So I lived my life alone, without anyone that I could really talk to, until I had an accident with my plane in the Desert of Sahara, six years ago. Something was broken in my engine. And as I had with me neither a mechanic nor any passengers, I set myself to attempt the difficult repairs all alone. It was a question of life or death for me: I had scarcely enough drinking water to last a week. The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand, a thousand miles from any human habitation. I was more isolated than a shipwrecked sailor on a raft in the middle of the ocean. Thus you can imagine my amazement, at sunrise, when I was awakened by an odd little voice. It said:
"If you please — draw me a sheep!"
"What!"
"Draw me a sheep!"
"Possibly the most beautiful book of the twentieth century, the Little Prince will appeal to the hearts of adults and children alike. It tells the story of a little prince, who falls to earth from a star, and of the airman, stranded in the desert by the crash of his place, who seeks to understand the prince's secret. The premise is simple and the story simply told, and yet Saint-Exupery creates a tale that is full of poignancy and hope.
As the little prince journeys the planets around his own home, Asteroid B612, he encounters a variety of individuals: the Conceited Man, the King, the Accountant, the Drunkard, the Geographer and the Lamplighter. Each one becomes a parable of human nature: or rather, the nature of adults. The Little Prince is a story about childhood, mortality (made all the more poignant by the fact that Saint-Exupery died in action in WW2, the year after the book's publication), friendship, love, hope and the magic in our lives that we are at risk of losing as we grow older. For me it held enormous personal emotional value.
For a so-called 'children's book,' this is one that will live with you for the rest of your life."
(cribbed from Amazon)
I started looking for the Little Prince book, but surprise surprise I don't have it anymore...! It's 11pm right now but I am having this strong desire to re-read the book that changed my way of thinking.... So for all of you who want to read the Little Prince and for some reason, either because you don't have the time or money to buy/borrow it or simply because you couldn't find it, here is a link where you can read it online (yayy). Enjoy!
