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Product Description
An immediate sensation upon its publication in 1969, Papillon is a vivid memoir of brutal penal colonies, daring prison breaks and heroic adventure on shark-infested seas.
Condemned for a murder he did not commit, Henri Charriere, nicknamed Papillon, was sent to the penal colony of French Guiana. Forty-two days after his arrival he made his first break for freedom, travelling a thousand gruelling miles in an open boat. He was recaptured and put into solitary confinement but his spirit remained untamed: over thirteen years he made nine incredible escapes, including from the notorious penal colony on Devil’s Island.
This edition of Papillon, one of the greatest adventure stories ever told, includes an exclusive new essay by Howard Marks.
From the Back Cover
Condemned for a murder he had not committed, Henri Charriere (nicknamed 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, he suffered a solitary confinement and was sent eventually to Devil's Island, a hell-hole of disease and brutality. No one had ever escaped from this notorious prison – no one until Papillon took to the shark infested sea supported only by a makeshift coconut-sack raft. In thirteen years he made nine daring escapes, living through many fantastic adventures while on the run – including a sojourn with South American Indians whose women Papillon found welcomely free of European restraints…
'Papillon' is filled with tension, adventure and high excitement. It is also one of the most vivid stories of human endurance ever written.
Henri Charriere died in 1973 at the age of 66.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Browse and search another edition of this book.
IT WAS A KNOCKOUT BLOW-a punch so overwhelming that I didn't get back on my feet for fourteen years. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
It is superbly paced and flows so well that it's almost impossible to find a point where it can be put down so you can get your breath back! Charriere manages to encompass just about every emotion and through all the adversity and suffering there is still plenty of room for some wicked slices of humour.
At a push, two slight criticisms: Throughout, he claims to be innocent of the crime that he was punished for (which I am a little dubious about after reading some of his exploits!); and I also felt he was a bit "over-modest" and too superhuman at times, but this does not taint the quality of the story at all...just minor niggles!
Also recommended is "Banco", the sequel to Papillon, in which Charriere describes his life on the straight and narrow....yeah,right.
Last point: Why on earth wasn't there a better film made? Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman are brilliant but the film was desperately disappointing. It would have been better to have made two or three 2-hour films (a la Kane and Abel) and done the book justice.
There is a great deal of humour and wisdom in the book unlike the disapointing film version which was standardised prison break adventure.
A difficult book to sum up but it has always amazed me that Henri found so much goodness in people, so much to admire in the most bleak and unlikely surroundings.
Unbelievably the publisher stated that the initial manuscript was published... Read more
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