Phenomenon de Papillon

A funny thing happened today at the old book store that I visited in Coimbatore. I have this habit of routinely peeking into these stores and the pavement book vendors once in a while to get an idea of the ‘hot books’ of the season. Today was once such day when I made the visit.

As I was browsing through books, two girls came, browsed for sometime, and then asked for the book ‘Papillon’. Papillon was a marvel of a story that I read some 4 years back, courtesy my roommate. People who had read this book would definitely remember what a story it is, but the name could be a dampener to people who have no idea it. The girls, I suppose, fell in the latter category. I initially had a feeling that they were convinced about the book since they were bargaining quite loud – which made other customers like me notice – about the price. But I finally realized they had no idea about the book. While they were harping on Rs. 50 for a used piece, the shopkeeper came down to as low as Rs. 60 from his starting price of Rs. 90. What was disappointing about the whole episode was that the deal fell through due to that gap – of a measly Rs. 10, and the girls settled for some other crappy Sheldon novel for Rs. 75!

The whole thing was funny due to several reasons:

• The book is a marvel. According to me, it’s one of those books that really deserve the ‘must read’ tag and it must be high up there in all ratings and reviews. Rs. 60 for such a book is peanuts. I used to think so high of the story that I felt it is a shame for it to be left behind for a measly Rs. 10. But then, I guess life is funny. Clearly a phenomenon of asymmetric information – as per economics.

• Those two didn’t have any idea about the book, but being a third person who knew something, I couldn’t pitch in either.

• Thanks to those girls, the book was now Rs. 60, and I suddenly realized the opportunity to own the book. I was glad to pick it up, knowing too well that there is no way in Godforsaken hell that I could’ve brought down the price to this level.

As soon as I reached home, my father had a smile on his face on seeing the book in my hand. As I figured later, he, along with others in his generation, had read the whole story, episode after episode, in a weekly Tamil magazine called ‘Kumudham’ some decades back. Couldn’t help but think of those two who missed it for Rs. 10.

If you haven’t read this novel: run for it. It’s a true story that would make us realize how valuable our lives are. As mentioned in the cover of the book, it’s truly the greatest story of adventure and escape ever written.

Oh, and by the way, Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, Richard Branson’s autobiography and Lance Armstrong’s biography were the hot ones in the shelf. Any reviews about the latter two?