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Jun 08, 2008

Gregory rated it:

“Does it take the harsh light of disaster to show a person’s true nature?”

The situation is unimaginable: waking from a coma to find yourself trapped in your own body, able to think clearly and understand what is going on around you, but unable to partake in any of what transpires. It’s called “locked in syndrome,” and Jean-Dominique Bauby finds himself a victim of it when he awakes from a coma following a serious stroke that damaged his brain stem and left him almost totally paral More...

1 comment like (21 people liked it)

May 25, 2008

Yulia rated it:

I just saw the movie adaptation last Friday, the day before my father-in-law passed away: perhaps not the best time, but I'm the type of person who refuses to get myself out of my mood, but prefers to dwell on my feelings. I actually found the movie much darker than the book itself, which I read when it first came out in English. As the book's from his perspective, we are spared the experience of the silence and loneliness he is encased in. The movie, in contrast, depicts just how terrifying More...

2 comments like (15 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Shovelmonkey1 rated it:

When I first heard about it I did not think it would be the sort of thing I would be interested in reading and definately not the sort of thing I would be interested in watching (having heard it had recently been turned into a film). One of my best friends, a man who is a great deal more sensitive and open minded than I could ever hope to be asked me if i'd read it. "A book about a man who wrote the book by blinking one eyelid?" I asked. "But I like the Die Hard Quadrology, 300 a More...

10 comments like (13 people liked it)

Sep 05, 2008

Petra X rated it:

Words flow, in this book, like the images and emotions of poetry. One thought leads to another. The rambling mind touches, like a butterfly, just long enough to draw the essence from a story, and then moves fluidly to another. Jean-Dominique Bauby's body was just the immobile, weighty shell, the diving bell, his perfect simile, yet in his head he roved the world and composed the words that would let us in. Intent on looking for the cure to let him move again, he moves forward in his final wo More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 02, 2008

Craig rated it:

I know I will likely get flayed alive for rating this one so low, but I just can't see the worship behind it...

First, let me say that the "writing" of the book by someone in such a state is an amazing accomplishment and I dare not take that away from him. (For those that don't know, it was dictated by Jean-Dominique Bauby - former editor of the french Elle - who had a severe seizure and after damage to his brain stem, was diagnosed with locked in syndrome. The entire book More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 10, 2008

Alistair rated it:

this is quite an achievement .
the writer a quadraplegic with locked in syndrome who died shortly after the publication of this book mangages to make himself into a totally unsympathetic character .
i really disliked this book i suppose because it has gained such an good reputation . this is mis-lit at its worst .
the author is completely self obsessed perhaps unsurprisingly and the profundity is not much above that found in a Hallmark card . it seems that the things the author m More...

12 comments like (8 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2007

Aberjhani rated it:

A Small Book with a Big Soul

Jean-Dominique Bauby's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a small book composed of many big wonders. Primary among this book's extraordinary qualities is the fact that Bauby, a former editor in chief of the world-famous French Elle, was able to "write" it at all. after suffering a stroke to his brain stem and spending 20 days in a coma, Bauby regained command of a nearly clairvoyant intellect but lost all authority over his body. T More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Jun 28, 2008

David rated it:

Before reading it, I wasn't aware this book was originally in French. It has a simple lyricism even in translation, which makes me want to read the original. It's the kind of book that can be read very quickly, but probably shouldn't be. Rather, one should savor the well-mixed hope and sadness.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 30, 2009

Peter added it

The power of this short memoir is that it exists.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a collection of short reflections and anecdotes by Jean-Dominique Bauby, the once-editor of the French Elle who at age forty-three suffered a massive stroke that left him completely paralyzed, unable to move or communicate save by blinking his left eye.

Knowing this, every page of prose is a modern miracle. It helps that the prose is really good.

The experience of reading this More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2010

Laurel rated it:

This is one of those books where the story behind the story was more interesting to me than the book itself. For those who don't know, Jean-Dominique Bauby (the former editor-in-chief of French Elle, had a stroke in his mid 40's that left him with a body entirely paralyzed but a mind fully intact. This is referred to as locked-in syndrome, a condition that, in the author's words, is "like a mind in a jar."

