The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Richard Howard
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Book Reviews of The Little Prince
Book Review: To Be Chewed and Digested
Summary: 5 Stars
It was children's book week last week at the public library, and they had a huge display of staff favorites. So when I entered the door, The Little Prince was waiting right there for me. I must confess, I have never read this book in its entirety. Such a classic, and I have only known about the sound bytes - one of the most famous being the quote, "Anything essential is invisible to the eyes." Who knew it is a fox that actually says that in the book?
The story opens with a pilot stranded in the desert. A pilot, who when he was younger, was dissuaded from pursuing his real passion: drawing. As a consequence, he only knows how to draw a boa from the inside and a boa from the outside. But back to his being stranded in the desert. While trying to fix his plane, he meets the Little Prince. This Prince is from a planet that is quite small, with just one flower and three volcanoes (one being inactive, but you never know). On his planet, he can see the sun set anytime he wants to, just by shifting the position of his chair. The Prince sets out to explore the other planets around him, and in retelling his tale, we get to meet all the interesting people he has met. The Prince's final conclusion after all his interviews with strangers on new planets: "Grown-ups are so strange." They don't understand anything "important," he determines - all they care about is numbers (and other such nonsense).
It is on the last planet he visits - Earth - that the Little Prince meets the fox. This is my favorite part of the story. It is when the Prince learns about being "tamed," or really, I suppose, being loved (and loving in return). The whole section with the fox was really beautiful, and is the source of the famous quote above. The fox tells the Prince about what is essential, and explains "One sees clearly only with heart." He also explains that it is the time we spend on others that makes them valuable to us, that grows the love between us. It's wonderful.
The end of the story is bittersweet. The major theme I took from this section is how precious memories can be, and how the world is made more alive by the people and the love we associate with everything on earth. It's not a new idea, but just beautifully put. There are songs that remind me of others and make me smile. Smells, sights, everything.
The staff member who chose this book for the display wrote as her reasoning for the choice: "It reminds me to look at things as if I'd never looked at them before." I echo that sentiment. And I believe it's a lesson we could all bear to learn.
Book Review: Intelligent and humane book
Summary: 5 Stars
'Little Prince' is a marvellous book presenting a valuable view of life and human nature written in a childish fable style. Antoine De Saint-Exupery succeeds in being unostentatious in presentating his point of view while some other authors tend to be more insistent in trying to teach their readers. On my personal point of view this book holds lots of lore that could be adopted by humans to preserve their humanity. I was so astonished by this work that re-read it for second time immediately after finishing my first read. And I think there is no piece of text that is not meant to be interpreted by the reader in more abstract way. The uniquiety of this book for me is that it will probably appeal to a child although will be interpreted in a totally different way. Furthermore - it could probably be interpreted in a different way by every person who reads it. And that's a thing that cannot be achieved easily.Written more than 50 years ago during World War II, messages that this book holds can be related to nowadays world without any modification. And I'm sure this will not change after another 50 years.
There is some magic in the character of Little Prince - he behaves like a child, he is pure like a child and thinks and acts firstly as a human being. In his presense adults acting in a reasonable way, conforming to society invented unnatural criterias look funny and incomprehensible. I noted that there was not a single character in the book that was evil in nature, although some of the characters will hardly wake up possitive attitude in the reader's mind. And every character represents something - be it human characteristic and chosen way of life (all inhabitants on planets Little Prince visited before coming on Earth) or an inevitable point in life cycle (the snake could be interpreted as the death) or simply what your minds wraps around the character. A metaphor I found very worthy (one of the many) is that of the unique rose. The Little Prince finds uniquety of his rose through the cares he has put for her. Also the water that the narrator and Little Prince find in the desert after a tough wandering and retrieved wistfully. That water was some kind enriched when finally reached. Or the simplicity of the Little Prince's planet compared to the complexity of the possessions on planet Earth. And that fact opposed to the love and devotion Little Prince feels to his home planet... I can go like this till I cite almost everything from the book.
This piece of literature art is brief in words, but possesses concentrated content rich in meaning. A must read book.
Book Review: How to write a masterpiece...
Summary: 5 Stars
According to my Thai translation of "The Little Prince," this book has been translated into 140 languages and has sold 50 million copies. However, as the little prince himself might be the first to note, that's just the way grown-ups think: they are only interested in numbers. :-)
This is an enchanting story, with a completely improbable cast of characters: a French aviator downed in the Sahara, a little prince who comes from a tiny kingdom on another world, the rose he loves, three tiny volcanoes -- all, hopefully, extinct --- a fox, and a poisonous snake. Oh, yes, there's a sheep as well, and a glass cover to protect the rose, and a muzzle to keep the sheep from eating the rose. The last three only exist as drawings which the aviator makes for the little prince.
