The Little Prince

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Book Reviews of The Little Prince

Book Review: multifaceted and rewarding
Summary: 5 Stars

Saint Exupery's classic tale can be read on many levels and enjoyed by readers of any age. He tells the story of being stranded in the desert and meeting a tiny blond boy. This Little Prince proceeds to tell of his travels from planet to planet until he arrived on Earth and of what he has learned along the way. The most important thing he reveals is a secret that was taught him by a fox that he tamed:

And he went back to meet the fox. "Goodbye" he said.

"Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

"What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.

"It is the time I have wasted for my rose-- "said the little prince so he would be sure to remember.

"Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose. . ."

"I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

This is the central lesson of the story--love and responsibility for one another. And just as this is essentially the message of Christ, from here on in the rest of the story is a fairly straightforward Christian allegory. As Saint-Exupery is dying of thirst, the Little Prince leads him to a well, the water of which is uniquely refreshing. Then the Little Prince announces that the time has come for him to go away, that a snake will bite him and it will look like he is suffering greatly, but that he will live on in Saint-Exupery's heart and mind and can never die.

Regardless of whether you read the story as simply a delightful children's fable or read it as an existential or a Christian myth, or read it multiple times and find a different meaning each time, it is endlessly rewarding and quite beautiful. If you want an ideal introduction to the book, check out one of the etexts online, they are excellent examples of the best aspects of the Web--presenting the entire story (in various languages) and illustrations in lucid formats.

GRADE: A-

Summary of The Little Prince

The Little Prince describes his journey from planet to planet, each tiny world populated by a single adult. It's a wonderfully inventive sequence, which evokes not only the great fairy tales but also such monuments of postmodern whimsy as Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities. And despite his tone of gentle bemusement, Saint-Exupéry pulls off some fine satiric touches, too. There's the king, for example, who commands the Little Prince to function as a one-man (or one-boy) judiciary:

I have good reason to believe that there is an old rat living somewhere on my planet. I hear him at night. You could judge that old rat. From time to time you will condemn him to death. That way his life will depend on your justice. But you'll pardon him each time for economy's sake. There's only one rat.

Classics by Age Books

• Books > Subjects > Children's Books
• Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths
• Literature & Fiction