The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - post II

If there is one thing that I will take away from this book it will be to understand the power of the imagination. Even locked into his body he manages to fly away to memories and undiscovered countries. What helps him get there is an imagination that has been fuelled by trips abroad and his experiences but also by literature.

The Count of Monte Cristo is a reference but this is something that increasingly is informed by his own view of the world and the scenes where he brings back the moment when the founder of the hospital must have first arrived. The weaving of historical fact with imagination and dreams really works well. Plus there is the sadness that is of course throughout in the background and when he recalls the moment when he fell into a coma it is left close to the last. In a way had the book opened with that it would have been much more self-pitying tone.

This is a short read but something that once read is unlikely to be ever forgotten.

A review soon…