good people who befriend him and treat him decently, and cruel, sadistic people who make his miserable life even more so. Charriere's tone throughout is honest, rarely self-pitying, and unsparing in its depiction of feelings as well as actions.
"Papillon" is marred only by its misconceptions and dated, wrong ideas, especially about health and nutrition. Also, women readers may find the constant diet of adventure with only rare mentions of his loved ones back in France, and of the two children he fathered by girls of a welcoming native tribe, rather unsatisfying. One further jarring note is, as in true in prisons today, apparently a high percentage of the inmate population claim they are "innocent"--a concept that stretches Charriere's credibility.

This novel sheds a lot of light and understanding on how important moral, making deals where both sides benefit and how far high people skills can take you. This man also demonstrates a very high level of cleverness and intelligence. This book will have a positive impact on your life and speaks volumes on many different levels. Because the narrator has a focus on escape and how to improve his situation the whole book, it is not as depressing as you would think. I highly recommend it, even if some of it's stories are supposedly taken from other convicts.

This is an amazing story of an unbreakable little guy (Papillon only stood 5-3)who had the toughest mind you'll ever penetrate. Imagine being sentenced to solitary confinement with a wood bed and your only company centipedes - AND for EIGHT years. I would have cracked in about 4 or 5 days! Papillon, scoundrel or not, is a hero and an inspiration to anyone going through hard times. Hard times are relative, for us it may be breaking up with a girlfriend; for Papillon it was being in a prison cell up to his waist in water filled with rats and centipedes. Think about that next time you go camping and complain about getting bit by a couple of mosquitoes!

This book was recommended to me by my husband. It was interesting throughout the entire book. It was shocking to see what this innocent man went through. If you read it, I believe it will be a story you will remember for years, is why I give it an excellent rating.

When Henri Charriere finds himself sent to a French prison colony for a crime he did not commit, he makes up his mind to go on a "cavale," literally to beat it and escape the custody of his captors. Like the butterfly (or in French "Papillon") which Charriere has tattooed to his chest, he will live his life in freedom or not at all. When a doctor questions him about his repeated escape attempts, Papillon's reply is matter-of-fact: "I don't belong here - I'm only visiting."

"Papillon" takes a while to get started, and Charriere's elusive and terse tone keeps one from feeling too close to the narrator. He tells you he didn't kill the man the police claim he did, but credits himself for not being a stool pigeon by telling them who did. So he's not exactly Dreyfus here, though he pretends otherwise at times. He mentions a wife and child in the outset almost as afterthoughts, then scarcely refers to them again. No false modesty for this guy - he runs the roost in every clink he is assigned, dispensing wisdom to prisoner and warden alike. No physical challenge is too much for him to overcome, no fellow "mec" too much for him to handle.

Let's put it this way: If Charriere is selling bridges, I ain't buying. But if this is more fiction than fact, "Papillon" still makes for one amazing novel. With minimal pretense at craft, Charriere crafts a white-knuckle, plain-spoken suspense tale that finds our hero in every imaginable predicament - and some not at all imaginable - as he makes attempt after attempt to escape the hell on earth that is French Guiana, the three Iles du Salut (literally "Isles of Salvation"), and ultimately Devil's Island. Taking you from the lush, mosquito-choked jungles of the Caribbean coastline to a solitary confinement where Papillon stays sane by imagining himself in childhood haunts, this is about as picturesque a ride as you can have sitting in your comfy chair.

A sense of life abounds in this book. Charriere holds court on such things as the proper way to sleep in a hammock, how one secretes money on one's "person," how the sharks knew when a corpse was about to be dumped in the sea, the strange tales prisoners tell, how one fishes for mullet on Devil's Island, etc. How much of this is on the level is tough to tell, but it fills the mind with a sense of a world lived in, and in one of the world's most obscure corners at that.

Whatever else, one statement Charriere makes is no doubt true: He is a spellbinding storyteller. He has a sense of the tragic and the funny and never lets the storyline sag. He also throws in nice little asides that keep the reader engaged. At one point, when he is thrown in solitary, Charriere takes a break from relating his squalor to offer this merry assurance: "The movie could not stop there; it must go on. It will go on, mecs! Just give me time to get back my strength and you'll have some new episodes, never fear!"

What makes "Papillon" especially readable and gripping is how Charriere comes into contact with the best and worst in people, sometimes the same people. The most seemingly depraved people can turn out to be not all bad; finding your hermit-like host keeps dead bodies in a pit outside his home is not necessarily proof he is out to do the same to you. He also has an intriguing religious sensibility, which yo-yos between antagonistic disbelief to a sense of profound grace. "Where there's life, there's hope" is an oft-repeated maxim in the book, and they are not hollow words for Papillon, whatever his state. Despair is unknown to him, and he's heartening to read for that alone.

