The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

Stars: ***1/2

Summary: This is the amazing story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French Elle magazine and the father of two children, who found himself completely paralysed and speechless. He was only able to move one eyelid but he managed to "dictate" this book.

I recieved this book from Harper Perennial, an imprint of Harper Collins. The premise really intrigued me, a book "written" by someone who can't write.

It's a fairly short book at 139 pages but I'm sure you can imagine how long it must have taken to write even a book of that many pages, using just one eyelid. I think Mr. Bauby's story is amazing and the fact that he found a way to share his views is commendable but I did find myself losing interest in the actual text. I think it's the way Bauby "talked." It's hard to describe, it's just not my style.

You can Browse Inside the book to read some of the book and see if it's for you.

The book was made into a movie directed by Julian Schnabel and starring Matheiu Amalric. You can find out more here: http://www.thedivingbellmovie.co.uk

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