HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Le second souffle suivi du Diable gardien by…
Loading...

Le second souffle suivi du Diable gardien (original 2001; edition 2011)

by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1715159,279 (3.25)3
Now a major motion picture--The Upside--starring Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart, and Nicole Kidman. Discover the moving and heartfelt #1 international bestseller and inspiration for the film The Upside about an aristocratic Frenchman who is paralyzed in an accident and has to adjust to his new normal with the help of his unlikely caregiver. As the descendant of two prominent French families and director of a legendary vineyard, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo was not in the habit of asking for help. Then, in 1993, right on the heels of his beloved wife's diagnosis of a terminal illness, a paragliding accident left him a quadriplegic. He was forty-two years old and unable to do anything--even feed himself--without the help of another person. Passing his days hidden behind the high walls of his Paris townhouse, Philippe was totally isolated. His paralysis rendered him unable to reach out to others and seemed to make people unwilling to touch him or acknowledge the reality of his existence. For the first time, he learned what it felt like to be excluded. The only person who seemed not to be bothered by Philippe's condition was someone who had been marginalized his entire life: Abdel, an unemployed, uninhibited Algerian immigrant from the outskirts of society who would become Philippe's unlikely caretaker. With his tenacious spirit and irreverent sense of humor, Abdel is able to reawaken Philippe's connection to people and the larger world around him. A Second Wind is the inspiring true story of two men who refused to ask for help, and then wound up helping each other in more ways than they could imagine.… (more)
Member:PhysiCaRollMops
Title:Le second souffle suivi du Diable gardien
Authors:Philippe Pozzo di Borgo
Info:Bayard Jeunesse (2011), Broché, 282 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
Tags:None

Work Information

A Second Wind by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo (2001)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 3 mentions

German (2)  Spanish (1)  Italian (1)  English (1)  All languages (5)
A Second Wind is the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, paralyzed at the age of 42 in a paragliding accident, and looked after by his carer, Abdel. The book begins a memory of the accident and the loss of the author's wife, Beatrice.

Much of the story focuses on loss - of his wife and the use of his body, and on di Borgo's sexual longing for women. Elements of humor are woven into the book, although the overall sense of the story is that of the author's internal pain. It is well-written, with beautiful word structure in places, though not an uplifting read.

A lot of the book focuses on di Borgo's earlier life, before the accident, and his family lineage. The relationship between di Borgo and his carer, Abdel, was not as well developed in the book as in the movie, which left it somewhat dry to read. The book is quite possibly more true to life than the movie - which has likely been adapted to entertain a cinema audience - and therefore it is harder to connect with the author and his emotions.

A well-written account of di Borgo's life, though it failed to create an emotional reaction in me as a reader. ( )
  JFHilborne | Nov 6, 2012 |
no reviews | add a review

Belongs to Publisher Series

You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Now a major motion picture--The Upside--starring Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart, and Nicole Kidman. Discover the moving and heartfelt #1 international bestseller and inspiration for the film The Upside about an aristocratic Frenchman who is paralyzed in an accident and has to adjust to his new normal with the help of his unlikely caregiver. As the descendant of two prominent French families and director of a legendary vineyard, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo was not in the habit of asking for help. Then, in 1993, right on the heels of his beloved wife's diagnosis of a terminal illness, a paragliding accident left him a quadriplegic. He was forty-two years old and unable to do anything--even feed himself--without the help of another person. Passing his days hidden behind the high walls of his Paris townhouse, Philippe was totally isolated. His paralysis rendered him unable to reach out to others and seemed to make people unwilling to touch him or acknowledge the reality of his existence. For the first time, he learned what it felt like to be excluded. The only person who seemed not to be bothered by Philippe's condition was someone who had been marginalized his entire life: Abdel, an unemployed, uninhibited Algerian immigrant from the outskirts of society who would become Philippe's unlikely caretaker. With his tenacious spirit and irreverent sense of humor, Abdel is able to reawaken Philippe's connection to people and the larger world around him. A Second Wind is the inspiring true story of two men who refused to ask for help, and then wound up helping each other in more ways than they could imagine.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.25)
0.5 1
1
1.5 1
2 2
2.5 2
3 10
3.5 2
4 7
4.5
5 3

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 204,507,158 books! | Top bar: Always visible