I'd love to know how much of this tale is true. Apparently, there is a French-language book that analyzes the story of "Papillon" from a historical context, and the History Channel in the United States did a documentary you can order online. The little I've seen indicates some holes in the number of escape attempts Charriere made. But he was a prisoner, and then he was free; he wrote a book that, if just 10% true, would be enough to fill out four or five adventuresome lives; and his legacy is one people still passionately relate to more than 30 years after his death. I can't give this book five stars only because of this trust factor, but rest assured "Papillon" is worth your time, and you will be happy you read it.

This book is the story of Henri Charriere ( known by the nickname "Papillon" because of the butterfly - symbol of freedom - tattoed on his chest ). At the age of 62, ex-safecracker, ex-convict, ex-fugitive, ex-nightclub owner, Henri Charriere wrote this book - in large, sprawling longhand on lined, school exercise paper - and sent it to a publisher with the simple note: "These are my adventures, have a professional re-write then".
The publisher, to his credit, did nothing of the sort. He produced the book exactly as Cherriere had written in. PAPILLON went on sale in France in may, 1969, and became an instant literary sensation. It was praised stravagantly, attacked viciously, discussed universally in all the media. Since them it has been translated into 14 languages and has sold more than 17 million copies !
The book's critics point out the spontaneity and fluency of the romance. They also noted that PAPILLON is not a writing literature, but an oral one, and from that arises its narrative power.
The story must be regarded as the greatest adventure of scape ever, yet Charriere account of his experiences has been criticised in some circles as being too bizarre and a handfull of the book's critics felt that no man could have exeperience so much. Charriere always persisted, however, that: "There is nothing embroidered. Everything is rigorously true. if i have lied, it is by omission". And most people who met him believe this is the truth.
What is important is that PAPILLON is a story of a man's courage and his relentless pursuit of freedom in spite of overwhelming odds. Charriere whas born in 1906 in Ardeche, south French. By his late teens, he has drifted into the Paris underworld with a reputation as as safebreaker. At the age of 25 in 1931 he was arrested for the murder of a pimp, a crime he absolutely denied until his death in 1973 with cancer in a Madrid hospital, claiming the evidence was rigged against him by the police.

I read Papillon when I was in 7th grade... Finished it in about 4 days, in spite of reading it during the week. It was that good. Sure it's based on what he remembers, so may not be totally accurate... If you're after dry history, read that. If you want a riveting story, this was one of my all-time favorites. The movie was good, but the book was much more detailed and captivating, I thought.

The thing that Henri Charriere desired most was his freedom. A French prisoner, he never stopped plotting ways to escape. The only time when he didn't have a plan in motion was when he was either in solitary, or upon personal request of the warden (they would request that he didn't escape so that they could finish their term, and not have their record/pension ruined by his escape).

This autobiography spares no details about the violence and horrors that surrounded the prisoners daily. He loses a number of his friends to disease, or murder. Papillon was generally respected by his fellow prisoners, and the administration. He was quick to criticize the administration to their face. Many of the wardens and doctors even agreed with how screwed up the French justice system was.

Henri is very detailed about his experiences and escapes. He remembers well the people who aided him before, during and after an escape. You will find yourself rooting for Henri with each escape attempt!

There has been some criticism that say that Henri took details from other prisoners' accounts or that some of the anecdotes are made up. Regardless, this autobiographical tale of escape is better than any work of prison escape fiction that can ever be written.

After reading the book, I almost fancy committing a crime with the hope of a prison sentence and the chance of escape! This is an excellent read! I have traveled in Guyana and around the southern Caribbean to some extent and the sea is very rough. He must have been some sailor!

Guyana is such an amazing and beautiful country, sadly remembered for the horrifying stories of "the bagne", its tropical deadly diseases, its giant ants and migales, its poisonous snakes, frogs and spiders, etc. During colonial times and later, the living conditions were indeed so difficult that diseases, i.e. dysentery and typhoid fever, would spread by the day or hour, mainly due to the lack of hygiene and the lack of access to medical facilities,. Malaria and yellow fever also caused more deaths among inmates than the internment horrendous conditions and other atrocities. The name and reputation of Guyana has not yet completely recovered since that time. The "bagne" was officially closed down in 1943. I can only wonder how one would ever think of an escape from it. Guyana is in the middle on nowhere. North and South is just the plain, thick, green, giant rainforest. What about Rivers, cricks? Then, probably only an expert Wayana could paddle a canoe and maneuvers through the strong stream of the Maroni or the Oyapock muddy rivers.

