Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944)

This books touches anyone who reads it----and rereads it over the years as is my case. With every reading, my older, not so mature mind, finds different messages within it. I've given the Japanese-translated version of it to one my relatives in Japan. And I've given it to a dear person whom has cancer (I hope he can beat it !). It speaks frankly to the heart, while giving enough metaphorical, allegorical, and philosophical nuggets that all readers may treasure & remember them. And by reading show more it through our lifetimes---we approach, interpret, and hopefully accept it's messages in a different manner, each time. It's wonderous and timeless. And yes, a bit sad, too. show less

"Oh, I understand just what you mean," said the little prince, "but why do you always speak in riddles?"
"I solve them all," said the snake.
And they were both silent.

Oh, yes, I am this evil. I apologize to my friends who love this book for all that I am about to say. This is the worst children's book I've read since The Giving Tree. Yes, the snake was chilling and the finale was lovely, but the underlying ideas are so awful that I can't rate this any higher.

Here's my issue: The problem with show more the world isn't that people grow up. It's that far too many never finish the job. The romantic obsession with being a child isn't beautiful and it isn't warranted. Growing up is good. Maturity sets you free. It is impossible to see the invisible without it. And when you truly have it, kings and vain men and drunkards and businessmen and lamplighters and geographers turn out to be as beautiful as roses, and you don't have to tame or be tamed to love someone.

It also really does not help matters that the rose is the only female voice, conforming to almost every stereotype of the feminine I can think of off the top of my head, or that the hero blithely continues on inflicting pain on those around him and this figures as wisdom. That is it, really. The wisdom contained in these pages is poison.

Loved the snake though.

(Reviewed January 2016.) show less

How do you review this? I have no idea what to make of it. Is if a children's book? Is it a children's book aimed at nostalgic adults? Is it an allegory of the horrors mankind has created? I really don't know.
What is it about? A prince from a small asteroid planet with 3 volcanoes that come up to his knees, and need their chimney's sweeping falls to earth. He meets a pilot who has crashed in the desert and they start to talk. It's all a bit odd - and moved me to tears and I really couldn't show more actually tell you why.
I think the prince is something of lost childhood, innocence or implicit trust or faith in the unknown, something that we loose as we grow up. We can't own the stars, but we can see in them something to inspire us. It might not the the tinkling of laughter, but it should move the soul. Like this does. show less

"All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it."

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

This was one of my favourite stories when I was little a girl, it was a story filled with adventure, friendship and courage and I devoured every page each time I read it.

Reading this now as a woman, it is still one of my favourite stories, though the words are familiar, the story is far more complex, heartbreaking and deeply profound. I could never understand its true meaning show more until I became a "grown up".

Although I'm a grown-up, I'll always remember being a little girl, with fearless determination and an unstoppable imagination. Always exploring, making friends and asking questions, just like The Little Prince.

This is a book that everyone was meant to read, and it doesn't matter if you're a grown-up! It's life summed up in a children's book, written by an extraordinary man who met an untimely end. I only wish he could have shared more of his stories.

The stars have never shone brighter. show less