Customer Reviews

Dry guillotine: Fifteen years among the living dead (A Berkley Medallion book)

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True story. The movie Papillon comes very substantially from this book by Rene' Belbenoit and perhaps even more than Henri Charriere's own book "Papillon"(see movie credits) "Dry Guillotine" is one of the greatest survival and escape stories of all time, about a convict condemned to the penal colony in French Guiana during the 1920's - 1930's. Chapter after chapter of incredibly horrid conditions in which the clothless prisoners were subjected....malaria, incessant mosquitos, starvation, disease, torture, and even leper colonies, all in the will-defeating complete corruption of the guards and the French Penal administration. Out of over 80,000 men that were sentenced to French Guiana, 65,000 (80%) died there. Makes you happy just to be alive. Belbenoit followed it up with "Hell on Trial"(see review).

Rene Belbenoit was guilty. There is no denying it, and he immediately owns to the thefts he committed. But the unbelievable hell that he endured on Devil's Island for more than fifteen years was above and beyond suitable punishment.

In this tale, Belbenoit describes the harsh realities of not only Devil's Island in particular, but the French justice system of post WWI era. He tells of the millionairs son who is found "unfit for transport" and the two white collar fat cats who get a fraction of his prison sentence for stealing fifty times as much! He describes the "perversions" that men were forced into because of their woman-less circumstances, and how guards who falsely accuse inmates just to get their wine ration.

I found out about this book after reading Papillon by Henri Charriere. I did some research on the web and "Dry guillotine: Fifteen years among the living dead" came up in just about every query on Devil's Island. As a result, I purchased a used copy.
Dry guillotine is a good read for anyone who is interested in the former penal colonies of French Guiana. Like Papillon, it is the story of one man, René Belbenoit and his many escape attempts.
Dry Guillotine gives you more insight into the penal colonies than Papillon, but it lacks the emotional roller-coaster ride, which gave Papillon such fame. It sometimes drifts off in other directions with stories of other convicts that have no impact on the overall story line. Reading, I felt very little emotional attachment to the main character.
As mentioned by Ken, one of the other reviewers, movie buffs will see the strong resemblance to the Movie Papillon.
A good read, but you have to move beyond the introduction, which some other reviewer apparently didn't.

This book is very elemental. It is written in easy to read and follow text. The experiences in this book are very eye opening and almost inocently told. I read this book in school and enjoyed it back then, but with my older more mature outlook I enjoyed it even more. This is a well written book that should wake in you the need to watch what is being done to prisoners even today. Our treatment is not so harsh, one hopes, but still in some cases just as inhumane. This book is a keeper, one to be shared and pondered upon.

This is one of the most gripping and fascinating books I've ever read. It's the true story of a man sentenced to the penal colony in French Guiana (Devil's Island was a picnic compared to the prison on the mainland). "Papillon" drew on this quite heavily but remains closer to fiction. If you like nonfiction, make sure you read "Dry Guillotine."

I'm a little shocked by the tepid reviews of this book. It's one of the most gripping and fascinating books I've ever read. It's the true story of a man sentenced to the penal colony in French Guiana (Devil's Island was a picnic compared to the prison on the mainland). "Papillon" drew on this quite heavily but remains closer to fiction. If you like nonfiction, make sure you read "Dry Guillotine."

I agree with the reviewer who said the book is pretty good but no Papillon. It is a good solid prisioner / escapee book about life in the South American penal colonies. There were a few parts that really had me interested.

I read the first 30 pages. This is not a true story. The situations are ludicrous. The prisoner is said to be 90 lbs but can carry the book which is 30 lbs for years. A character is said he met the prisoner in South America and then a year later in the jungle in Central America. How that was arranged is not dealt with. At the meeting in Central America the prisoner states "He wants to go to America. If he was in South America and meets this man in Central America. He must have crossed the Panama Canal. In the 1930's, the canal was considered American property. Why not ask for help there?
There are many more. Meeting in Havard Club on Christmas Day. Using taps of letter location in alphabet to communcate. Very difficult.
The real statistics of the death rate and horrible conditions prisomers at Devil's Island lived and died in are horrible. This book does not do justice to their suffering.