I visited what remains of the internment camps in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, which gate stayed opened wide like a dead man's mouth, and the one in "Ile Saint-Joseph": a few compounds without doors or roofs still stand, black walls falling in decrepitude, zinc and iron bars rusted by the rain and the humidity... Surely, much of the tales of Charriere are pure fiction. Anybody (except of course the native Amerindians) will get lost and die just trying to find his or her way through the maze and thickness of the rainforest, and escaping through the sea doesn't looks such a better idea either. It is said that the sea, which is blue at the "Iles du Salut", is full of sharks who regularly swim about and around the islands to prey for sea turtles. Plus, there are at least 15 miles between the islands and the coast...

In fact, Charriere's publisher, Robert Laffont, revealed in an interview before he died that Charriere submitted the book to him as a novel. However, Laffont, who had a true-life series of books on the go, persuaded him to present it as a true story. He also said that Charriere combined the experiences of several convicts (and we can only speculate how much they exaggerated their exploits)into his book.

Indeed, it is highly likely that the book was ghost-written anyway. Yet, you should still read it.

So real and engrossing you can feel the muggy heat and smell the stench of the jungle prison. The reader is in solitaire with Papillon as well as on his escapes. His physical and mental strength is amassing. Like his personality, his story telling is strong, forceful and vivid. A most extraordinary life has this butterfly!

Without any fear of contradiction, I state that Henri Charriere is the greatest story teller of all times. His book dispenses with the usual boring literary prefaces, academic fluff, and the typical pointless essay-like exercises in boredom and other such language skills. From the very first word to the very last, the book is so flooring that one cannot put it down.

It takes no more than a pifly half a page to engage the reader, a feat no other author has been able to come close to.

In the 70s H. Charriere was attacked that Papillon was nothing more than a made up tale. My response is simple to all these allegations that still surround the authenticity of this book today.

I pray and hope that indeed H. Charriere made it all up and not a word of it is true! All the better!

This book is not about some factual nonsense or some historical account of the police files but about a personal battle for freedom, grace and honor. No other book is as uplifting and motivating. No other book is such an amazing read. No other book is in Henri Charriere's category!

I strongly recommend reading Banco, Henri's second and last book which continues his life after the escape.

When I readed this book for the first time, I had only watched the film on TV... and not very closely. All what I knew about the book was that it was some sort of autobiography and it had been famous in the 60s as "Papillon" was a convict.
And as soon as I began to read the book, in a great Spanish translation, I got completely trapped by it. Papillon is not merely written, it's like a flow of words that get into your brain like water, and soon you forget who's who, you won't tell if you are either the reader or just the guy at Guyana.
I can't say why, but Papillon is the most fascining "reading" I ever found. I've readed it 6 times and the last one I still was trapped by it. From a reader's point of view, it's a must.
People can opinate a lot about if the book is true; but, you'll rarely find a better written story. To me, the book looks like true; sometimes is too rushed as to have been plotted, and there are little details that make you think, "why bother with this if you were building the thing from scrap?"
There are many lessons to get from Papillon; one is, following the rules when the rules are to die, is dying. The "toughs" never followed the rules, as the rules meant an 80% of casualties in the first 2 years. Papillon is not the ordinary convict, but the "tough" convict, with money and friends. But also has another thing: the strength to break the boundaries of his mind on his own, before the boundaries broke out of control and he loses the mind. The abbility to self-hypnotise himself, plus the insistence in being innocent no matter what was said in the Court, give Papillon the background to that appealing "no surrender" message.
Also, Papillon offers lessons to modern readers. Now that building private prisons and filling them is a blooming business, Papillon helps us to remind that convicts are human beings. Maybe they aren't as easy to pick as Papillon argues, and certainly all them had failed to live an ordinary life, but Papillon takes long efforts to show himself and his comrades as human beings who try to keep being human in hell, while other human beings living in civilisation use their human abbilities to send their brothers to hell. Or to the "Dry Guillotine", as Guyana was grimly known.
Even now, Guyana would appeal to all the people who never care about the convicts -as when looking at it they just see a legal target for their egotic interests. Papillon/Charriere describes this kind of people, those who created the Reclusion, thinking that Guyana wasn't hell enough, it needed another hell of its own, and one that did everything but downright murder the... convicts? Or, victims? This would be just one of the many moral/amoral/unmoral cases that develop before the reader.
I think that you can't take Papillon on the whole; its content is very varied and covers a wide spectrum of moral/amoral/unmoral attitudes, so you need to pick; but anyway reading Papillon is a fascinating experience, and is a book you'll like to read many times. As each time you'll find the same strenght of will, determination and courage you liked before, and the less-than-bright and not-very-clear details will offer you a chance to think again...
To say in short, Papillon is a must. Either to fly in the highest of human soul or to look at the wickest places of the heart, you probably won't have a better mate than this writen, but not readed, instead listened, book.

