Once free and regaining his liberty in Venezuela he tells the tales of trying to get back to "normal life" after so many years locked up. Adapting to once again being around people, having to support himself, learning the new Spanish language seem hard enough - but even all that put together isn't as hard as keeping away from trouble and maintaining an honest lifestyle.
As the book proceeds Papillion finds the love of his life and with her support and help he is finally able to return to France, reunite with his family and finally find the redemption and forgiveness his soul claimed for to be able to start again.
Not as exciting and heart rendering as his first book, but Henri Charriere is still able to conquer the hearts of his readers by his passion and intricate description of how the human heart works.
At the end of this book you are once reminded that no matter how far down someone has gone there is always hope of him finding his way up.
Henri Charrière (French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ʁi ʃaʁjɛʁ]; 16 November 1906 – 29 July 1973) was convicted as a murderer by the French courts, and was chiefly known as the author of Papillon, a hugely successful memoir of his incarceration in and escape from a penal colony in French Guiana. While Charrière claimed that Papillon was largely true, modern researchers believe that much of the book’s material came from other inmates, rather than Charrière himself. To his final days Charrière strenuously denied his murder conviction, however he freely admitted to having committed various other petty crimes prior to his incarceration.