The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - post I

Having sat and watched the film last night I picked up the Diving Bell and the Butterfly this morning and spent my commute going through it.

It is an incredible book to read because you know how it was written, with a paralysed author dictating through the blink of an eye. But even with that factor it is something that has a quality that makes you realise that humanity can carry on well beyond when most of us would give up.

Although stuck in a statue like state Jean-Bo manages to keep his humour, imagination and love alive and only occasionally heads into self-pitying territory. The result is a story that grabs you and gets you interested. Partly because, at least in the first half, he doesn’t reveal how he got into that position.

In some ways this is better than the film because where that uses film footage to reinforce the idea of taking flights of fancy here the words and the descriptions transport you in a different way.

Other half tomorrow…