This is one of those Ultimate Tales of Survival. When I was back in school my father always asked me to read 'Pappilon'. Now after 14 years I understand why. The survival story of Pappi is 'surreal'. What I mean by that is - a normal person would give up and die in similar situations. From French Guyana to the Devils Island and finally to Venezuala, Henri Charriere perhaps brings out the extreme in mans zeal to survive all odds. While reading the book quite often you end up asking - can this be true, can this be real, what if Iam in a similar position. Pappi brings out great condradictions - he is on island inhabited by the Indians who are supposed to be ferocious and merciless. On this island he finds love and peace. He is on an island of Lepers - here he finds friendship and compassion. He is resting in a church and totally trusts the mother superior. And she is the one who betrays him. To sum up - Papillon makes you stronger

I would also like to add that this book is not only about Pappi. Louis Dega is one character I cannot forget.

This novel claims to be the autobiography of the author of the book, Henri Charrière, who is wrongly (of course) convicted of murder in France and sentenced to a life of hard labor at the Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana. The book describes numerous escape attempts. However, modern research suggests that Charrière got much of his story material from other inmates, and, thus, see the work as more fictional than autobiographical. Charrière claimed it was about 75 % true.

Papillon, which means butterfly in French, is an entertaining book, but in some places it seems highly unlikely.

After reading the book, I almost fancy committing a crime with the hope of a prison sentence and the chance of escape! This is an excellent read! I have traveled in Guyana and around the southern Caribbean to some extent and the sea is very rough. He must have been some sailor!

Guyana is such an amazing and beautiful country, sadly remembered for the horrifying stories of "the bagne", its tropical deadly diseases, its giant ants and migales, its poisonous snakes, frogs and spiders, etc. During colonial times and later, the living conditions were indeed so difficult that diseases, i.e. dysentery and typhoid fever, would spread by the day or hour, mainly due to the lack of hygiene and the lack of access to medical facilities,. Malaria and yellow fever also caused more deaths among inmates than the internment horrendous conditions and other atrocities. The name and reputation of Guyana has not yet completely recovered since that time. The "bagne" was officially closed down in 1943. I can only wonder how one would ever think of an escape from it. Guyana is in the middle on nowhere. North and South is just the plain, thick, green, giant rainforest. What about Rivers, cricks? Then, probably only an expert Wayana could paddle a canoe and maneuvers through the strong stream of the Maroni or the Oyapock muddy rivers.

I visited what remains of the internment camps in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, which gate stayed opened wide like a dead man's mouth, and the one in "Ile Saint-Joseph": a few compounds without doors or roofs still stand, black walls falling in decrepitude, zinc and iron bars rusted by the rain and the humidity... Surely, much of the tales of Charriere are pure fiction. Anybody (except of course the native Amerindians) will get lost and die just trying to find his or her way through the maze and thickness of the rainforest, and escaping through the sea doesn't looks such a better idea either. It is said that the sea, which is blue at the "Iles du Salut", is full of sharks who regularly swim about and around the islands to prey for sea turtles. Plus, there are at least 15 miles between the islands and the coast...

In fact, Charriere's publisher, Robert Laffont, revealed in an interview before he died that Charriere submitted the book to him as a novel. However, Laffont, who had a true-life series of books on the go, persuaded him to present it as a true story. He also said that Charriere combined the experiences of several convicts (and we can only speculate how much they exaggerated their exploits)into his book.

Indeed, it is highly likely that the book was ghost-written anyway. Yet, you should still read it.

So real and engrossing you can feel the muggy heat and smell the stench of the jungle prison. The reader is in solitaire with Papillon as well as on his escapes. His physical and mental strength is amassing. Like his personality, his story telling is strong, forceful and vivid. A most extraordinary life has this butterfly!

Without any fear of contradiction, I state that Henri Charriere is the greatest story teller of all times. His book dispenses with the usual boring literary prefaces, academic fluff, and the typical pointless essay-like exercises in boredom and other such language skills. From the very first word to the very last, the book is so flooring that one cannot put it down.

It takes no more than a pifly half a page to engage the reader, a feat no other author has been able to come close to.

In the 70s H. Charriere was attacked that Papillon was nothing more than a made up tale. My response is simple to all these allegations that still surround the authenticity of this book today.

I pray and hope that indeed H. Charriere made it all up and not a word of it is true! All the better!

This book is not about some factual nonsense or some historical account of the police files but about a personal battle for freedom, grace and honor. No other book is as uplifting and motivating. No other book is such an amazing read. No other book is in Henri Charriere's category!

I strongly recommend reading Banco, Henri's second and last book which continues his life after the escape.

