So fascinating, haunting; you feel the pain and ecstasy. No escape till the last page, you sail along all 'Cavale' with them.

Even though the author is silent all throughout the novel, on the plot of his conviction for murder in France except by saying that he was innocent, we really feel that he was really innocent. This, the author succeeds to prove through various instances in the novel. We also feel many occasions unbelievable where we see he is recognized instantly, and many show sympathy towards him which aids in his attempts for a ‘Cavale’

So fascinating is the narration of his experience in the island of Indian Hindus, where he finds an interesting life with two ‘wives’- sisters, who compete with each other to get pregnant, which they succeed in the end. But we see Papillon making his ‘Cavale’ from there, bidding goodbye to the island, that gets him another term of imprisonment and torture before he is released and made free in Venezuela after many years.

Happy reading.

Pretty amazing book by Charriere; basically his 'adventures' and escapes from various French penal colonies in French Guiana. Henri Charriere, known in the underworld as Papillon (butterfly, due to a tattoo on his chest) basically cracked safes for a living, but ended up being framed for murdering a pimp and was sentenced to hard labor for life in the late 1920s.

The prose is rather amateurish but full of heart to say the least. After a few years kicking around some truly grim French prisons, Papillon gets shipped to French Guiana, which seems to consist of several penal colonies, each one a horror. Hard to believe that such conditions still existed even in the 1930s! Papillon has one overarching desire-- escape and starting a new life. Escape means going by sea to somewhere else-- a 'cavale' in the lingo-- and hence one needs to first leave the prison and then find a seaworthy boat. The problem is the British colonies will only allow French escapees to stay (say in Trinidad) for a few weeks. The Dutch give the escapees back to the French, as due the Venezuelans (although they work them hard for a few years first!). Papillon (or Papi) dreams of going to Costa Rica, or perhaps Honduras, but dreams and reality alas often clash.

The depiction of the prisons resembles something from the middle ages. Papi ended up spending one stint of 3 years in solitary in a French prison there (punishment for his first escape). Speaking was not allowed and the prisoners never left their cells the entire time. Many suicided, went mad or simply died, and Papi depicts in some detail how he kept himself sane. Other prisons were even worse. Papi's first escape eventually led him to Colombia, where he was arrested (no papers) and lived in a cell which partially flooded on each high tide, bringing in biting crabs, huge poisonous centipedes and other vermin; after a few weeks there, he emerged covered in bites and seriously ill.

On the one hand, this is a tour of prisons in Northern Latin America circa the 1930s and 40s, but on the other, a striking adventure novel chronicling Papi's cavales. All in all, he tried escaping something like 10 times, but only made it twice. The first cavale took him first to the mainland of Guiana, then to Trinidad and Columbia, where he lived for half a year with an indigenous tribe before being captured. The second cavale took place in 1941 where he left a French penal colony on a raft of coconuts in bags and fought the sea for days before the mainland. The details of mere survival are amazing. Imagine being in a small boat baking in the sun, battered by hurricanes, little food or water for weeks at a time. The man had brass balls for sure!

Since he survived to write his 'memoirs' in 1967, you knew he eventually earned his freedom, but the adventures along the way are priceless, as are his (albeit rather sophomoric at times) reflections on civilization and the human condition. I did not really expect this to be such a page turner and was pleasantly surprised. Good stuff! 4 Papillons!!

Filmi kitaptan daha çok sevdim, Steve McQueen ve Dustin Hoffman'ın mükemmel oyunculuğunun etkisiyle sanırım.

I couldn't finish this book.... and I truly tried. I rarely ever do not finish a book… almost always I force myself through the bad ones… but I couldn't get past the protagonist’s / author’s ego and the endless boring content in this one.

My super short “review” is a reflection of how little interest I have in this book.

O poveste fantastică. Imposibil să te plictisești pe parcursul celor peste 600 de pagini. Se întâmplă atât de multe lucruri încât ți se pare imposibil ca cineva să trăiască toate astea într-o singură viață. Dacă am învățat ceva de la Papillon ar fi ca niciodată să nu te dai bătut indiferent de circumstanțe, să speri, să gândești și să pui în aplicare imposibilul. Cât despre alegerea de a pleca de lângă persoanele iubite după ce a scăpat din “Iad” pentru a intra din nou în “Infern” cred că nimeni nu i-ar putea judeca alegerea cu adevărat. Cu toate că toți am făcut-o și probabil l-am “urât” pentru asta..
Această carte, din punctul meu, este un “must-read”..

This book is incredible. It is the TRUE story of a prison break from a penal colony in French Guiana which was later made into a movie with Steve McQueen--another of my favorites. If you liked Shawshank, you'll love Papillon.

Henri Charrier, called Papillon for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 for a murder he did not convict and was shipped off to French Guiana. It takes years and several failed attempts for Papillion to escape in this nail-biting story of amazing courage.

