As an American, we grow up almost entirely without this gem of children's literature. I'm so thankful that PBS aired this story when I was a small child. The imagery was so strong that it has forever stuck in my head. When I see other stories like "The Fountain" or Super Mario Galaxy, I immediately think of the Little Prince.
I've yet to revisit it as an adult, but I think maybe it's time?
Very surprised and sad to see so many dismissive comments of the book. It's a really popular one in France for a very good reason. It's so creative, poetic and touching that I doubt you can read it and stay indifferent.
If you've never read it, do yourself a favor and do so! It's quite short, and I hope you'll like it.
The book has been extremely transformative for me at multiple points in my life as I've aged. If I could only recommend a single piece of fiction, it would probably be The Little Prince.
I also highly recommend the 2015 animated film adaptation. It has a rock-solid cast, and presents the classic story within entirely new layers of interpretation that speak to multiple generations at once. It's a real tearjerker that only gets more potent with age.
I'm also not sure why so many commenters here seem confused or negative towards The Little Prince. It is a timeless, culture-invariant treatise on the most precious and important facets of human existence.
I my case, it is precisly said animated film. I don't remember why, but I found it incredibly off-putting for some reason. I think back on it every time someone brings up The Little Prince.
I would add that there is something in it for all ages. I have read it many times, between ages 6 and 25 and in different languages. The later readings were for language learning without any expectations but each time I finished it, I was deeply touched.
With that it’s also a great one to read with kids.
This book got a bad reputation in Brazil because a famous actress (who supposedly isn't very bright) once said it was her favourite book.
When I finally decided to give it a try, I found it to be a very interesting read.
So, you can bet people who show disdain for it probably haven't read it. Or they have weak character and are afraid to be considered dumb by association.
There are probably more people around the world who know about The Little Prince from the distinctive illustrations that show up everywhere, than there are people who have actually read the book. It's like Peter Rabbit. Everyone instantly recognizes the illustrations, but often has a hard time explaining what the book was about.
We were read parts of it in kindergarten. I was fascinated by the desert, at the time I loved deserts, even if I saw one only as an adult. Two years later I borrowed it from the school library. My friends teased me because they thought it is girly. I read it and found a bit confusing and boring.
Later it got more popular and adults found all kinds of deep things. It was so sentimental I've never got back to the book if I hadn't read it first as a children's book. In my mid twenties I got my own copy from a girlfriend who saw me as a little prince.
Now about a week ago I reread it again. Well, you can find all kinds of things in it but I think you should read it as a kid first time.
Children need to learn a lot of things they understand only as adults. It builds a real connection to the stories and ideas. Adults cannot absorb new thoughts anymore. They try but it's too late.
Like if you haven't read Nietzsche and Dostoevsky first time at the age of say 16 or 18 you will never be an intellectual. You didn't get the right impulses at the time. You cannot built on shallow experiences you can have after the childhood and youth.
Well... enough bad memory of some teacher wanting us all to read and ponder this thing in class, seemingly with the confused notion that this would be some kind of lesson in psychology.
I think the author would be very surprised if he'd been there to see what amount of fluff has been generated around his nice and simple quasi-autobiographical codebook.
This problem plagues so many well-known works of literature. Modern American classics like The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird have also been forever tainted with unpleasant memories of high school classes.
It has one of my favorite quotes of all time. For those who haven’t read it yet, if the quote below resonates with you, the rest of the book surely will too.
“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add. But when there is nothing left to take away.”
There's something both beautiful/enchanting and deeply tragic about the story.
If anyone's interested in an analysis of Saint-Exupéry's psychology via the symbolism of The Little Prince, the book "The Problem of the Puer Aeternus" by Marie-Louise von Franz [1] is absolutely fascinating.
Yes! I didn't understand why I always found the Little Prince story (and by extension "alchemist") so repulsive, until I read that book. Little prince is aimed at people who have lost their idealistic youth qualities and seek to get back in touch with that part of themselves. I had the opposite problem - I never fully left that place.
It was one of my fondest memory of my first travel in Japan, we had no clue that such site was there, so when we took the bus from whatever train station to the onsen hotel, and we passed in front of it, as a French, it was jaw dropping to see such place. Even crazier was when we actually visited it, they really captured my home region. Unbelievable experience.
I recently bought this book for my kids. Somehow I've never read it in forty years. What's the big deal? It's gotta be the most famous book I've never read.
It's not a hard read, and probably would take most adults an hour or two. Maybe just go read it if you're curious, and if you don't like it then quit after a chapter or two.
I like it. I got a lot out of the encounter with the fox, specifically, and that helped me in how I relate to a lot of my friends and lovers.
I don't get it neither. I have learned French in school, I have read it in French and all... it just seems quite banal.
A content-personality mismatch I guess, and if that wasn't so, I might still prefer something that feels more weighty than that book.
It's one of those books that strike you with a completely different meaning when you read it as an adult, than when you read it as a child. Which probably contributes to its enduring charm across the generations. I think everyone should read it twice, but with at least 20 years between readings.
This is a sub plot in "Changing Places" by David Lodge. Hyper competitive professor of English wins dinner party game admitting major Canon work he hasn't read: gets terminated by head of department.
Out of curiosity, what cultural artifacts do you suppose people under thirty will consider worth passing on to their kids?
Not trying to be snarky. I think printed book culture led to some degree of consensus about books like The Little Prince. I’m not sure what replaces it.
I'm thirty and my sisters and my partner are in their twenties and we will probably all pass on books to our children if we have them.
Kids still interact with physical books. School libraries are a part of education here and the school kids visit them with their teacher at least once a month to borrow physical books.
Very well written and will be relevant for all ages for another 100 years. Very unsnoopy. (Although I’ve heard that pre-Snoopy Peanuts is excellent and deep)
As I mentioned in the thread on Peanuts two days ago, "pre-Snoopy Peanuts" consists of two total comic strips, which are neither excellent nor deep. There's not enough material for either to be possible.
There's a lot of Peanuts. Whatever you like or don't like about it, you can find examples of at any point in its history.
When people say "pre-Snoopy Peanuts" they don"t mean before the character existed at all but before the strip became focused on Snoopy and his wacky adventures in the mid 1970s and later. Early Peanuts was more focused on the melancholy aspects of childhood and was truly brilliant. This was lost later on.
Profound thoughts about the human condition don't become less profound when the next generation comes along. The Little Prince is no more "boomer" than, say, Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.
Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right.
I think it's rather a kind-of- schooling-and-education thing.
for schools in a "humanistic" tradition I dare to bet it's canon.
it's a very beautiful read and when you have time, go and grab a sweet illustrated full text paper copy in your language of choice, it has been translated in all languages of the world, and there are wonderful editions of the book. I treasure a large pop up one.
At first glance it looks and feels like a childrens book, but really, is it? Antoine de Saint-Exupéry offers a very unique and poetic look at humankind and a truly timeless masterpiece, touching not so children topic's like different types of vanity, several perspectives on the rat race, addiction, love of course, both "caritas" and "amor" and at an idealistic level also "eros", responsibility for nature, it even touches on assisted suicide, but all of these little essays which are woven into a story arc are told with deep love and tenderness and clarity.
fine dining, if you wish, a gourmet story, really.
It's not that obscure, even in the US. Anyone who takes French in US high school has probably read it in French (it's very easy to read), and even in English it's one of the most common classic children's books.
I've yet to revisit it as an adult, but I think maybe it's time?
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