Books2Movies Club discussion

There are no beds of roses in any prison, but this one in French Guiana was particularly nasty, if we are to trust Henri Charrière and his memoirs written in Papillon. I still have to read the book to figure that out, but the movie Papillon (1973) I can recommend as something any cinephile definitely must see. A remake was introduced this September at Toronto Film Festival, Papillon (2017). Its official release will be next April I guess. It is not fair to compare this new generation of actors with acting legends such as are Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, not to mention the screenwriters and the director. I hope it'll be worth our attention too.

I tried to read the book last year and gave up about 100 pages in. The author is so self-absorbed (yes, I understand it's supposed to be an autobiography, but still...) with such an egotistical view of himself that I really couldn't care less what happened to him. It's not particularly well-written either, and the narrative really drags. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone whether or not they enjoyed the film, which I have not yet seen.

I am almost finished reading this book. I have had many obstacles to my usual reading times this month, so progress has been slower than I thought it would be. I am really enjoying Papillon. Charrière is a fascinating narrator, self-absorbed, quick to excuse any action with his own personal code of honor. I do not know whether to believe anything he says. It is like Kafka's The Trial rewritten from the viewpoint of a narcissist. I saw the movie years ago. It is sitting on my coffee table waiting to be watched again.