The book has it all, sex (for a while Papillion has two Indian wives who are sisters), drugs and a little metaphorical rock and roll. I can't recommend it enough.

Charriere wrote his autobiography in 1968, twenty years after he escaped.

Fluturele niciodată nu-și pierde aripile. Aș vrea să spun „wow”, dar nu este suficient. Am nevoie de câteva zile ca să îmi adun gândurile. Și lacrimile, pentru că nu au fost puține.

The blurb did intrigued me enough to pick it up but didn't think I would care much for it but surprisingly enough it was hard to stop listening to. An story that was hard to put down and even as it's not an happy book it was definitely a book that I've been thinking about a bit after finishing it

I saved this book from the discard pile, from one of the school libraries I worked in while living in Indiana.

This story was even better the second time around. I am glad I reread it.

What an amazing story!!! It is questionable as to what is true and what is not...many people have poked holes in Henri's story since its publication. However, still a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good old school adventure story of daring prison breaks and survival even when all seems lost.

n  " لم أعش إلا من أجل تحقيق هذا الهدف : أن أهرب ، أن أهرب من السجن. ليس مهما أن أهرب بمفردي أو برفقة أحد، المهم أن أهرب. كانت هذه فكرة ثابتة في ذهني "n

"رحلة نحو الحرية " هذا ما يمكنني وصف به هذه الرواية . كانت توقعاتي لها مختلفة عما وجدت . لا أعني ان الرواية سيئة او لم تعجبني لكن فقط توقعتها بشكل مختلف عن ذلك .
ظننت في البداية انى سأجد ماتوقعت فها هو هنري شاريير المدعو بابيون أى الفراشة كما لُقب من البداية وقد تم إتهامه زوراً وحُكم عليه بالمؤبد ظلماً .
n  " في تمام الساعة الحادية عشرة ليلاً ، انتهت لعبة الشطرنج ، بعد أن قبل للمحامين المدافعين عني ( كش مللك ومات!) وتم الحكم علي وأنا برئ من التهمة." n

ليقرر منذ أول يوم أنه سيهرب من السجن بالتأكيد وانه سيعود للإنتقام ممن أودعوه بالسجن .
نتابع خططه المتكررة للهروب من السجن ونتعرف على من يحاول ضمهم اليه في الهروب ونعيش معه افكاره ومحاولاته بل ونشهد نجاح أول محاولة للهروب معه ومالاقاه في رحلة الهروب هو واصدقائه ومن إلتقي لهم .

n  n

n  "لقد خسرت المباراة ، ولكن روحي لم تنهزم"n

نحيا مع بابيون كل الأحداث في السجن ونتعرف على الكثير من رفاقه هناك وحكاية كل منهم ، فالرواية نعم من وجهه نظره وعنه لكنه يحكي لنا قصص الكثير ممن يلتقيهم لنعرف سبب سجنهم واحكامهم وأشياء مما تحدث معهم . ونرى من خلال حكاياته سواء مما حدث معه او مما حدث للسجناء الآخرين المعاملة المهينة والسيئة والعنيفة في بعض الأحيان والمنعدمة الإنسانية تماما في أحيان اخري ، ونتابع مآسي الحبس الإنفرادي ، وكيفية التعامل مع جثث الأموات من المساجين حيث لايوجد مكان للدفن . وتعامل السجناء مع بعضهم البعض وخياراتهم في التعامل مع السجن .

n  n

n   "لا اهمية لسجين محكوم بالأشغال الشاقة، فحتى لو قُتِل بطريقة جبانة، يمتنع الآخرون عن إزعاج أنفسهم بالسعي إلى معرفة القاتل. بالنسبة إلى الإدارة هو لا يعني شيئاً على الإطلاق ، فهو مجرد محكوم ، أدني من كلب " n

n  n
لم أشاهد الفيلم بعد لكن هذه اللقطة من الحبس الإنفرادي ، اللحظة الوحيدة التي يستطيع السجين ان يري غيره وقد يتمكن من ان يتحدث بكلمتين إن كان سعيد الحظ.

اسلوب الرواية كان أسهل بكثير مما توقعت ، لا اعلم لماذا كان لدى إعتقاد أن لغة هذه الرواية وإسلوبها وطبيعتها ستكون أثقل من ذلك بكثير . لكن أسلوب الكاتب كان شيق .و الرواية عموماً كانت كما قلت في البداية رحلة ، تتخللها المغامرات والمخاطر والأحزان والأفراح والمواقف الطريفة والمبكية .

n  " منذ عام وأنت لا تكف عن محاولات الفرار ولم تستسلم مرة واحدة. ما إن تخفق في محاولة فرار حتى تعد لمحاولة أخرى"n

إصرار بابي على الهروب من السجن والحصول على حريته كان رائعا ، وتعامله مع حياته في السجن ورفاقه وطريقة تعامله ليتحمل عقوبة السجن الإنفرادي كانت ملهمة وجميلة لتثبت لنا أن الخيال أحيانا يستطيع إنقاذنا من الجنون والمعاناة . ( ده طبعا للناس اللى خيالها بيوديها لأفكار وخيال كويس ، مش جلد الذات اللى بعضنا واولهم انا بنعمله

Papillon, Henri Charrière

Henri Charrière (16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was a French writer, convicted as a murderer by the French courts.

