The original title of this book was You Changed My Life, and that’s probably a more accurate description of the contents than the new title. The ways of marketing are clearly mysterious to behold.

No matter what the title, this book is kind of a cross between a buddy-movie and a bromance. It’s already been a movie, The Intouchables, filmed in France where the real story takes place. And it will be again – the American version is titled The Upside and seems to have been filmed in 2017, although I’m not sure it was ever in theaters. Considering that the movie was supposed to have come out in October of 2017 as the Harvey Weinstein scandal was breaking, and that the movie was produced by his company and the new edition of the book was supposed to be published by his publishing company, it’s not really a surprise that things got a bit, let’s call it delayed.

However, the story existed long before either the movie or the scandal. But this true story was originally told by only one of the partners in this bromance. This version, the one that I read, is told by the other. And it isn’t quite as fictionalized as the original movie seems to have been.

Not that the author doesn’t tell plenty of stories on himself, because he certainly does. And he is not the most reliable narrator, not even of his own life. Perhaps especially of his own life.

In 1993, French businessman (and noble) Philippe Pozzo di Borgo was severely injured in a paragliding accident, becoming a quadriplegic. In 1995 he hired Abdel Sellou, the author of this book, as his “life auxiliary” or caregiver.

Sellou was an Algerian immigrant to France, having been given by his Algerian parents to his aunt and uncle in Paris when he was a child. A child who was young enough to adapt but old enough to remember where he came from. And he was given to people who had never been parents and seem to have no idea of how to be parents. Or perhaps its that Abdel had no idea that rules or limits ever applied to him.

By his own account, Sellou grew up fairly wild on the streets of Paris, becoming a thief and a con artist. He saw himself as the king of his little corner of the world, and felt like nothing could stop him, not even jail. As he was always a completely nonviolent offender, jail mostly seemed like a bit of a vacation. The rules never applied to him.

He met “Pozzo” when he was basically scamming the unemployment office. He came to pretend to apply for that job as Pozzo’s life auxiliary. He ended up staying for over ten years in a job he never expected to take, and remained as Pozzo’s unpaid caregiver thereafter.

All of Pozzo’s rich friends were certain that the conman was there to take Pozzo for a ride, and bilk him out of all the money he could manage to scam. It never happened.

Instead, they formed an unlikely but life altering and life sustaining friendship. This is the story of that friendship from Sellou’s point of view (as Pozzo has already told his version of the story in A Second Wind)

Reality Rating B: The Upside, by whatever title, is a surprisingly quick read. It’s also not a very deep one, because the author skims over the surface of his life, and never seems willing to dive deeply into his thoughts or feelings.

The story that we’re left with is still interesting. Sellou seems to have grown up without a care in the world, or perhaps a better way of describing it would be not caring much about the world or anyone else in it.

It’s also clear that this story couldn’t be told until the statute of limitations had run out on his youthful crime spree, which seems to have lasted into his 20s. Mostly Sellou was a thief and even a bit of a shakedown artist. He was also a successful small-time conman. His goal never seems to have been to get rich, just to get enough to last until the next day. He saw the world as free for the taking, and if he got caught, well, jail seems to have been mostly a vacation.

There have to have been darker parts to this part of the story, but the author never dwells on them. He seems to be a character who always looks on the bright side, and does not worry much if at all about tomorrow.

Going to work for Pozzo was a life-altering event for both of them. Sellou’s ability to always find a bright side seems to have been just what Pozzo needed to keep him going. It’s not that Sellou wasn’t all-too-well acquainted with everything that did not work in Pozzo’s paralyzed body. It’s that Sellou never seems to have let it stop him from pushing whatever boundaries could be pushed so that Pozzo was able to get outside of himself as much as possible, which turned out to often be a surprising amount.

It’s also obvious from the story that the two men moved relatively quickly from an employer-employee relationship to a friendship to a partnership – even if most of Pozzo’s family and friends never fully come to trust Sellou even after years of being there for Pozzo at every hour of the day and night.

That Sellou seems to feel no bitterness at that lack of distrust is surprising. Or it may be part of his ability to always see the sunnier side of every situation, even the terrible ones.

I find myself wondering how some aspects of the story that seem particularly French are going to translate to American audiences. Perhaps I’ll find out if the movie ever shows up on Netflix.

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.

Abdel Sellou’s The Upside is an uplifting story of unexpected friendship, and the power individuals can have upon the life of others. I’ll admit this is not my usual kind of read – I’m a sucker for crime fiction with a perchance for romance binge reads – but I was sucked in by this one.

They say real life is stranger than fiction, and this book shows how the unexpected storylines of books and movies are not always as far from the truth as we would think. We often get stuck inside of our own head, we see the world in a certain way, and this one made me look a life differently.

It is more than just a story of friendship. It shows the development of people. It shows the impact we have upon others. It shows how life can treat us in unexpected ways. It is no surprise to know this real-life story has been picked up for the big screen – it sends a wonderful message, and people will be sucked into the lives of the characters.

Without a doubt, this one is worth reading if you want a heart-warming memoir.

I have not seen the documentary or the movie that have recounted some of Abdel Sellou's activities, however I didn't need to, reading The Upside was complete in itself. Although if I got the opportunity to ever view the other media I would.

I couldn't help but become fascinated by Abdel Sellou's story. It would seem the world came to know him first as an aide to wealthy Phillippe Pozzo di Borgio - a tetraplegic. They are well suited to each other. Abel Sellou is irreverent, fun-loving and sure to shake up the household. He arrived in France when he was four, given to an uncle and aunt as is often the custom in Algeria.

He tells his story of those days - of how he learned to live on the streets, steal and break laws until the age of eighteen when he can be held responsible for his actions. And so he has a little stint in jail. If there is one word that describes this character for me - it is resilient. He may have escaped a formal education by mainly just not turning up, but in many other ways he was smart.

His childhood underlined for me what happens when a child has no boundaries and is allowed to do what he likes. His new parents loved him, but didn't know how to raise him, he raised himself.

However his friendship with Phillippe Pozzo di Borgio gradually educates and grows Abel Sellou. While this man is more in the background in the memoir, he himself is very inspiring. What abides with me as I finish the book is the power of a deep friendship that enriches two lives.

This memoir was well worth the read.

One thing I can say about this book is that it is memorable. Learning how Abdel viewed his birth family in Algeria was a bit disheartening for me, but he somewhat explained his culture and the reasons for why he looked upon them as he did. He did not feel as though he were abandoned as a child. There was no animosity. He simply didn't care. I found his analogy of his childhood quite interesting as he stated, "I didn't have an unhappy childhood, on the contrary! I grew up like a lion in the savanna. I was the king. The strongest, most intelligent, and most seductive. When I let the gazelle drink at the watering hole, it was because I wasn't hungry. But when I was, I pounced on it. As a child, I wasn't scolded for being violent anymore than a lion cub would be for his hunting instincts. Is that an unhappy childhood?"

Abdel calls himself Muslim, but he didn't seem to practice his faith. His life was one big joke to him. Always ready with something funny to say and rarely a serious moment could be found. Abdel's life of crime was turned around by one man, Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, a tetraplegic. He became Abdel's one true friend.

As I said, I found this memoir of Abdel Sellou interesting, although there were parts that left me flat. I understand that the movie was very good, but I have not yet seen it. At the time of my writing this review, it appears that this book had been previously released under a different name. And it appears that there are several titles to this book now. I hope that gets straightened out.