The true story of a charismatic Algerian con-man whose friendship with a disabled French aristocrat inspired the record-breaking hit movie The Intouchables (American remake, The Upside, starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston, coming March 2018).
The story of Abdel Sellou surprising friendship with aristocrat Philippe Pozzo di Borgo has been told and retold around the world most recently in the major motion picture The Upside, with comedian and movie star Kevin Hart portraying Abdel and his edgy charm. In this appealing memoir, Sellou shows us the real man behind Kevin Hart's smiling face. The book takes us from his childhood spent stealing candy from the local grocery store, to his career as a pickpocket and scam artist, to his unexpected employment as a companion for a quadriplegic. Sellou tells his story with a stunning amount of talent, humor, style, and though he denies that he has any-humility.
Paperback, 224 pages
Expected Publication: February 6th, 2018
by Hachette Books (first published 2012)
PURCHASE:
Why does it take certain smart people longer to live up to their potential? Well, you must read about Abdel Sellou because I think his story might help us all understand why. The book is a quick read since it is not bogged down by abundant details Abdel gets straight to the point.
I didn’t do my eighteenth birthday justice. It slipped my mind. I was busy with other stuff, probably. But you can be sure the cops had circled the date on their calendar because when it arrived they didn’t waste too much time in getting ahold of me. They came at me all at once...My turn to look like a happy idiot: I didn’t know that the tourist complaints that had been piling up for months could put me away for years.
I was astounded by his family's behavior. I realize that in African cultures that things are done differently but HELLO? Where is the functioning adult in this boy's life? Therefore, even though I don’t agree with his behavior and life choices when you read on what he was up against from the start, I give him some slack. Nevertheless, I kept thinking you have to be a man sooner or later and quit screwing the system and finally he did!
As Pozzo rightly says, I’m “unbearable, vain, proud, brutal, fickle, human”...I pushed a wheelchair, shock-anaesthetized a man whose sufferings seem intolerable, I was his companion for a few painful years. Painful for him, not for me. I was, as he says, his “guardian demon”
When? As Abdel becomes Pozzo’s life assistant, as a reader, I am joyed as he becomes a responsible man, though at times that rebel child still shines through. Also, it is indeed the best part of the book. This section is only 1/3 of the book while in my mind it could have been larger. Additionally, this is where there is happiness, humor, and inspiration occur. This is a delightful memoir and I know you will enjoy it too.
I got through those difficult hours by respecting the same logic as I did at Fleury-Merois: the situation was bad, I wasn’t in control of it, but I knew it wasn’t permanent. I just had to wait it out.
So, read this book first then go see the movie.
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