Synopsis
At the age of 44, after a catastrophic stroke and several weeks in a coma, Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor of "Elle" magazine, became a victim of what is known as ''locked-in syndrome.'' Unable to move or speak, though he continued to feel pain, Bauby found eventually that he could move only his left eyelid. Using a specially constructed alphabet based on letter-frequency, he dictated this extraordinary memoir of his ordeal by blinking his good eye. Bauby died in March 1997. In 2007 the memoir was made into a feature film by artist/director Julian Schnabel.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-05-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 131 pages | | Height: | 8.0 in | | Width: | 4.8 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 8.0 oz |
Publisher's Note
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 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.
In 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby was the editor-in-chief of French Elle, the father of two young childen, 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.
Industry Reviews
"His account of the Naval Hospital...is vivid and occasionally grotesque."
Times Literary Supplement - D. J. Enright (04/18/1997)
"Bauby managed to write a book as moving as Job's and as expansive, in its way, as any composed by the wheelchaired, boundless Stephen Hawking....Bauby allows that his 'communication system disqualifies repartee,' but it does beautiful service to all sorts of physical and emotional description....in this strong, slim volume the author displays a writerly control equal to his honesty...There are scenes in Bauby's narrative...that one might be inclined to describe as unbearably sad, if 'unbearable,' thanks to this book, were not a word one will never again use quite so loosely."
New York Times Book Review - Thomas Mallon
"Even if this book were not very good, its very existence would be an achievement. But 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,' the work that Mr. Bauby's brain produced in the few months before his death last year (two days after the book appeared in France), is not merely a triumph of willpower. Translated by Jeremy Leggatt, it is a wistful, poetic, ironic and whimsically affirmative testament by a man who refused to die in spirit even when inside a body that was literally withering away. Mr. Bauby's book belongs to what might be called the literature of extreme circumstance, like the book of Job, moving and powerful in inverse proportion to the tone of brave understatement that Mr. Bauby manages to maintain throughout. You will not soon forget this slender volume, this elegant epistle from within the depths of a cruel affliction."
New York Times - Richard Bernstein
"Despite this laborious method of composition, Bauby's prose is remarkably light: the sentences soar, unburdened by self-pity or despair..."
Adams
| See an error? Submit a change request |
All rights reserved.
