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.
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This novel is still an amazing tale of an amazing life and struggle.
I read this book more than a decade ago before I saw the movie. It is a brutal and haunting account of what prisoners suffered in the French prison colonies. It’s completely inhuman and cruel what these men underwent. They may have been criminals but they are still human beings and of course, some of them were innocent, others were petty criminals …
This is my throwback recommendation for today. One of the best books I’ve ever read, and based on a true story, written by Papillon himself. Made famous in an old Steve McQueen film and the more recent remake, don;’t sell yourself short and fail to read the book. It’s a long one, so don’t expect a quick fix, but the writing is extraordinary and …
This is his story: a petty thief in France wrongly convicted of murder, Henri is sent to a French Guiana penal colony to serve out a life sentence. His book is marketed as an autobiography, although journalists of the era found many false or fanciful parts. But it doesn’t matter. The man writes with a passion and a sense of storytelling beyond …
Thrilling
Papillon was a book gifted to me by my brother when I was in the darkest throes of addiction. He knew that I needed a story that would teach me what it means to never give up. I found that in the endless need for escape from prison, and related to it in more ways than one. This book has a special place in my heart, especially now that my brother …
This is the author’s own story of the time he was in prison for a murder he states he was wrongly convicted of. Nicknamed Papillon due to the butterfly tattoo he had on his chest, he takes us through his trial, his sentence of life in Prison, and then his time in French Guiana prison. Papillon had only one thing on his mind once he got to prison …
Great and amazing book about a true story of an inocent man, sent to one of the worst jails on Earth, at French Guiana, and his determination to escape. It is worth to read and it is very well written.