Believe it or not, this is the first time I've read this book, and for the life of me, I don't know why! Personally, I think it should be mandatory for every child to read it, just because it is so wonderfully beautiful and innocent.
However, reading it as an adult makes me realize how we focus on the unimportant things, that we neglect some of the simpler barer necessities.
Grown-ups like numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask questions about what really matters. They never ask: "What does his voice sound like?" "What games does he like best?" "Does he collect butterflies?". They ask: "How old is he?" "How many brothers does he have?" "How much does he weigh?" "How much money does his father make?" Only then do they think they know him.
The story is about a pilot, Exupery, who is stranded in the Sahara, where he meets The Little Prince - an 'alien', who has come to earth from a small planet, Asteroid B612. On his planet, he had three volcanoes (two active, one inactive) that reached his knees, a beautiful (albeit demanding) flower, and a baobab problem, i.e. if baobabs weren't weeded out at a very early age they wreaked havoc.
The Little Prince shares his experiences with the pilot, about the other planets he visited en route to earth: one where the sole inhabitant was a monarch who had no one to rule over, and another where a drunkard was drinking his life away, to forget. There was a planet where there was a businessman who counted stars, and another where there was a conceited man. Each character he met reflected some idiosyncrasy or the other of humans, and it's this thought that stuck with me: when did we renounce the simple pleasures (beautiful flowers - that come with their own baggage, spring rain, sparkling stars, the sunset)? When did we stop asking the thought-provoking innocent questions, that escaped our mouths without a second thought? When did we stop nagging 'adults' 'til we got an answer, even if the answer was just to shut us up?
This is a funny, well-written book, which just makes you reflect on life, and how it's passed you by. It's a book about friendship, about romance, and to top it off, it has wonderful illustrations. I challenge anyone to read this book, and not have the last illustration stick in their minds for a long long time.
Rating : 5