A beautifully written book, full of life, by a man who could only blink one eye.The "blurb" at the front of the book says this:
"The editor-in-chief of French Elle, Jean-Dominique Bauby suffered a stroke that resulted in locked-in syndrome when he was 43 years old. He died just two days after the French publication of his book."
He dictated the book by blinking his left eye when his scribe said the letter he wanted--an amazing feat. But even more incredible is the content of the book. It is a beautiful affirmation of life.
It is only 125 pages long, with not a word to be missed. I think it's a must-read.
oh, i'm glad you liked it! one of my very favorite books. absolutely beautiful. i'm trying to convince randy that it's worth cramming into his busy schedule.
ReplyDeleteI read this a while ago for our couples book club, and mostly enjoyed it while I read, but I was blown away by how shallow the man was.
ReplyDeleteI mean, what do you write when the process is as slow and difficult as it was for him. I wanted him to be leaving something better for his children. The fancy, red car, the gambling incident, former lovers with no connection--so much of it seemed shallow. It only made me pity him more.
Several of the men were appalled at my opinion--I am a heartless girl.
Other bad news: David recently told me that he'd read reports that the writing process, using blinking completely crumbled in a double-blind study, and the book was really fabricated (innocently, I think) by the assistant who interpreted his blinks. That sort of came as good news to me. Maybe he was thinking loftier thoughts after all.