When I readed this book for the first time, I had only watched the film on TV... and not very closely. All what I knew about the book was that it was some sort of autobiography and it had been famous in the 60s as "Papillon" was a convict.
And as soon as I began to read the book, in a great Spanish translation, I got completely trapped by it. Papillon is not merely written, it's like a flow of words that get into your brain like water, and soon you forget who's who, you won't tell if you are either the reader or just the guy at Guyana.
I can't say why, but Papillon is the most fascining "reading" I ever found. I've readed it 6 times and the last one I still was trapped by it. From a reader's point of view, it's a must.
People can opinate a lot about if the book is true; but, you'll rarely find a better written story. To me, the book looks like true; sometimes is too rushed as to have been plotted, and there are little details that make you think, "why bother with this if you were building the thing from scrap?"
There are many lessons to get from Papillon; one is, following the rules when the rules are to die, is dying. The "toughs" never followed the rules, as the rules meant an 80% of casualties in the first 2 years. Papillon is not the ordinary convict, but the "tough" convict, with money and friends. But also has another thing: the strength to break the boundaries of his mind on his own, before the boundaries broke out of control and he loses the mind. The abbility to self-hypnotise himself, plus the insistence in being innocent no matter what was said in the Court, give Papillon the background to that appealing "no surrender" message.
Also, Papillon offers lessons to modern readers. Now that building private prisons and filling them is a blooming business, Papillon helps us to remind that convicts are human beings. Maybe they aren't as easy to pick as Papillon argues, and certainly all them had failed to live an ordinary life, but Papillon takes long efforts to show himself and his comrades as human beings who try to keep being human in hell, while other human beings living in civilisation use their human abbilities to send their brothers to hell. Or to the "Dry Guillotine", as Guyana was grimly known.
Even now, Guyana would appeal to all the people who never care about the convicts -as when looking at it they just see a legal target for their egotic interests. Papillon/Charriere describes this kind of people, those who created the Reclusion, thinking that Guyana wasn't hell enough, it needed another hell of its own, and one that did everything but downright murder the... convicts? Or, victims? This would be just one of the many moral/amoral/unmoral cases that develop before the reader.
I think that you can't take Papillon on the whole; its content is very varied and covers a wide spectrum of moral/amoral/unmoral attitudes, so you need to pick; but anyway reading Papillon is a fascinating experience, and is a book you'll like to read many times. As each time you'll find the same strenght of will, determination and courage you liked before, and the less-than-bright and not-very-clear details will offer you a chance to think again...
To say in short, Papillon is a must. Either to fly in the highest of human soul or to look at the wickest places of the heart, you probably won't have a better mate than this writen, but not readed, instead listened, book.

This is one of those Ultimate Tales of Survival. When I was back in school my father always asked me to read 'Pappilon'. Now after 14 years I understand why. The survival story of Pappi is 'surreal'. What I mean by that is - a normal person would give up and die in similar situations. From French Guyana to the Devils Island and finally to Venezuala, Henri Charriere perhaps brings out the extreme in mans zeal to survive all odds. While reading the book quite often you end up asking - can this be true, can this be real, what if Iam in a similar position. Pappi brings out great condradictions - he is on island inhabited by the Indians who are supposed to be ferocious and merciless. On this island he finds love and peace. He is on an island of Lepers - here he finds friendship and compassion. He is resting in a church and totally trusts the mother superior. And she is the one who betrays him. To sum up - Papillon makes you stronger

I would also like to add that this book is not only about Pappi. Louis Dega is one character I cannot forget.

This novel claims to be the autobiography of the author of the book, Henri Charrière, who is wrongly (of course) convicted of murder in France and sentenced to a life of hard labor at the Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana. The book describes numerous escape attempts. However, modern research suggests that Charrière got much of his story material from other inmates, and, thus, see the work as more fictional than autobiographical. Charrière claimed it was about 75 % true.

Papillon, which means butterfly in French, is an entertaining book, but in some places it seems highly unlikely.

