Papillon

Name: Papillon
Brand: Harper Audio
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.53 (15 reviews)
Author: Henri Charriere
ISBN: 9780062228765

Author: Henri Charriere

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Unabridged: 18 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 06/12/2012

Categories: Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, True Crime, Historical Biography

Synopsis

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.

About Henri Charriere

Born in 1906, and imprisoned in 1931, Henri Charrière finally escaped in 1945 to Venuzuela, where he married, settled in Caracas, and opened a restaurant. He died in 1973.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Anita on October 25, 2023

My mother knew Papillon and another one of the characters in the book (Francoise). He was a customer of my uncle's restaurant Il Padrino, in Venezuela, back in the 60's,70's (after this story was told). My brother was just an infant/toddler at this time and they would take turns throwing him in the......more

Goodreads review by Baba on July 29, 2024

Henri Charrière's utterly consuming autobiography has blown me away! Henri was called "Papillon" because of his chest butterfly tattoo which features on the cover of this edition. Unjustly convicted for murder in Paris in 1931 and sentenced to life imprisonment on French Guyana, he became utterly ob......more

Goodreads review by Andrew on May 04, 2024

I read this book in the mid 70's, as a teenager. Then I read it again. And then, a little while later, I saw the film. The three events have subsequently blended into one, and I certainly now have difficulty differentiating the book from the film. But that's no big deal as I know the film followed t......more