The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor in chief of French Elle, the father of two young children, a forty-three-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 brain stem. After twenty days in a coma, Bauby awoke into a body that had all but stopped working: only his left eye functioned, allowing him to see and, by blinking, to make clear that his mind was unimpaired. Almost miraculously, he was soon able to express himself in the richest detail, blinking to select letters one by one as a special alphabet was slowly recited to him, over and over again. In the same way, he was eventually able 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 in his body. He explains the joy, and the 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; of lying next to the woman he loves. Fed only intravenously, he imagines preparing and tasti
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After a stroke at 43, French Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby was almost completely paralyzed and could communicate only by blinking his left eyelid. He dictated this short memoir, letter by letter, before he died.
Yes. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is Jean-Dominique Bauby's memoir, written with locked-in syndrome by blinking his left eye to dictate one letter at a time. Bauby died in March 1997, two days after the book's French publication.
Yes. Julian Schnabel directed a 2007 film adaptation starring Mathieu Amalric. The film won the Cesar Award for Best Director and was nominated for four Academy Awards.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was written by Jean-Dominique Bauby, published in 1997 by Vintage.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is 142 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly takes most readers 2 to 3 hours to finish.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a standalone novel by Jean-Dominique Bauby, not part of a series.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