He wrote the famous novel Papillon, a memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana.

While Charrière claimed that Papillon was largely true, modern researchers believe that much of the book’s material came from other inmates, rather than Charrière himself.

Charrière denied committing the murder, although he freely admitted to having committed various other petty crimes prior to his incarceration. ...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: سال 1977 میلادی

عنوان: پاپیون؛ اثر: هانری شایرر؛ مترجم: پرویز نقیبی؛ تهران، امیرکبیر، 1349، در 537ص؛ چاپ ششم 1396؛ در 688ص؛ شابک9789640018873؛ چاپ هفتم 1398؛ در 798ص؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان فرانسه - سده 20م

عنوان: پاپیون؛ اثر: هانری شایرر؛ مترجم: ه‍وش‍ن‍گ‌ ح‍اف‍ظی‌پ‍ور؛ تهران، شهریار، 1348؛ در 606ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، دنیای کتاب، چاپ چهارم سال1368، در 606ص؛ شابک 9645870607؛ چاپ ششم 1377؛ چاپ هشتم 1390؛

با توجه به آنچه از کتاب برمی‌آید، «شاریر» در روز بیست و ششم ماه اکتبر سال 1931میلادی به اتهام قتل «رولاند لوپتی»، اتهامی که او به شدت تکذیب کرد، محکوم شد، او به زندگی در زندان و ده سال کار سخت محکوم شد؛ پس از یک زندان کوتاه در زندان‌های موقت در «کن فرانسه»، او در سال 1933میلادی به زندان «سنت لوران مارونی» در جزیره شیطان و در ناحیه ی «گویان در شمال شرقی آمریکای جنوبی» برده شد؛ نویسنده «هانری شاریر» اهل «فرانسه» بودند؛ و در «اسپانیا» از دنیا رفتند («شاریر»، زادروز 1906میلادی در «آرده سنت‌اتین فرانسه»، درگذشت روز بیست و نهم ماه ژوئیه سال 1973میلادی، به علت ابتلا به سرطان‌های سر و گردن در شهر «مادرید»)؛ ایشان به اتهام کشتن یک مرد فروشنده، توسط دادگاه «فرانسه» محکوم شدند، در حالیکه او منکر آن اتهام بود؛ مهمترین رخدادهای پیرامون ماجرا را، در کتابی با عنوان «پاپیون (پروانه)»، به رشته ی تحریر درمیآورند؛ کتاب فروش بسیار خوبی داشت؛ ایشان ادعا داشتند که بیشتر رخدادهای نگاشته شده در «پاپیون»، راست هستند، اما منتقدان بر این باور بودند، که بسیاری از مواد کتاب، یادمانهای نقل‌ شده ی دیگر زندانیان همراه «شاریر» بوده اند

نقل از متن: (پسرک گستاخ! اگر خیال می‌کنی که می‌توانی از چنگ من فرار کنی، اشتباه می‌کنی! درست است که کسی چنگ و چنگال را در دست‌های من نمی‌بیند، اما بدان که چنگال پنجه‌های من، تو را تکه و پاره خواهد کرد، و دستور این عمل از درون مغز من صادر خواهد شد؛ و اگر من ترس در دل همه وکلای مدافع انداخته‌ام، و در دادستانی، به عنوان دادستانی خطرناک، متمایز شده‌ام، از آن است که هرگز نمی‌گذارم، شکار و طعمه‌ ام از دستم فرار کند، من نمی‌خواهم بدانم که تو گناهکاری یا بی‌گناه، بلکه تنها کار من این است، که از هرچه علیه تو و به ضررت‌ است، استفاده کنم؛ زندگی کولی‌وارت در محله «مونمارتر»، شهادت‌های دروغینی که به تحریک پلیس، گرفته شده است، و اظهارات خود مامورین پلیس، با این پرونده تهوع آوری که بازپرس برایت ساخته، باید تو را آنقدر فاسد و کثیف نشان بدهم، که هیئت منصفه از جامعه طردت کنند»؛ به نظرم می‌آید، که راستی راستی این «آدم‌خوار» دارد، با من حرف می‌زند، مگر اینکه خواب دیده باشم؛ خیال می‌کنم که به من می‌گوید:«تو کارت نباشد متهم، مخصوصا سعی نکن که از خودت دفاع کنی! من خودم در «جاده تباهی و گندیدگی» تو را سوق خواهم داد، و امیدوارم که اعتقادی به هیئت منصفه نداشته باشی»؛)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 20/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 24/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی