I'm not entirely sure what to make of this book, to be honest. It's sweet and cute and melancholy and quirky. The little prince himself is a bit mysterious, a blend of innocent and wise, curious and reserved. Definitely otherworldly, which makes sense since he's from a small planet far from earth.
I liked the narrator best, a downed pilot whose plane crashed in the desert. He encounters the prince and makes friends with him, and they connect over the common understanding that adult humans have difficulty comprehending simple things, and are too caught up in stressful, meaningless tasks to see life clearly. But just when they're starting to really understand each other, the little prince has to leave.
I'm glad I finally took the time to read this little gem -- I can see why it's considered a classic! It touches on so many big concepts like life and death, growing up, childhood versus adulthood, and so on.
If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG because I think many small children might find the ending disturbing.
This is my 37th book read and reviewed for my second go-'round with the Classics Club.
OK...I struggled reading this aloud to my kids, and we quit 1/3 way through. But you make me want to go back and give it a try again.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is a movie by the same name (2015). It looks soooo adorable - meaning, we haven't watched it. (And it is rated PG!)
Ruth, I think that movie is why I kind of took notice of this book's existence, but I haven't seen it.
DeleteIt's a very... quirky, off-kilter story, and it did make me think "Is there a point to this?" a couple times earlier on, but it all comes together really well at the end.
OK, I'll try it again, and then the kids and I can watch the movie. : )
DeleteI love this book!
ReplyDeleteLark, it's very lovable :-)
DeleteI've only read it in French, back in high school in French class. Don't remember much about it now! For a second, I was like, wait, how did she read this? It's a French book! Brain is fried from work, I tell you. Forgot about things like translations... LOL! I need a vacation.
ReplyDeleteHaha, DKoren, um, yeah, I read a translation. I did not spontaneously learn French. Hee!
DeleteI hated this the first time I read it ( I was 11 ), but fortunately reread it as an adult and LOVED IT!. The 2015 film is a very loose adaptation, and goes beyond the story. I still liked it, but it is not a faithful rendering of the original. The 1974 film is much more faithful, but not done as well.
ReplyDeleteJoseph, yeah, I'm not sure I would've liked it as a kid. I liked realistic and plausible things best back then. This is kind of dreamy and ethereal.
DeleteNot sure I want to watch any of the movies. Kind of like this just as it is.
I haven't read this either, yet, but it's always been in the back of my mind to do so eventually. I'll be interested to see what I end up thinking of it.
ReplyDeleteOlivia, it's a very fast read -- like an hour or so, and you're done. So even if you think it's meh, it's not like you're going to spend much of your life on it.
DeleteI have been a lot of good things about this book. It is making me really want to read it.
ReplyDeleteBethi, that's how I was! Read a lot about it all over, so finally decided to try it :-)
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