Should you buy this book? Yes.
Should you borrow this book? Definitely.
“The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a novella about a lost fighter pilot who rediscovers the meaning of life through a new friend he meets, the titular Prince of the story. In discovering what life means, the Prince also realises what exactly he’s been searching for, and gains as much insight as he gives to the pilot. Originally in French, I read the version translated in 2000.
“The Little Prince” has been reviewed countless times, for sure. And if you’ve been exposed to even a modicum of literature, you’ll have heard of this book and its legendary reputation. The tales are true. This book is worth every cent you pay for it, and every minute you spend reading it. It’s not even a long read – anyone can finish it in half an afternoon.
I also had the pleasure of watching a theatrical adaptation of it by my alma mater’s theatre group, The Raffles Players. Although the performances were raw, they were genuine in emotion, and brought out the message of “The Little Prince” very clearly.
So back to “The Little Prince!” Why do I rave about it so?
Philosophical observations about humanity
If there’s one thing anyone will tell you, it’s that it’ll change your perspective on humanity, the rat race, and the important things in life. By using thinly veiled metaphors for the stereotypes we see in the real world, Saint-Exupéry reveals their folly and pompousness, and also highlights what we should be focusing on in life.
Interesting premise
The eponymous Prince is essentially an alien. As a pop culture fan, I approve. It also involves him travelling the galaxy in search of meaning. As a pop culture scholar, I highly approve. Furthermore, it also centres on the pilot’s search for his youthful innocence. As someone who never grew up, I give this a large hefty (Y).
Interesting setting
The Prince has travelled to multiple planets. Planets! Half of the book is set in outer space, which effectively makes it a space opera. And yet, you get this sense of loss when the Prince first leaves his home and the one he loves behind. His purpose for travelling to distant worlds is driven by a sense of rejection, loss, and loneliness. It’s a love story in outer space. What’s there not to like?
Easy to read
This is not to say that it’s a children’s book or a picture book. Certainly, any 10-year-old can pick this up, but that doesn’t mean an adult will feel insulted reading this. But the simplicity of this book is exactly what it makes it so effective in telling us what we should be caring about in life – the people we love and the people who love us. By the end, you’ll understand that just because people don’t love us the way we want, doesn’t mean they don’t love us with all their heart.
No book is perfect though, and “The Little Prince” had some flaws.
Some logical errors
There’s one brief section where the love interest of the Prince begins to lie, then stops, because she claims that it is not feasible that she knows about certain things. Yet the love interest also knows about other things that are not logically possible for her to know. This continuity error breaks my suspension of disbelief a little.
The pilot sounds slightly stupid
The pilot is definitely not the brightest bulb in the shed, for sure. He sounds rather slow on the uptake, and a little delusional, which makes him a little tiresome to read. However, this works in his favour, when it is ambiguous whether the Prince ever existed, or it was all a delusion on his part.
At heart, “The Little Prince” is a simplified allegory of life, and boils it down to the most essential of emotions – love. Without love, there is no life, and if there is one lesson to take away from the book, it is this.
Love the people who love you.
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