Book Review: Papillon by Henri Charriere

Whenever I have something important coming up, be it a holiday or a big sporting event or a race, I always try to find a book to read on the subject to provide deeper understanding and engagement. I originally picked up Henri Charriere’s memoir Papillion to psyche me up for a Spartan Race. The Spartan Race, like just about every event all over the world, has been cancelled; however, under a shelter-at-home order due to Covid-19, the book offers a stunning perspective on isolation.

Charriere (called Papillon due to the giant butterfly tattoo on his chest) was a French criminal safecracker who was arrested in the 1930s and wrongly convicted of murder (I feel like there should be an asterisk here – to be discussed below!). Given a life sentence, Papillon was sent to a bagne (prison colony) in French Guiana. He immediately started thinking of chavale (escape) and just a few months into his sentence was able to make it all the way to Columbia before being re-captured. After being returned to French Guiana, he spent almost another decade in prison before finally escaping, this time for good, in Venezuala.

As I said before, I originally picked this book up thinking it would encourage and inspire me for my Spartan Race. If that had gone on as planned, I think it would have done a moderate job of doing so. I expected that life in a rough South American prison would have been rough and hardscrabble, but for the most part he was able to manage his situations (again, asterisk here – more below). There were definitely tough times, especially when he was in confinement in Columbia where high tides would bring seawater (and sea creatures) up to chest level twice a day, but for much of his time he was able to take things easy, with fishing, gambling, and hanging out with anyone from fellow prisoners up to the wardens and his families. The grittiest parts of his memoir were really his escapes, both in rickety sea vessels (one time just floating for days on two sacks of coconuts). During his escapes there was never enough food, no shelter from the sun, and a need to hide in the jungle whenever land was reached (also, quicksand comes up in a big way). In a way his escapes reminded me of Shackleton’s doomed Antarctic expedition on the Endurance and subsequent amazing rescue.

The Spartan Race is cancelled, but this book does an amazing job at speaking to the shelter-in-place experience. For twenty five pages in the middle of the book, Papillon is put in solitary confinement in French Guiana. For two years. He is led to a cell just over five paces long (as he soon discovers), with a wooden bunk and pillow that can only be out during certain hours, with fat and poisonous centipedes dripping off the ceiling. During his two years sunlight never enters his cell, and no talking is allowed – he has a total of four conversations over those two years. He only leaves the cell once, and it is to meet with the warden to be punished further for an infraction, with his “meals” being reduced from three a day to two during his last four months. Through it all, his only distractions were to spend hours pacing his room (“One, two, three, four, five, turn, one, two….”) and to dream.

And then, one day, his sentence was over and he rejoined the general population.

I don’t know how difficult your shelter-at-home situation is (assuming that’s the most difficult challenge you’re currently facing), but you have light. You have readily available food. You have people to talk to, either directly or on the phone. You have the ability to go outside and stretch your legs. Papillon had none of these things, and he was able to survive for two straight years. If he could get through solitary, we can get through shelter-in-place.

Now for the asterisks. This is a very engaging and exciting story, and we obviously have some confirmed facts: Papillon’s murder conviction and imprisonment in French Guiana, his two chavales, his eventual freedom in Venezuela. The bulk of the storytelling, however, was based on Papillon’s memory (or possibly however he’s want his actions to be remembered). This story was written down (1) years after his escape to Venezuela, and (2) decades before the A Million Little Pieces scandal. It’s possible that everything Papillon put down was 100% true; however, for that to be the case, we would have to believe:

· Papillon was wrongly convicted of murder

· He was only convicted because the prosecutor was corrupt

· Within days of meeting him, everyone naturally believed he was wrongly convicted

· He became the leader of every group he came in contact with

· Everyone he came in contact with, including guards and wardens, immediately considered him trustworthy

Obviously Papillon’s actual experience was amazing based on confirmed facts; however, some of his storytelling does tend towards the unrealistic.

That being said, this was definitely the right book at the right time. Eight out of ten hot dogs!