At first, forget about the film. I like Steve McQueen's Papillon too, but the real book is something totally different. Papillon, as the story is almost unbearably heavy and emotionally devastating to the reader. The book is a genuine monster of juxtaposition of Human and the World (that is both the human community and the nature) in the most extreme sense. I cannot raise the question of whether the story is all real and if Papillon went through the horrors that exceed imagination of a human of developed world like me. The narration simply does not allow for that, because the author has put so much of personality into his account and described the events and images so vividly. What though is most astonishing to me is the truthfulness and the solid bear reality. There is no attempt to amaze the reader, both the little aspects and the elevated emotional and moral phenomena are narratively presented in a clear and ordinary style, but with an unquestionable essence of purity and truth behind them.
It is also essential to apprehend the grand values that Papillon discovers, appreciates and highlights in his account. As a little example, the regular delivery of the little slip of paper from Dega and Grandet to Papillon in his solitary confinement cell on the Iles du Salut saying that they "are with him, will try to help and do hope" is essential. The reader realizes the incredible weight and importance of human support and friendship when one's in trouble or in loneliness. In normal life of a european, I find myself ignoring virtually millions of such little stimuli, for which Papi was so greatful and which kept him alive. I must admit I feel ashamed for this foolish nature of humans to ignore such small gifts when living in the relative luxury of the developed world.
From a literary point of view, the book is written in a very simple language, that does not employ any sophisticated linguistic devices. The language of Charriere is such due to him not being a writer. I feel though, that this factor is what makes the story so incredibly pure and substantial.
Henri Charriere has become a great teacher to me. Now that I have experienced possibly the greatest story of human experience, suffering and gradual purification of soul, my approach to every next minute of my life will be much more thankful. The values of friendship, reliability, absolute groundbreaking will AND honest truthfulness have been permanently engraved into my personality.
It is hard to imagine that many people of the world do not even know of Henri Charriere. It is sad to realize how many of them could become better people by experiencing his life story. Nevertheless, I deeply encourage you to read Papillon, no matter what your age or status. You will never regret it. Matej

Papillon is the most moving true account of a time in a life I have had the luck to read. I have read all the reviews both here and on the UK site. Though it is the final word on perseverance, this is not the beauty of this book. No, it is not the narration, nor even the man himself or the breadth and depth of his adventures (though awesome). For me, it is the clear message that friendship is the greatest gift a person can have and give. It is friendship that allowed him to escape, to realize his dreams, to write his story. Where would he be without the kind Priest, how would he have planned the escape without Sierra, and what can you feel but shame (as did Papillon!) after the generosity of the lepers - how wholesome they seemed in their nature if not in their bodies. The examples are endless ( unlike this review - luckily! ) but the lesson is singular and clear.
This book is inspirational - no doubt - its inspiration is to gain self-esteem, to fortify yourself against those that would climb your walls to pull you down, but, above all, it is to be human to others around you. The inhumanity suffered by Papillon and others like him were at the hands of those who could not feel for others as Papi and his friends felt for others.
I read that one reviewer tattooed a butterfly on his chest in honour of Henri Charriere, for me, his story is tattooed on my mind. I think of his story and his friends as often as I do my own. The only other equally moving account of the power of friendship is "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.
My friends, those who have read the book and those thinking about it - all the best!

What a fantastic autobiography! When critics questioned the story and its authenticity, Henri said "They wouldn't let me take a typewriter into Hell". No doubt. Incredible look into the basically Dark Age mentality of punishment in the early to mid 20th century. How he managed to (grow) get through all the chaos and BS is mindboggling!
Read this, watch the movie (buy the movie here, of course) and read again!
You shall never regret doing so. Trust me, I didn't. Many friends have thanked me so very much when I loaned it to them.

This story got revived in my heart and mind just a few days ago as I picked up and read a similar and recent plight of a another man framed for a vicious murder he did not commit. In many ways Eric Volz's true story is even more courageous. If you want to continue with the real life adventure after the great Papillon read check out Gringo Nightmare, by Eric Volz. You don't have to be interested in politics to be riveted and inspired by this story. Papillon has always been one of the best and most memorable reads I have ever done and now comes another. Read them both and know that justice and a wise pursuit of it is always, always worth it.

This translation of Charriere's autobiographical adventure tale is without question a work of lasting beauty. Whether or not you believe it is strictly factual is unimportant once you read the first few pages- you will become absorbed by the strength of spirit, the fascinating descriptions, the exotic locations, and the persistent optimism in the face of desperation. A book to make you treasure freedom and think about human rights.

This is one of the most entertaining books I have ever read. I've read it a few times and always find it fascinating. Whether all of these stories of Henri Charriere ("Papillon") are true, I don't know. I only know he is one heckuva storyteller.

The amount of ups-and-downs in Charriere's years of imprisonment and escapes are just mind-boggling. Told in the first-person narrative, "Papi" tells it all simply and colorfully.

If you are seeking a great adventure book, you can't wrong with this.

The most astounding thing I came away with after reading this book was a sence of redemtion that the people in less "civilized" cultures had understood. The relationships that Papi founded, in the most disturbing (in dungeon), and beautiful circumstances (with indians) lead you to reflect on the realtionships in your own life. A wonderful story, that i will be sure to read again.

I read this book about 7-8 years ago and recently purchased a copy for a friend of mine. This is one of those books that once you start reading it you won't want to put it down. Not only is it packed with lots of adventure it demonstrates the importance of never giving up. From what I have seen of the movie, this book is 100 times better.

