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    Papillon

    Well, I suppose it deserves its own thread. A phenomenal best seller, a memorable film spin off, and a gripping account of the triumph of the human spirit despite man's inhumanity to man.

    And I've just started reading it. I'm not really into fiction that much, but a good friend of mine kept pestering me to give it a go. So I have.

    A few pages in, and Papillon has just been sent down in a heinous miscarriage of justice.

    I like the fact that this is probably the sort of book that Charles de Gaulle would wrinkle his nose at before saying, 'Pah!'

    What's the OTF opinion?

    #2
    Papillon

    I read it more than 40 years ago.

    It confirmed a lot of my preconceptions about the French "justice system".

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      #3
      Papillon

      I never read the book — possibly because everyone in the world was reading it, so it wasn't cool. I did see the film. Dustin Hoffman was great, Steve McQueen' in the title role less so.

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        #4
        Papillon

        The book was understandably way, way more intense than the movie. Surprised that someone hasn't done a modern film remake as they'd have way more liberties to ratchet up the violence. The guy was a daring, determined dude.

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          #5
          Papillon

          Amor de Cosmos wrote:

          I never read the book — possibly because everyone in the world was reading it, so it wasn't cool.
          A precursor of the Da Vinci code?

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            #6
            Papillon

            Heh! I imagine it was far better, though having read neither I'm no judge.

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              #7
              Papillon

              The book is great and the sequel Banco is also excellent and I am amazed that, although it is a thinner volume, no-one has made a film of.

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                #8
                Papillon

                Halfway through now, and Papillon has been recaptured and sent to the solitary hell of Saint Just.

                His account of life on the run is vivid, from his descriptions of flesh eating ants to the beauty of a tropical moon lighting up the calm sea.

                It's hard to shake the feeling that he's nicked other stories from prisoners on the run and burnished them to make it appear that they all happened to him.

                But I'm not letting that interfere with one of the central themes of the book. 'The hypocrisy of a civilised upbringing', as Papillon puts it. The contrast between the West (particularly the French justice system) and the simple life of the Guajira Indians shines as brightly as one of those tropical moonrises.

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                  #9
                  Papillon

                  Finished it today, and whilst it was enjoyable enough it didn't grip me in the way that it apparently did to tens of millions back in the early '70s.

                  The funny thing is - I wasn't really interested in Papillon as a character, probably because I'd try and avoid him in real life.

                  But his descriptions of nature during his journeys were vivid and probably the most memorable passages of the book. I think I'll give Banco a miss.

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                    #10
                    Papillon

                    One of the 1st adult books I ever read, as my granddad loved it and gave me it. I should probably read it again, maybe slog through the French original, as I'm sure there were euphemisms my 11 or 12-year old self didn't get.

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