Jasper Fforde
Three separate interviews in which Jasper Fforde discusses the Thursday Next series, his Nursery Crime novels and Shades of Grey, the first in a trilogy set in a future world recognizable as our own - but only just.
Abraham Verghese
An interview with Abraham Verghese about his life and writing and in particular about his extraordinary 2009 novel Cutting for Stone, set in 1960s and '70s Ethiopia and 1980s New York.
Martha A Sandweiss
An interview with Martha Sandweiss in which she discusses her book Passing Strange, a biography of Clarence King who lived a double life—as the celebrated white explorer, geologist, and writer Clarence King and as a black Pullman porter named James Todd, married to Ada with whom he had five children.
Amy Greene
Amy Greene talks about her first novel, Bloodroot, which brings her native Appalachia—and the faith and fury of its people—to rich and vivid life.
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly: Summary and book reviews of The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby, plus links to an excerpt from The Diving Bell and The Butterfly and a biography of Jean-Dominique Bauby.
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly A Memoir of Life in Death
by
Jean-Dominique Bauby
Hardcover: May 1997,
144 pages.
Paperback: Jun 1998,
144 pages.
In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle,
the father of two young children, a 44-year-old man known and loved for his wit, his
style, and his impassioned approach to life. By the end of the year he was also the victim
of a rare kind of stroke to the brainstem. After 20 days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a
body which had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see
and, by blinking it, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired. Almost miraculously, he
was soon able to express himself in the richest detail: dictating a word at a time,
blinking to select each letter as the alphabet was recited to him slowly, over and over
again. In the same way, he was able eventually to compose this extraordinary book.
By turns wistful, mischievous, angry, and witty, Bauby bears witness to his determination
to live as fully in his mind as he had been able to do in his body. He explains the joy,
and deep sadness, of seeing his children and of hearing his aged father's voice on the
phone. In magical sequences, he imagines traveling to other places and times and of lying
next to the woman he loves. Fed only intravenously, he imagines preparing and tasting the
full flavor of delectable dishes. Again and again he returns to an "inexhaustible
reservoir of sensations," keeping in touch with himself and the life around him.
Jean-Dominique Bauby died two days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and
the Butterfly.
This book is a lasting testament to his life.
Book Reviews
Edmund White
Was it Hemingway who defined grace under pressure? No matter who said it, the
words have never been more pertinent than in speaking of this heroic book, dictated
against the worst imaginable adversities. Although every word cost the author a superhuman
effort, the prose is not sickbed telegraphese but rather as light as the sprightliest
humor, as pungent as the taste of cooking apricots, as vigorous as the step of a young man
setting out on a first date. Read this book and fall back in love with life.
Edmund White
Was it Hemingway who defined grace under pressure? No matter who said it, the
words have never been more pertinent than in speaking of this heroic book, dictated
against the worst imaginable adversities. Although every word cost the author a superhuman
effort, the prose is not sickbed telegraphese but rather as light as the sprightliest
humor, as pungent as the taste of cooking apricots, as vigorous as the step of a young man
setting out on a first date. Read this book and fall back in love with life.
Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D.
To read this most extraordinary of narratives is to discover the luminosity within a
courageous man's mind. Locked into his own world but not locked out of ours, [Jean-Dominique
Bauby] explores images, memories and an entire landscape of fantasy and love. His
incomparable final gift to us is a heartbreaking and yet glorious testament to the
wrenching beauty of the human spirit.
Andrew Weil
As riveting as a narrative from an explorer of deep space, this communication from a
mind imprisoned in an unresponsive body is remarkable for its utter lack of self-pity or
sentimentality. Though 'locked in' the author's consciousness freely roams through worlds
of memory, fantasy, sense, impression, and contemplation of the human condition. An
unforgettable read.
Sherwin B. Nuland, M.D.
To read this most extraordinary of narratives is to discover the luminosity within a
courageous man's mind. Locked into his own world but not locked out of ours, [Jean-Dominique
Bauby] explores images, memories and an entire landscape of fantasy and love. His
incomparable final gift to us is a heartbreaking and yet glorious testament to the
wrenching beauty of the human spirit.
Elie Wiesel
This heartbreaking story by a uniquely gifted writer is about transforming pain into
creativity, human despair into literary miracle.
Andrew Weil
As riveting as a narrative from an explorer of deep space, this communication from a
mind imprisoned in an unresponsive body is remarkable for its utter lack of self-pity or
sentimentality. Though 'locked in' the author's consciousness freely roams through worlds
of memory, fantasy, sense, impression, and contemplation of the human condition. An
unforgettable read.
Named for a flower whose blood-red sap possesses the power both to heal and poison, Bloodroot is a stunning fiction debut about the legacies—of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss—that haunt one family across the generations, from the Great Depression to today.
Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. But her mother is in rehab, and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. And when a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, her already-worn thread of faith begins to unravel.
When she's not digging up bones or other ancient objects, quirky, tart-tongued archaeologist Ruth Galloway lives happily alone in Norfolk. But when a child's bones are found on a desolate beach nearby, and Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson calls Galloway for help, Ruth finds herself in...
Few works of literature are as universally beloved as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Now, in this spellbinding historical novel, we meet the young girl whose bright spirit sent her on an unforgettable trip down the rabbit hole –and the grown woman whose story is no less...
The Coral Thief, as riveting and beautifully rendered as Ghostwalk, Rebecca Stott’s first novel, is a provocative and tantalizing mix of history, philosophy, and suspense. It conjures up vividly both the feats of Napoleon and the accomplishments of those working without fame or...
I rarely read anything before this. Years ago I picked this one up and couldn't put it down. It changed me into a book nut. It was a wonderful ...
read more
I can't believe I waited so long to read this book. Shame on me. This book was wonderful, lyrical, entertaining - all the makings of a wonderful ...
read more
The book held so much for the reader but in the end I felt robbed. The evolution of Trudy was disturbing and somewhat insulting. She came across as ...
read more
Justice Department still has issues with Google Settlement(Feb 05 2010) The Department of Justice dealt a serious blow Thursday evening to the chances that the Google Book Search settlement will gain court approval later this...
Full Story
Hachette formally adopts 'agency model'(Feb 05 2010) Hachette Book Group USA became the second major U.S. publisher to officially announce its intention to move to an agency model for the sale of e-books....
Full Story
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
Edmund White
RSS feed