This is the only book that I truly "could not put down". From the very first pages I was captivated by the facts, the style of writing and the adventure. I'm a very slow reader and I ended up staying awake two nights in a row to finish this book. I've done a lot of reading but NOTHING ever captured me the way this book did. This should be universal required reading for oh so many reasons.

Papillon is a work of unparalleled brilliance. Charriere's description of his incarceration in the French penal colony in French Guyana is both riveting and haunting. For a man as uneducated as he claims, Charriere reveals himself as one of the 20th century's greatest writers, succeeding in use of suspense, allegory and poetic style.
Charriere builds a cohesive story, from the beginning in a rigged French court, through the trip to Cayenne, various cavales, and finally to a complete rebirth of spirit. Seen through eyes of compassion, anger, love and the wisdom of hindsight, Charriere gives a complete story that is not just an incredible adventure story, but a whole moral tale about life, strength, hope and faith.

One of the great adventure books of any time; certainly had had huge impact on my childhood as it was more mesmerizing and novel and gripping than any of the more conventional classics. There it was: a documentary that once again proved that the human spirit at its best becomes indomitable and cannot be destroyed.

The writer erected a timeless monument to the spirit unbroken even in the harsh brutality of the Guyana's tropical gulag.

An amazing story of an innocent man's journey from the underworld of France to the underbelly of the penal colony of French Guiana in 1931. The movie, though excellent, pales in comparison to this incredible page turner that any author would be hard pressed to fabricate unless he lived it. Charierre (aka Papillon) sheds light on the beauty and brutality of humanity with touching insight and shrewd instinct. Depicting life and society on the inescapable islands in a straightforward fashion, Papillon paints a colorful, if not surreal, picture with humor and sheer agony. After nine escape attempts, the reader is left wondering how a man could have prevailed. Charierre's auto-biographical adventure is a testament to a good man's astounding mental capacity to survive the most hellish circumstances by his wit, ingenuity and imagination despite the odds of survival. A must read for the soul.

This book was excellent. It was easy reading and made you feel like you were with Henry on this quest. I strongly recommend this book to everyone. The story brings to light how scary it can become when an innocent person in prosecuted and branded as quilty. Hats off to Henry for having the will to keep going while most would give up. A must read for anyone that likes true stories!

I just finished reading the book last night. And I can say it was the best. I admire Papillon for having that courage, hope, faith, patience in order to survive his life in the prison. The book is a mixture of everything from drama, suspense and comedy. I am not sure if I could go through that kind of life in prison.

Papillon is the true story of Henri Charrière's escape from a supposedly escape-proof penal colony on Devil's Island in French Guyana. Following his arrest, for a crime he did not commit, Charrière is given a life sentence. Prison life is brutal and Charrière's character is stubborn and rebellious, resulting in multiple spells in solitary confinement.

There is some controversy as to the authenticity of Charrière's memoirs. That said, it's a gripping story and a page turner. I recommend it.

A book full of adventure, intrigue, sorrow, heartache, revenge, joy, and many other expressive words that I can't think of at the moment. I found the ending and the fate of Papillon's fellow escape partner to be especially shocking. A five star classic.

Henri Charrere himself is Papillon.
A man obsessed with escape from the penal colony of French Guiana. He has many great adventures during his confinment and many escapes. This is the best adventure book I have ever found.

Well, I'm kind a bit jump from Historical to review this book. But I might just remembered that book is one of the best story ever told (true story), I read it when I was just perhaps 14-15 years old and had re-read it 3-4 times. This is an excellent book! Many genre that I love, and one of them is a true-story like this.

During my 10 years of reading i've read countless adventure stories, some where good others were excelant and some were bad but none even comes close to "Papillon". the debated question wether the story is true or not is hardly relevant, (althought i simply don't believe someone can make up tales in this level of authenticy and realism) this book is impossible to put down and the reader is sucked into Charriere's world within the first page.

If you can read only one book ,definitely read "Pappillon".

I first read Papillon over ten years ago. I borrowed a copy on the recommendation of a friend. Ten years later, the story called me back and again it blew me away.

Papillon is one of those rare books that leave you sad when you finally finish reading. Not sad for the character, but sad because the story has ended. It is an emotional roller coaster of a book that will have you crying one moment and laughing the next.

A must read.

While I suspect certain elements of Papillon are true, e.g. the conditions in the "bagne" and general state of French penal code when it was written, you would have to be pretty gullible to believe the story itself to be based on facts. The author suffers through a number of escape attempts that each read like screenplays, and proves to be virtually indestructible in situations that claim the lives of everyone else surrounding him. But even so, it's a good adventure story.