The one part of his body that Bauby could move was his left eyelid. R More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 10, 2008

Norman rated it:

These memoirs reveal glimpses of a man who thoroughly enjoyed the "'good things" in life, but who seems to have longed to enjoy it at a deeper level. For, although these vignettes recollect many warm experiences with lovers, family and friends, there also an unhidden wistfulness concerning his lack of taking on the more serious pursuits that he --perhaps-- desired most. However, in accomplishing this book in the physically destroyed state he was in, he ultimately did pursue that deeper More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 01, 2008

Marilyn rated it:

This book, although it provides the first ever look inside the head of a person with "locked-in" syndrome, was not the evocative masterpiece I'd hoped it would be. Although the author's situation (how one manages to write a novel while paralyzed) and the whole premise of the book are fascinating, the book is no better than ordinary. I haven't yet seen the movie, but I'm sure it made a much better film than it did a book, as one can use the camera, actors' expressions and music to ma More...

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 25, 2011

Laysee rated it:

Would you write a memoir if all that was left of your ability to communicate with the world was a nod or a wink? Jean-Dominique Bauby did. Letter by letter, the Editor-in-Chief of French Elle, dictated his life story despite being totally incapacitated by “locked in syndrome” following a stroke. The diving bell and the butterfly are powerful metaphors that bespeak the triumph of the human mind over physical disability of the highest order.

This is one of the most moving books I’ve re More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2011

Zaki rated it:

What a load of bollocks!

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 12, 2010

Colin rated it:

Many authors say they agonize over each word they write, but in dictating The Diving Bell and the Butterfly to an assistant with nothing but his left eye and her willingness to repeat a frequency-ordered alphabet until he blinked at the correct letter—a process that took, on average, two minutes per word, culminating in four hours a day for a total writing period of ten months, with no room to edit after it left his head—I’d say journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby has them beat.

Up until More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 07, 2009

Tahleen rated it:

Very inspiring; Jean-Dominique Bauby is imprisoned in his own body through locked-in syndrome after having a stroke, and can only communicate with his left eyelid. That is how he wrote this book, which is incredible in itself. But he also shows remarkable humor and strength despite his completely debilitating condition. It's horrifying to think that it's possible to be completely paralyzed without even the ability to use your vocal cords--it could happen to anyone--yet Bauby shows us that it's n More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

This is a series of vignettes composed and painstakingly dictated by a man with "locked-in" syndrome. He could only communicate with eye blinks, but had a very fertile and sharp mind. He shares what it's like to live with his condition, as well as stories from his life before the stroke that stole his freedom. There is sadness, of course, and a certain amount of "why me?", but it's never maudlin, and he managed to keep his sense of humor. Very short and worth reading.
Be More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 18, 2008

Heidi rated it:

When Evelyn taught the FHE lesson of Melinda's accident and how we could communicate with her, she recommended that each of us read this book. I was finally able to get a hold of a copy, but I was already in the middle of quite a few other books. (When am I not?) It is a very fast read and he is a good writer. I especially loved the "Count of Monte Cristo" reference to Grandpapa Noirtier. I always loved his and Valentine's relationship. And yet in the last 6 months, I never made the co More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 03, 2008

Melody rated it:

I should have been able to read this book in just a few hours. Not only is it a very slim book – but the chapters are nice and short and there are even a few blank – or near blank pages. But I could only read Jean-Do’s words for so long before I would have to put the book down and blink both my eyes or straighten my sock or stretch my neck or scratch my nose. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the memoir of the former editor of Elle magazine after he has suffered a massive stroke that has l More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Sep 26, 2008

Roxy rated it:

I decided I must read this book after seeing the movie The Diving Bell and The Butterfly (it was one of the most beautiful pieces of art in moving images I have and will ever witness.) Jean-Dominique Bauby, the former editor of the French Elle Magazine, wrote this book after having a paralyzing stroke. He wrote the whole book by blinking his left eye (and running through a chart of commonly used letters with his speech therapist at the hospital.) That, in it of itself, intrigued me. What drive a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 06, 2008

Yolanda rated it:

