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Editorial Review:
On December 8, 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby's life was forever altered when a part of his body he'd never heard of--his brain stem--was rendered inactive. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, his exquisitely painful memoir, is neither a triumphant account of recovery nor a journey into the abyss of self-pity. Instead, it is a tender testament to the power of language and love. At 43, Bauby was defined by success, wit and charisma. But in the course of a few bewildering minutes, the editor-in-chief of French Elle became a victim of the rare locked-in syndrome. The only way he could express his frustration, however, was by blinking his left eye. The rest of his body could no longer respond. Bauby was determined to escape the paralysis of his diving bell and free the butterflies of his imagination. And with the help of ESA, "a hit parade in which each letter is placed according to the frequency of its use in the French language," Bauby did so. Visitors, and eventually his editor, would read each letter aloud and he would blink at the right one. Slowly--painstakingly-- words, sentences, paragraphs and even this graceful book emerged.
Bauby relays the horrors and small graces of his struggle, which range from awaking one day to discover his right eye being sewn shut to realising the significance of Father's Day, a holiday previously absent from his family's "emotional calendar": "Today we spent the whole of the symbolic day together, affirming that even a rough sketch, a shadow, a tiny fragment of a dad is still a dad." The author makes it clear that being locked in doesn't kick open the doors of perception, but The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is nonetheless a celebration of life. Jean Dominique-Bauby died of a heart attack on March 9, 1997, two days after his book was published in France.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Amazing and unique read The enthusiasm for life that Jean-Dominique Bauby demonstrated in the whole book was amazing. And it was not for a matter of faiths or beliefs, but for a simple and pure love of life and everything that's part of it. Like the way he makes up recipes and tastes in his mind, or he listen to soft voices in his head that he calls butterflies. And even the way he classifies and changes the whole world around him, making it more exciting and new even if at the same time he is perfectly aware of his situation and... more info
Fall in love with every day life again This is possibly the worst situation anyone could ever be in yet, Bauby tried his hardest to remain positive and showed heroic humour throughout the entire book. Whilst an unbelievably sad situation, the book is not depressing. You can read the whole book quite quickly. Even those who don't read often can enjoy this reasonably short story with a huge positive impact. For me, this book has reunited myself with the life we are supposed to be living. Appreciating whatever little we might have,... more info
excellent Short enough to read in one sitting, this book is well worth the read. It describes the vivid thoughts of a man struck down by a debilitating stroke at the peak of his career. Darkly comic and ultimately optimistic, the book is a compulsive page turner, and makes an excellent companion to the movie. Its all the more remarkable given that it was written through the medium of a blink of an eye.
Lasting impression "Le Scaphandre et le Papillon" is a fantastic read full stop. I understand other's thoughts on this book and I respect their opinions, but for me, this book has had a lasting impression. I have also watched, about 2 years after having read the book, the French film version which was fairly accurate in relation to the book. I found that I gained enough insight into his former life to suffice - one must not expect memoirs of his entire life, but a focus upon his life after the stroke with a few references to... more info
