When I first encountered this book, I was about 10 or 11 and it was a Japanese translated version. I think I read it as a children's book - and it certainly is the size of a children's book, but it is definitely not just for children.
I had forgotten most of the story line until I started reading it again almost 2 decades later - apart from the charming drawing of the Little Prince, and a little more striking drawing of a "boa constrictor from outside/inside" which is basically a drawing of a whole elephant in a snake's stomach. They are very unforgettable illustrations. It is lovely that all the illustration are done by the author, and they seem to be kept in any editions or translated versions. Almost every time you turn the page, you are greeted by the little (sometimes a whole page size) drawings.
The story line is in the style of children's book narrated by a pilot whose plain had crushed in the Sahara Dessert (the author was a pioneering aviator as well as a writer and a poet, hence the connection). He comes across a golden haired prince one day, and they build up a friendship through the Little Prince talking about his home planet and his journey. The Little Prince lived on a tiny asteroid with one flower and three volcano and nothing else, but he decides to embark on a journey to visit other planets.
The Little Prince meets (very briefly) various characters on different asteroids before arriving on the Earth, and every one of those characters represent the adulthood we all dread; A king, a conceited man, a tippler, a businessman, a lamplighter and a geographer. The encounters between the Little Prince and the characters look to carry the message to remind you about the nature of humans and how we all grow up forgetting what is actually important.
When the Little Prince arrives on Earth, he meets a fox, and he gives the Little Prince the most important lesson in life.
The book is philosophical and thought provoking as well as being very charming, very French, I would say. I know this might not make much sense, but I associate French culture as rather philosophical, romantic, dreamlike and rather bizarre... like watching Amelie!
Very easy to read but it portraits the ideas of the beauty of simplicity in everyday things, and feelings we share as a human such as love, compassion, care, loneliness and sadness.
Here is one of my favourite quote by the Little Prince from the book...;
'If someone loves a flower, of which just one single blossom grows in all the millions and millions of stars, it is enough to make him happy just to look at the stars. He can say to himself "Somewhere, my flower is there..." But if the sheep eats the flower, in one moment all his stars will be darkened... And you think that is not important!'
There are more quotes I love, but some of them might be spoilers, so I shall let you read the story and find your own favourite quotes and passages.
I recommend reading this book at any age and at any situation, but if you are a grown up feeling a little tangled with life, this book will give you another perspective on life (In my case, I am in the middle of writing my thesis, and I should actually be doing that rather than reading a book and writing a review, but never mind!)
The Little Prince will leave you with a not-so-little impression, that is for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment