Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (novel #103)

The proof of the little prince’s existence is that he was delightful, that he laughed, and that he wanted a sheep.

(update: June 20, 2018)

I reread this for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2018

**sigh** 

Such a charming little book. What follows is my review from March of 2016.

I still give it 4 1/2 stars

(the following is my review from March 2016)

This is the third time (fourth now) I’ve read The Little Prince. It is the first-person narrative of pilot Saint-Exupéry after he makes an emergency landing in the Sahara desert many miles from help or civilization. Saint-Exupéry encounters the peculiar and other-worldly little prince. The two spend days together and many hours of conversation while Saint-Exupéry works on his aircraft. The book is a novella, and indeed a very short novella, and I think you could call it magical realism. The illustrations on the cover and inside were done by Saint-Exupéry. This novella is not part of my 100 Greatest Novels Quest.

My rating: 4 1/2 of 5 stars

I first read The Little Prince when I was eleven. My sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Banks, whom I will always love, introduced me to a wonderful book called The Hobbit. I loved it, and quickly consumed the sequel The Lord of the Rings. Mrs. Banks then recommended The Little Prince. I trusted her judgement, so I obtained a copy and anticipated another thrilling epic.

I was terribly disappointed. I thought it was the dumbest thing I’d ever read.

I was eleven.

Fast forward 30+ years, a friend whose judgement I also trusted, recommended The Little Prince. I was puzzled. My memory of the book didn’t reconcile to my worthy friend’s opinion.

So, I gave it another try. I was stunned by the power, the poetry, the poignant wisdom – thank you Mary Ann!

I won’t try to synopsize the tale, nor venture much into its meaning – except this – The Little Prince is about what we value, and how what we value when we grow up, grow mature, grow wise – is often less worthy than the things we valued when young.

That might sound like Peter Pan – refuse to grow up, but that isn’t the message. I have no problem with J.M. Barrie’s magical fantasy, but refusing to grow up – well – it can’t be done and if you try, you look rather absurd. The Little Prince is not about not growing up or non-conformity. It’s about value.

It’s really no wonder I didn’t appreciate it when I was eleven. This isn’t really a children’s book, though some children will like it. It has talking flowers, and foxes, and snakes, and space travel, and few adults, but it isn’t a children’s book. You can read about Saint-Exupéry and his extraordinary life and it should become obvious that The Little Prince was a very personal tale and certain characters are undoubtedly mapped to persons in the author’s life. For me, it is simply a poetic tale, and I would mar its beauty should I attempt to be any more analytical than that.

Excerpts:

He couldn’t say another word. All of a sudden he burst out sobbing. Night had fallen. I dropped my tools. What did I care about my hammer, about my bolt, about thirst and death? There was, on one star, on one planet, on mine, the Earth, a little prince to be consoled! I took him in my arms. I rocked him. I told him, “The flower you love is not in danger…I’ll draw you a muzzle for your sheep…I’ll draw you a fence for your flower…I…” I didn’t know what to say. How clumsy I felt! I didn’t know how to reach him, where to find him…It’s so mysterious, the land of tears.

One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. ~ The Fox

You risk tears if you let yourself be tamed. ~ Saint-Exupéry

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