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• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the transcribed non-fiction memoir of former journalist and editor Jean-Dominique Bauby. The book sold more than 150,000 copies in the first week after its publication. It was written by Bauby blinking his left eyelid noting to the transcriber what letter he wanted by how many times he blinked. The process took only two months. Bauby died two days after it was released after suffering from pneumonia.

• Fast Facts

  1. Author: Jean-Dominique Bauby
  2. Genre: Non-Fiction Memoir
  3. Publication Date: 1997
  4. Publisher: Knopf
  5. Pages: 131
  6. ISBN 978-0375401152
  7. Adaptations: Movie, 2007

• Plot Synopsis

  After suffering a massive stroke that left Jean-Dominique Bauby locked inside his own body. He chronicles his life experiences and events of the hospital, his family, friends and career.

• Critical Reception

  • "It's unfair to judge the book in terms of the huge physical effort that went into it. Calling it an 'achievement' is patronising and doesn't do justice to the beautiful words Bauby is capable of. His positivism jumps off the page, but so do expressions and images that linger and make you think." - Bibliofemme Review

  • "The result is a marvelous, compelling account of Bauby's life as a "vegetable," full of humor and devoid of self-pity." - Library Journal Review

• Related Mahalo Pages

  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Movie) | Julian Schnabel | Locked In Syndrome | Matthew Almaric | Stroke | Memoir | Jean-Dominique Bauby

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