I'm currently reading this now and it's very good. I plan to see the film shortly after I finish. It is really well written which is unexpected since the author could only communicate with one eye.
Now that I've finished the book, the most fascinating part of it is that the author accomplished something that I would imagine is impossible. The content forces me to reflect more, on the idea that fate plays a big part in our lives. Moments that we take for granted can take a turn which lea More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 18, 2007

Scoobs rated it:

"I could spend whole days at Cinecitta. There, I am the greatest director of all time. On the town side, I re-shoot the close-ups for Touch Of Evil. Down at the beach, I re-work the dolly shots for Stagecoach, and offshore I re-create the storm rocking the smugglers of Moonfleet. Or else I dissolve into the landscape and there is nothing more to connect me to the world than a friendly hand stroking my numb fingers. I am the hero of Godard's Pierrot Le Fou, my face smeared blue, a garland of More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 15, 2008

Allison rated it:

When I had originally heard of this book, I had no desire to read it. It seemed like it would be very depressing and somber. My voice teacher was giving away a lot of her books and passed this along to me, and, feeling lost and in need of a 'wake up call' I started reading it immediately. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the opposite of somber and depressing; it is hopeful, warm, and appreciative. Though parts of it are terribly sad, Jean Dominique Bauby writes about things that he looks More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 04, 2008

Anina rated it:

Has anyone seen that movie with Bjork in it where she is going blind and she works in a factory? Everyone who has seen that movie says the same thing: it's the most depressing movie in the world, and they couldn't eat for like 3 days after watching it.

Well, this book, which also was made into a very depressing movie, is the only thing that rivals it for the title of Most Depressing Thing Ever (just rivals...in my opinion nothing will ever beat blind Bjork).

It's a true s More...

4 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 25, 2008

John rated it:

Jean-Dominique Bauby, former editor of Elle Magazine, wrote this memoir while trapped inside his body, unable to move, a victim of a unique condition which struck him at age 42. Bauby displays an artistic and poetic mind, his writing painstakingly accomplished by blinking one eyelid.

The book is beautifully written, a celebration of life, full of lessons and observations from a man who had risen to great heights and who wrote the book from the depths of an existence we cannot imagine More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 02, 2008

Ann rated it:

This is truly an amazing little book ... a tribute to the transcendent, enduring quality of the human spirit !! Jean-D-Bauby, former editor in chief of French Elle magazine suffered a massive stroke that left him paralylzed and encased in the prison of his own body ... His only means of communication was blinking his one eye. He dictated this small memoir to a young woman who took it down letter by painstaking letter as he blinked it out. He tells his story in a beautifully creative and poetic More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Feb 10, 2008

Ruth rated it:

I want to say upfront that I admire this guy’s fortitude immensely. I can’t even imagine writing a book by blinking my left eyelid. Locked-in Syndrome is everybody’s worst nightmare. Given all that, I went into this book with high expectations. Maybe they were too high. I expected insight and information about what it was like to be in his situation. I expected something about how he integrated his predicament with his previous life. Instead I got a lot of inspirational-type clichés. A bi More...

7 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 08, 2008

Becky rated it:

Maybe I like this one so much b/c I'm a PT. This is an autobiography 'written' by Jean Dominique Bauby, who was the editor for Elle fashion magazine in France. He suffered a massive stroke and had 'locked-in syndrome'. That means he could not move or speak, but his mind remained intact. He wrote his story by blinking his left eye for the correct letter each time a transcriber would call out letters. He died I think it was 10 days after the story was published (of pneumonia, I think). Isn't that More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 22, 2011

mzd rated it:

I never really intended or wanted to read this and actually avoided the book on at least two occasions, but found myself bored and bookless, browsing the communal bookshelf at work. Deciding that you can't ignore a book if it crosses your path three times, I sat down and started to read.

There's no getting around the fact that it's bloody miserable. It's poignant too and there's something uplifting about the fact that someone managed to dictate this with blinking as the only means of communicati More...

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Jan 24, 2009

Jacob rated it:

I was really impressed with this book. It is a little on the slim side, but I can understand that when the guy had to write it with one eye. There was actually a chapter in the book that described how this worked. One of his therapists taught him a new alphabet; this one ordered by how often the letter is used in the French language. The person communicating with the author would read through that version of the alphabet until Bauby signaled that the speaker had reached the desired letter. This More...

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