The Little Prince

(Sucky photo courtesy of moi - 'twas night, and moi was sleepy)

by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Who hasn't heard about The Little Prince? Unless you're living under a rock or in a cave somewhere, I'm pretty sure you've somehow heard about that novella about the little prince who traveled to Earth from his little planet and taught everyone an important life lesson. Oh you remember that lesson right? It won a runner-up crown for a certain local beauty queen/actress* in a prestigious pageant in the late 1990s, back when the said beauty queen/actress was bereft of any physical enhancements to make her stand out. (She still stands out, to this day, but for all the wrong reasons.)

Anyway. Of course I've heard of The Little Prince, but I've never been curious enough about it to read it. Not even mildly. And I will be candid enough to say that the only reason I read it now is because the TFG-GR group, of which I am a member, has designated it to be this month's book for discussion.

To summarize what The Little Prince is about would give away everything. It is, however, one long metaphor constructed as a novella. After reading it, I wasn't sure how I felt, actually; I neither hated nor liked it. What I did enjoy were the drawings; after seeing Angus' short post about the book last week and the conclusion he had drawn on the little prince's gender, I couldn't help but chuckle at each illustration featuring the little prince. With his ever-present muffler of course. ;)

In conclusion, I will merely echo what Angus had said: all that one needs to read in order to get the full meaning of the book is the short conversation between the fox and the little prince - the one where the fox reveals his secret that "it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Everything else, I reckon, is mere surplusage.

Rating: ★★★

*See video here.