Items related to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Wheeler Large Print...

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Wheeler Large Print Book Series) - Hardcover

 
9781568954967: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Wheeler Large Print Book Series)
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
The author, former editor of French Elle magazine, describes the rare stroke to the brain stem that left his mind intact in a nearly totally paralyzed body

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
On December 8, 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby's life was forever altered when a part of his body he'd never heard of--his brain stem--was rendered inactive. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, his exquisitely painful memoir, is neither a triumphant account of recovery nor a journey into the abyss of self-pity. Instead, it is a tender testament to the power of language and love. At 43, Bauby was defined by success, wit and charisma. But in the course of a few bewildering minutes, the editor-in-chief of French Elle became a victim of the rare locked-in syndrome. The only way he could express his frustration, however, was by blinking his left eye. The rest of his body could no longer respond. Bauby was determined to escape the paralysis of his diving bell and free the butterflies of his imagination. And with the help of ESA, "a hit parade in which each letter is placed according to the frequency of its use in the French language," Bauby did so. Visitors, and eventually his editor, would read each letter aloud and he would blink at the right one. Slowly--painstakingly-- words, sentences, paragraphs and even this graceful book emerged.

Bauby relays the horrors and small graces of his struggle, which range from awaking one day to discover his right eye being sewn shut to realising the significance of Father's Day, a holiday previously absent from his family's "emotional calendar": "Today we spent the whole of the symbolic day together, affirming that even a rough sketch, a shadow, a tiny fragment of a dad is still a dad." The author makes it clear that being locked in doesn't kick open the doors of perception, but The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is nonetheless a celebration of life. Jean Dominique-Bauby died of a heart attack on March 9, 1997, two days after his book was published in France.

Review:

‘The most remarkable memoir of our time.’ Cynthia Ozick

‘Read this book and fall back in love with life.’ Edmund White

‘A staggering piece of work. It represents an almost inconceivable act of generosity, the gift of the mind and the spirit for which writing was designed.’ A. L. Kennedy

‘One of the great books of the century.’ Financial Times

‘Everyone in the country should own at least one copy.’ Guardian

‘We listen, because what he has to say goes to the core of what it means to be human.’ Robert McCrum, Observer

‘The most extraordinary book of the year.’ Daily Telegraph

'Life-enhancing and devastating in equal measure – everyone should read it.' Gloss magazine

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherWheeler Pub Inc
  • Publication date1997
  • ISBN 10 1568954964
  • ISBN 13 9781568954967
  • BindingHardcover
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780375701214: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death (Vintage International)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780375701214
Publisher: Vintage, 1998
Softcover

  • 9780007139842: The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly

    Harper..., 2008
    Softcover

  • 9780375401152: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

    Alfred..., 1997
    Hardcover

  • 9780008329747: The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly (4th Estate Matchbook Classics): Jean-Dominique Bauby

    Fourth..., 2019
    Softcover

  • 9780307389251: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death (Vintage International)

    Vintag..., 2007
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Bauby, Jean-Dominique
Published by Wheeler Pub Inc (1997)
ISBN 10: 1568954964 ISBN 13: 9781568954967
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks374483

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
£ 48.17
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds