This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

1. 1. Papillon

   The True Story of Escape

   

   The book is a memoir that chronicles the harrowing experiences of a Frenchman who is wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in the penal colonies of French Guiana. Determined to regain his freedom, he makes numerous escape attempts, facing incredible odds and enduring brutal conditions. His indomitable spirit and will to survive lead him through a series of adventures and misadventures, including solitary confinement, a stint in a leper colony, and living with indigenous tribes. Throughout his ordeal, his nickname, derived from the butterfly tattoo on his chest, becomes a symbol of his unyielding quest for liberty.

   The 4580th Greatest Book of All Time

   Purchase from Bookshop.org or Amazon

2. 2. Banco

   The further adventures of Papillon

   

   After escaping the brutal penal system, the narrator chronicles his struggle to turn freedom into a stable life: returning to Europe to fight for justice, battling bureaucracy and hostile officials, and traveling between continents as he builds a new existence amid lovers, friends, and criminal associates; the book blends legal fight, adventure, and personal reflection as he seeks to clear his name, secure material success, and reckon with the costs of survival.