Like most people, I started this book thinking it was a true story. Research on Papillon confirms the book was originally planned as a novel, which makes a lot more sense. The believability meter for me finally broke when Papillon (who is loved by all, including all the guards, wardens, convicts, etc), becomes adopted by Indians who typically hate all outsiders. Not only do they take him in, but they offer him lovely virgins to bear his children and tearfully wave bye-bye when he abandons them! I caught myself laughing out loud.

Papillon is a Frenchman to end all Frenchmen. He is well liked, fearless, good looking, rough and tumble, a lady killer, and a gentleman. Just ask him. The four stars are for the entertainment value, the book is worth reading. It is fun, exciting, and engaging. Just don't for a minute believe it's true.

No, there's no need whatsoever for some poor sod to re-translate the whole book! It still reads beautifully. But, and this is a BIG but, the translation is, today, WAY TOO TAME. The quaint, oblique, charming English expletives he employs now badly interfere with the book's mood and thrillingly immediate, rough flavour. He translated this book way back in 1969; even the English aren't so delicate any longer. Please, isn't it time to honour Charriere's original manuscript, and dirty things up a bit??!

This a great old-school man's adventure and I would rate it five stars if it were not for just a few things. Firstly, it's not actually a memoir, it has been proven to be almost entirely imagined. Secondly, the chapter where he falls in love with a young girl, marries and then has sex with her still younger sister (pre-pubescent?) just throws me off and reminds me that this man was locked up for a long time and his mind wandered into many depraved fantasies.

Still, a great story if you didn't just read it was all faked.. but you just did..

I will remember Papi's experienced all of my life. When I was 14 I read this book. Papýllon is first book that I read totally. Afterwards I read it 4 or five times. And One day unexpectedly I noticed Banko (Papi's other book) I admired this french born, venezuelan died person. My hero, my prophet.
I love him and her wife Rita. I remember that he write about meet her. If I could do one day I will go to Venezuela and visit his cemetery, and ýf there is, I wanna meet his relatives.
Finally I am sorry for my english.

Charriere is an engrossing storyteller. This book is about an innocent man's will to survive and escape the abhorrent conditions of the French penal institutions in Guiana. Unfortunately, there are countries in this world that similarly adopt such horrid practices. I also recommend "Banco" for those who enjoyed reading Papillon. It is about the further adventures of Charriere.

Excellent and quick read, notwithstanding the length (540 pages). Much better than the film, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman released in approximately 1973-74. I felt a stronger than normal sympathy and admiration for the never-give-up, protagonist, Papillon. After reading this book I have a greater respect for the simple freedoms that many of us take for granted.

This is a great story of human endurance and survival and of where you can hide things. It is also interesting from a historical point of view about penal colonies. The only thing I didnt like was Henri himself.

I will remember Papi's experienced all of my life. When I was 14 I read this book. Papýllon is first book that I read totally. Afterwards I read it 4 or five times. And One day unexpectedly I noticed Banko (Papi's other book) I admired this french born, venezuelan died person. My hero, my prophet.
I love him and her wife Rita. I remember that he write about meet her. If I could do one day I will go to Venezuela and visit his cemetery, and ýf there is, I wanna meet his relatives.
Finally I am sorry for my english.

Charriere is an engrossing storyteller. This book is about an innocent man's will to survive and escape the abhorrent conditions of the French penal institutions in Guiana. Unfortunately, there are countries in this world that similarly adopt such horrid practices. I also recommend "Banco" for those who enjoyed reading Papillon. It is about the further adventures of Charriere.

Excellent and quick read, notwithstanding the length (540 pages). Much better than the film, starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman released in approximately 1973-74. I felt a stronger than normal sympathy and admiration for the never-give-up, protagonist, Papillon. After reading this book I have a greater respect for the simple freedoms that many of us take for granted.

This is a great story of human endurance and survival and of where you can hide things. It is also interesting from a historical point of view about penal colonies. The only thing I didnt like was Henri himself.

I really loved the book l have read the book twice before and am always amazed with the character it's hard to imagine this could ever have happened in real life such a courage ous man.a truly great read

stomach churning gut turning seat gripping.It goes beyond drama in that its truth hits you between the eyes and will not let you put the book down. I left it in love with the man he is a true hero. You cant find the words to write about it because it is just incredible.

I go back and read this book whenever I feel a need to touch life in it's unedited version. Few of us could live in such conditions and still he comes back. They can not destroy this man, he is the person I think about everyday... I wounder - how could you that strong and yet so fragile?

Story of a guy who would not quit even though the consequences were overwhelming. The book has a special significance to me because I spend much time on the beautiful Isla of Margarita, Venezuela where the author settled in his final years. There are several of his many offspring who live on the island.