Papillon

Written by Henry Charriere, the book outlines a man's quest and obsession. Papillon is wrongly sentenced for a crime he has never done and he is taken to prison. Even though I can't recount every bit of the experience and story in the book, I can probably mention some paragraphs that just made me squirm in my seat.
My first one was how Papillon hid his money while in the prison - inside a baton inserted at the end of his digestive canal.
Next how he found worm and centipedes in his wet cell crawling all over the place.
Then how he scalded the prison warden with hot water and the warden's sweater was stuck to his face, as he tried to remove it.
Then how he faced the quicksand when trying to escape and his experience of just seeing two horrified eyes of his companion as he was being suck into the quicksand.
Then how he saw people being burnt under the charcoal, while he was waiting to help his friend's brother escape with him.
The strange culture of the Indians where an elder sister lets her younger sister become her husband's wife because the elder feels that he is tired of her.
The craziness of the lonely confinement where prisoners are not allowed to talk to anybody, but just left in a dark cell with one small window where the food comes in from.
In short, the book wasn't pleasant but it shows the part of the world that is not pretty. If you want a rude awakening to see the world out of the dainty 4 walls, here is a classic book. The book also showed how feverish Papillon was for freedom and persisting in breaking out wherever he was. An interesting book, definitely worth a read.