truly jaw dropping scenes in here. this is the white frenchmans biomythography i don’t even care if they have speculations about the validity of his story…. this romp through the colombian wilderness ending in two wives??? the tiny chinese pig that led him across quicksand???? how the sharks ate his friend……???? it’s a brutal life in the bagne but he spins it up so well. and it is quite fun to get spun around with him too

Up until I got bored with it, the writing was good. But some of the "adventures", I have to say - Yeah, righ. Male Wish Fullment.

This book taught me the true meaning of resilience, courage and determination. Papillon is a truly admirable story.

Inspiring to the end. Amazing, and beautifully written/translated.

Dit boek is een aanrader als je van avonturen houdt. Het verhaal is heel ongekunsteld geschreven en dat werkt in dit geval in het voordeel. Je hoort de hoofdpersoon zelf zijn levensverhaal vertellen. Hier en daar schept hij wat op, zo af en toe verfraait hij wat hij doet, maar het is al met al een eerlijk verhaal van een leven vol ontberingen, vriendschap en doorzettingsvermogen.
Tijdloos!

Nunca había entendido la fascinación que tenia mi tío y mi mamá por este libro hasta que me decidí a leerlo... que puedo decir... acompañar a "Papillon" por este largo camino me ha dejado una perspectiva totalmente diferente, la fuerza de voluntad de este hombre por recuperar la libertad que le fue arrebatada injustamente es de admirar, sin importar cuantas veces tuvo que ver como la libertad huía de él siempre maquinaba alguna estrategia para su siguiente intento.

la narración es fluida y hace que te sientas parte de cada situación buena o mala y aunque no hay casi diálogos en el desarrollo es una lectura que se puede hacer rápida.

En conclusión una excelente historia que demuestra que no es fácil conseguir lo que tanto anhelas pero que si no desistes y perseveras siempre con el objetivo en mente consigues lo que quieres.

A solid, solid 5 stars.

Having seen and enjoyed the movie (Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman!), I picked up the book. The movie is gripping, heart-wrenching, and a wonderful, complete thought.

Compared to the book, it's Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

That's how much I enjoyed this book. The movie leaves out about 5/6ths of Henri's story. He had 9 or 10 cavelas (escape attempts) in total from probably 7 different prisons. The book is an autobiography.

I cannot tell you much about the enjoyable parts of the book without giving away some pretty big spoilers, but let me say that the character McQueen plays wasn't half as determined, or half the genius of the actual man. There was also a lot that would not have made it past the censors, even during the freewheeling 70s, the last time American films were truly groundbreaking as a whole. In a world where Bad Lieutenant, Caligula and A Clockwork Orange were made, that's saying something. The honesty is brutal and mostly complete.

If you enjoyed the movie, pick up the book today. If you have never seen the movie, but appreciate hearing stories of real-world survival/triumph over impossible odds, pick it up (Unbroken is the first similar book that comes to mind).

Just be forewarned: there are moments of extreme beauty, and there are moments of extreme...everything else. It's a story of life inside a French penal colony in the 1930s, for chrissakes.