Papillon: Book Review

Papillon is young and he is condemned to life imprisonment for the murder he did not commit. He has two options. Accept his fate and spend rest of the life in prison. Or retaliate against the injustice and get his life back! What will he do?

Papillon is an autobiography by Henri Charrière, a French convict. He decides to fight back. An escape from the penal colony of French Guiana….Will he be able to conquer the might of Devil’s Island or surrender? The answers lie in the novel!

It is not possible to guess the percentage of truth in the book. But it does not necessarily play spoilsport. It seems impossible for a single man to do so many adventures in his lifetime. Most probably, it is an ensemble of experiences of various prisoners in French Guyana. So, we can say that this novel is an indirect tribute to all those unknown who fought hard to reclaim their freedom and to start their life anew.

Forget about the amount of truth in the story….. It's a gripping tale. A tale of grit and determination of a framed French convict who tries to get his freedom back! A fight of human being against the enforcement and the nature!

It will inspire you. You will not be able to put the book down until you finish. It's fast. It's entertaining. It's thrilling. It's better than Tarzan. It opens a different world before you. An ugly face of the society and governments….

After finishing the book, you would crave for more. And there lies the success of this novel.

It is no surprise that Hollywood made a movie based on the novel, starring Steve McQueen. However, it is one of the worst movie adaptations. It is surprising (and saddening) that it happened with this exciting book. It is still waiting for the justice by Hollywood.

Are Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg listening????