Sometimes I think that any artist who creates a masterpiece tends to tear up the rulebook and start afresh. Don't misunderstand me: tearing up the rulebook is not enough, in and of itself. It is also necessary to have something vivid and important to say. Saint-Exupery wrote his masterpiece in the form of a book for children, but it is surely not a "book for children" any more than "The Lord of the Rings" is. It is a charming book, which will very likely move you to laughter and tears --- and perhaps both at the same time.
As for choosing an English translation, this strikes me as a molehill which a number have people have been trying to turn into a mountain. Here, you decide:
"On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux."
Woods: ""It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
Howard: "One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes."
The French is not all that difficult. "One only sees well with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes." You might think that "invisible to the eyes" is pleonastic, but it has to contrast to the "seeing" which is done with the heart. If you want to fight over "bien" == well, rightly, clearly -- or "l'essential" == the essential, what is essential, anything essential --- well, I won't take part in that fight.
Much more important than the translation: the book!! It's a great one, and it does not grow old!!
My favorite: "How to Tame a Fox."
Book Review: Classic Story, Flawed Translations.
Summary: 5 Stars
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a sincere, imaginative story, full of memorable situations and characters. It is a simple children's story, with a fundamental message that is simple and timeless. For me that message is: be loyal to yourself and those you love, and don't allow yourself to become corrupted by "adult" concerns (greed, lust, power, conformity). Of course, the book is open to interpretation and elaboration, which is part of what makes it so wonderful.Now, about those translations..
I don't believe, like some here do, that the new translation is as devastating a fiasco as New Coke. Both translations are flawed.
Katherine Woods writes with such lyrical prose, she can't help but bring out the haunting beauty of the story. Many of her well chosen phrases perfectly convey the gravity of events, and the heartbreaking loveliness of the title character. Ultimately, though, the book was written for children, and I know few children who can genuinely appreciate her writing style. Some adults may think differently, but, really, how many children would know what an 'abode' is, or understand passages such as "I ought to have guessed all the affection that lay behind her poor little strategems"? Be honest.
The new translation overcorrects this problem, though. True to Antoine De Saint-Exupery's intentions, it aims itself more squarely at children. Unfortunately, in the end it comes accross as too informal, lacking much of the poetic depth found in the original and the first translation. However, it does fix some errors that were probably due to sloppiness (speedy translation, I guess?) and should have been fixed by now, and the restored illustrations are an improvement. The power of the story holds up, despite the language being "dumbed down" a good bit.
My solution is this: if you are an adult reading for the first time, or loved the first translation, skip the new one. If you are wanting to read the story to your child, buy the new translation and get a copy of the old as well. Read the new one to your child now, and graduate them to the old one when they can get through it without the constant use of a dictionary. I think they will get more out of the story without being held back by complex prose, and if you read it to them, hey, you can always embellish by transposing some of Woods's interpretations.
Best of all would be to encourage them to learn French so that they could read the original version, which remains both poetic and accessible - a book worthy of the highest praise.
Book Review: An outstanding book....deserves a spot in every houses bookshelf.
Summary: 5 Stars
I can not get enough of this book, its outstanding writing of poetry captures Exupery's story perfectly. Exupery was born June, 29th 1900 and died on July 31st 1944.Exupery published this book in 1943 and it ended up to be this french man's best novel he would ever write. Over the years the book has had many translations and for that reason, it stands as one of the best selling books ever.
I have read this book ever since I was 8 years old and since I have put my eyes on this book, it's been one of my favorites. The little prince is the perfect character for the plot of journeying from planet to planet, not knowing what is going to happen next. Although the book is a great read, it is not a book for younger children, it is simply too complicated for younger kids to understand the true moral of the story. The Little Prince is an easy read for teenagers and above. Serving as one of the best stories in my opinion ever written, it is an easy classic for all.
Heart-wrenching and very emotional are the the emotions that hit me as I read this book. All the tiny planets represent little political points and lessons that are extremely interesting. The fox teaches a main lesson, of respect and that good things come with time. This lesson is a good lesson to learn, cherish and remember. The fox reminds the Little Prince of why his little rose is so important to him. This brought me back to when my grandfather died. Ever since I was out of the womb he was there for me, hogging me from the rest of the family and until he died, nothing ever pulled us apart. The Little Prince helps every person realize simple lessons of life.
Overall, the book is very emotional and deserves utter respect and a place in every house's bookshelf. I recommend this book to everyone and give it a perfect rating. I hope to see this book as a must-read in high schools in the future. Every person should have a chance to read this book and experience the same enjoyment and pleasure as I have. I would have to disagree with Alan F. who stated "The book actually highlights the dogmatism of children." I absolutely disagree with this comment made by Alan. This book is not projected as a distrusting book or guide on children not trusting adults. The book does not state that children are superior. The book tells a story of how no one understands this poor kid and only kids understand other kids.